Employee engagement survey: FAQs
Dear colleagues,
In 2016, South Pole ran an Employee Engagement Survey to better understand how employees perceived different aspects of their work environment. Since then, South Pole has grown and evolved tremendously, which is why we feel the time has come to ask our employees once again what is working well and what is working less well.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is a lot more than employee satisfaction or motivation. Employee Engagement measures the degree to which our employees are invested in the company’s success. We talk about sustainable engagement when employees 1) feel happy at work, 2) have the tools and resources to do their jobs well, and 3) feel energized and committed to giving their very best every day. Engaged employees are happier, perform better, and are more productive, which directly impacts company success. Studies have repeatedly shown that companies with engaged employees tend to outperform those will less engaged employees. In this context, employee engagement can be seen as one of many indicators of a company’s overall health.
What are we looking to achieve with this survey?
Our goal is to hear what our employees have to say about what it feels like to be a Penguin. We want to know what is working well and what is not working so well. It is about understanding our strengths and areas of improvement as a company. With the data we collect, we will be able to identify whether we have any pain points and put together action plans to address these.
Who will be invited to participate?
All South Pole employees will be invited to respond to the survey. The more participants, the more reliable the data will be. I will take 20-30 minutes to complete.
What is the timing of the engagement survey?
The survey will be sent out on Monday 19th August and will close on Friday 13th September. Employees have 4 weeks to respond.
Will the survey be anonymous?
Yes, respondents names will not be visible. The only demographic questions required will be to indicate your location and business unit. This will then allow us to analyze the survey data, not only from an overall company perspective, but also by location and by business unit, which will make the analysis a lot richer. With more meaningful data, we can achieve more targeted action plans. We will not be looking to guess individual responses to the survey questions; as indicated above, this is about the company as a whole. It is a collective measurement of overall engagement, therefore the specific responses of specific individuals are irrelevant (in this context).
Who will see the results?
The HR team is administering the survey. Once the data is collected, it will be analysed and discussed during the HR/Ops gathering in the first week of October. The preliminary results will be shared with company management and initial recommendations will be made. A summary will also be shared with the whole organisation in October.
What actions will be taken following the survey?
Once the initial analysis has been done and we have a general understanding of our strengths and weaknesses as a company, HR will facilitate some focus groups with employees who are interested in participating, to discuss in more depth what some of the issues and challenges could be behind the lower scores, and brainstorm some action plans that could lead to significant improvements. Action plans will then be rolled out during 2020 at local and/or global level.
For any questions or comments please feel free to reach out to the HR team hr@southpole.com.
Kind regards
Your global HR team