Is it time you got employee input?

You may have an “open door” policy as a CEO or manager, but you could still be seeing your firm through rose-tinted glasses. If you want to grow, are having a hard time recruiting or retaining employees, feel like your employees aren’t quite as productive as they could be, or just want to find a way to make your firm more profitable, the opinions and ideas of the people sitting in your office and interacting with your clients, are by far your most valuable resource. Even if your firm has open meetings, does exit interviews, or you feel that as a leader you are available for employees to voice their grievances at any time, you still may not be getting an accurate picture. Fear of speaking up, workload and lack of time may be huge deterrents for people working at your firm to offer suggestions or communicate issues. Giving employees an anonymous, third-party method to voice their opinions, ideas, and concerns across a variety of areas is the only way to get a full picture. In my experience working as a marketing consultant conducting employee surveys and with the Best Firms To Work For program, it’s true that nearly every set of employee survey responses has at least one person who thinks the only thing that will improve their performance is an all-expense paid retreat to Aruba, a 10,000 square-foot ping-pong room, or something equally ridiculous. But for every person who wants fresh bacon available 24/7, there’s usually two with really good and often easy to implement suggestions. Here are just a few reasons why: Power in numbers. A single comment, especially if it comes from a known complainer or whistle-blower is much more easily discarded than a written collection of 10-plus comments all presenting similar views on the same subject. Likewise, when small comments get made at different times to different people, they are much more easily discarded. Metrics. Open responses are invaluable, but having numerical rankings across certain areas allows firms to easily see areas where they need to improve, and also chart improvement over time. It’s not all bad! You can have a great organization with a lot of happy employees, but unless specifically prompted, people will not often volunteer suggestions for improvement or expansion. Just one person’s idea for a new program or technology that could improve his or her efficiency or a person’s expressed desire to work on a specific kind of project may be all it takes to give a firm awesome new opportunities (and revenues). Positive feedback from employees can be used to help recruit key hires and will even help you win more work! Christina Zweig is Zweig Group's director of research and marketing. Contact her at czweig@zweiggroup.com. Zweig Group Employee Surveys Chose from our bank of over 50 questions or make up your own. Zweig Group is happy to help design a survey to meet your needs. Pricing as low as $1500. The Process:

• Pick your options and chose your survey questions using Zweig Group’s template or have Zweig Group design your survey
• Send email addresses to Zweig Group for survey distribution
• Zweig Group will keep you updated on your response level and follow up with employees.
• Receive report of your survey findings: A full-report with compiled overall responses is delivered at the conclusion of each employee survey.

For more information contact: Christina Zweig Office: 800.466.6275 Direct: 479.856.6112 Mobile: 479.445.7564 Zweig Group 1200 N. College Ave Fayetteville, AR 72703 ZweigGroup.com