Staff Satisfaction Survey

We had a debrief today for the results of the staff satisfaction survey that was conducted a few months ago. Although I had not participated in the survey, I was also asked to attend the debrief and my bosses have actively sought my opinions on some of the things raised.

When I saw the results from the survey, it was of no surprise to me. The issues that were highlighted which required more management attention were similar to what I have seen in my previous work place. Often, reward and recognition and personal development were rated poorly. However, cooperation within the department was rated fairly highly.

Most employees would not be satisfied with our compensation. The reason being we often felt that when measured against our workload, we are grossly underpaid. Few would admit that they have been paid reasonably, much less overly. This is even so with the apparent trend of downsizing and re-organisation every where.

Similarly, as employees, we often feel that there is no clear communication of career plan. It is an open secret in many organisations that sometimes new recruits already have their 'fate' sealed when they enter the organisation, ie their career progression has already been pre-determined. However, often this is not transparent to the employee. This 'hiding' from the employee cuts both ways. For someone has potential to rise to management level and who is loaded with assignments to test him out, he may not 'rise to the bait' and may view the opportunities as exploitation. This can lead to a dissatisfied employee who eventually exit from the organisation. the organisation loses a valuable staff. The staff loses a great career opportunity. On the other hand, there also lies a possibility that once such information is communicated, a highly rated employee may become complacent and ruin his chances. At the same time, lowly rated employees would lose motivation to strive on.

Cooperation within the department is viewed favourably by the staffs of our unit. It is something which I agree and which my bosses kept emphasizing its importance. One of my boss has always stressed that coming to work is not just to work but also to build social network and to interact with different people. It is good to look forward to coming to work and to meet your friends. This is very apparent in our unit. For eg, my colleague will invite other colleagues and their children to the birthday parties of their kids. We will also get to hear their husband and children's names being peppered in our lunch conversations, such that we do not just know our colleagues, we know about their personal lives as well.

In fact, people who know me will realise that I like to build friendships even with colleagues. Personally, I feel that it is quite sad to know your colleagues only in the work capacity, especially when the time you spend with your colleagues is often much more than even the time you spend with your family. Knowing them in their work capacity is only the beginning and not the end. By knowing them as friends, you will enjoy working with them more and will look forward to meeting them each day. Coming to work then will be a delightful experience.

Hence, do not shy away from me if I want to know you better. This is because I want not just to know you as a colleague, I want to know you as a friend. Although when it comes to work, sometimes it is important to draw a clear line so that things are still being done without spoiling friendship. ;-p