By Paula Santonocito, AIRS Staff Writer
Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch was famous for his line, "How'm I doing?" He'd ask the question of his constituents in a city where people have no trouble speaking their minds. Koch said it was his intent to get feedback from the people he served. Regardless of his successes or failures as mayor, there's a lesson to be learned from Ed Koch: if you really want to know, you need to ask the question.
In today's job market, as people scramble for candidates and engage in competitive tactics, it may be time to ask the people you employ, "How'm I doing?"
It's Not So Lonely at the Top
The Container Store does just that. A relatively small, privately-held Dallas-based retailer, the company has the distinction of occupying the number one position on this year's list of the Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For in America." With 1999 sales at $214 million, 21 store locations, and approximately 5,000 employees, including seasonal workers, The Container Store attributes its success to many factors. "We are the nation's leading retailer of storage and organization products," says Audrey Keymer, public relations supervisor. "We offer solutions to save people time. We have amazing products."
Customer Service, Employee Focus
But, in addition to being focused on its customers, The Container Store is also focused on its employees. This has resulted in a loyal workforce. "We have such a low turnover, 15 to 20 percent, which is a very low turnover for retail. The average is around 100 percent," says Keymer.
According to Keymer, this is due in part to the employee survey process. "On an annual basis we administer a benefits survey to get feedback from employees," she says. "We're constantly trying to improve things, and we're listening to our employees."
Feedback Generates Change
Recent changes at The Container Store have included the addition of another holiday, the availability of medical benefits for part-time employees, and an increase in company-paid maternity leave. Keymer cites these changes as direct results of the benefits survey. In addition, she says, the vacation policy was recently amended. In order to obtain three weeks vacation, an employee previously needed five years of service. Three weeks vacation is now available after three years.
Employees Gain a Wider Audience
The benefits survey used by The Container Store is an in-house document created by the company's human resources department. The annual survey, which began approximately five years ago, has evolved each year. This year the employees' comments also gained a wider audience. "Something new that we did this year was our HR department actually sat with Garrett [Boone] and Kip [Tindell], our founders and CEO and president, and went over the requests that employees had. And they made a decision together, our HR department and our owners, on how to proceed with new benefits," says Keymer.
Not Just an Annual Event
While the benefits survey is a formal method of gathering information, seeking employee input is a regular occurrence at The Container Store. "It's an ongoing process, finding out ways we can better serve our employees," Keymer says.
Employee surveys are not a new idea. In decades past, exit interviews, which often included survey forms, were common at most large companies. But while surveying departing employees was the norm, surveying current staff members was not. However, for dynamic companies wishing to compete in a difficult job market, the time to ask the questions is now, not when employees have their hands on the door. While Fortune's "Best Company to Work For" administers an annual benefits survey, The Container Store has no formal exit interview.
Throw Away That Exit Interview
How is your organization doing? Do you know? The issue is not one that can be shrugged off, as retention is key to the recruitment dilemma. There are additional benefits to keeping employees happy, besides just keeping them. Shiny, happy employees make great spokespeople for your organization. Such people are likely to refer candidates, either directly or indirectly.
Start Simple; Keep it Meaningful
Your initial employee survey need not be an all-inclusive effort. According to Keymer, The Container Store's document began with three to four questions and has gotten a lot longer over the years; the survey also gets modified on an annual basis. Starting simple is advisable from the standpoint of both the employees and the survey administrators. Remember that the goal of the survey is to acquire, compile and review meaningful data.
Let the Experts Get You Started
If your organization lacks the time, resources or experience to conduct a survey or assessment, let the online experts help you. There are great tools available on the Web to assist the entire survey process. Many offer templates for you to choose from, while still allowing you to customize the questions you wish to ask your employees. You can utilize your email and Internet to deploy your survey, eliminating the need to distribute and collect paper. Many of these services are free, but some of the more advanced packages involve a cost.
Zoomerang
A visit to Zoomerang.com can provide assistance with regard to the entire survey process. Zoomerang, a division of MarketTools, offers a relatively effortless way to create customized surveys. Numerous survey categories include:
There are also two "Customer Satisfaction" surveys: a "Brief" and "In-depth" version.
With over 100 templates that can be easily modified, Zoomerang provides a springboard of options. Questions allow for "Yes" or "No," "Multiple Choice," and "Comments" as answer categories.
Distribution, Tabulation, Evaluation
Once a survey has been created, Zoomerang then provides the means for it to be distributed. Again, there are choices. A survey can be deployed using an individual's own list of email addresses, addresses supplied by Zoomerang, and/or the survey can be made available via a Web site link. Because Zoomerang helps tailor everything, including a Web greeting to introduce the survey and incentives for potential respondents, it's an efficient way to enter into the survey process. In addition, Zoomerang provides survey management tools which allow for, among other things, the tabulation of survey results, thereby expediting evaluation.
Although Zoomerang offers many of its basic services for free, there are charges associated with more sophisticated customization and reporting. An "Advanced Features Package," which allows for uploading logo images, more complex tabulating of responses, and other enhancements, is available for an annual fee of $199.
Test Drive It
To preview a sample survey, at the home page, under the "What Is Zoomerang?" heading, select "Test Drive Zoomerang." This leads to a page where a survey template can be created. On this page, under the category "Latest Survey Ideas," is a survey entitled "Benefits Satisfaction Survey." This survey is representative of the Zoomerang HR product.
On the same page there is also a heading "How to Build Better Surveys." It includes some valuable pointers for the first-time, and even the seasoned, survey creator.
And the Answer is...
Whether after a test drive you choose Zoomerang or another Web-based service, or decide to chug along in your own Model Q... it's time to take it to the streets, or at least to the corridors of your company. "How'm I doing?" might very well turn out to be a revealing question as you campaign to keep your employees and recruit others.
-- Paula Santonocito is a writer and communications professional who has written about a variety of business and management issues and is now a contributor to AIRS research. This article is reprinted by permission from AIRS, a global leader in Internet recruitment, tools, news and information. For more information on AIRS, please go to: http://www.CollegeRecruiter.com/pages/airs.php. Copyright © Hanover Capital Management Corporation 1997-2001. All Rights Reserved.
