The Climb to Employee Satisfaction by Cassie Studler If one were to Google the term “employee satisfaction,” they would discover a wide variety of definitions. But there is one phrase that seems to be consistent in each definition: “multi-faceted.” Employee satisfaction is a multi-faceted concept because there are many aspects of a job that contribute to its satisfaction level. Furthermore, each employee likely has a different definition of what employee satisfaction means to them. For example, Mary in marketing may rate her employee satisfaction based on her physical work environment, the training she receives, and her benefits, while Chasz in communications may focus more on his relationship with his supervisor, his salary, and the opportunity for growth within the organization. So the question becomes, how does an organization determine which aspects of an individual’s job most affect their satisfaction level? Answering this question is imperative to ensure that an organization’s employees are satisfied.
94% of employees at winning companies are satisfied with their employer.
91% of employees at winning companies would recommend working there to a friend.
Ideally, an organization would first take a qualitative approach by consulting with its staff to define employee satisfaction. In other words: give individuals in the organization the opportunity to express openly what they need from their job and from the organization in order to be satisfied. This step gives everyone in the organization an opportunity to identify aspects of employee satisfaction that are important to them and that they feel should be measured in a quantitative survey. This can be done in a group setting or during an individual discussion, depending on the size of the organization and how much time is being devoted to the survey. Now, you may be thinking, “what about the organization with hundreds, or even thousands, of employees?” This is a great question. It is slightly unrealistic to think that a very large organization can sit down with each and every employee. In this case, it is more realistic to encourage each department supervisor to meet with a handful of their employees who represent different roles within the department to gain a better understanding of what individuals in particular roles are looking for from the organization. This way, the supervisor can speak on behalf of their individual employees so that the organization is aware of the satisfaction aspects that need to be reflected in the survey.
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