By Sue Loukomitis *
The link between a workforce with high morale and good results are plain for all to see. A workforce that is happy and motivated is far more likely to deliver good results over the long term, since lower morale leads to absenteeism and lower performance overall.
One of the best ways to measure morale is to undertake an organisational climate survey. This survey looks at employee attitudes to their work, their relationships with their peers and managers and broader issues such as training and communication.
Managers may feel that they talk to their staff and are well in touch with what is going on, but sometimes there are issues boiling away that are not spoken about – everybody knows something’s not right but don’t quite know how to fix it. A ‘blame’ cycle begins and everyone just feels stuck. By undertaking a climate survey, you get a clear insight into how an organisation feels.
In my experience, doing such a survey well creates an opportunity to discuss issues with staff in an open manner and often provides the impetus to constructively resolve underlying problems.
Many staff are unlikely or unwilling to discuss issues head on with a manager, but an anonymous survey gives an opening for issues to be discussed. In one recent example, a manager received poor feedback from staff about communication. He felt he was doing a good job with regular meetings and he asked staff to tell him if they had any problems with his communication.
The replies came back: “It is the first time that you have ever asked us a question,” and “Most of the time, you just talk.”
The manager made an effort to really listen – not always an easy thing to do when managers feel they ‘ought’ be the ones who have to ‘fix’ everything – and things started to turn around. Organisational climate surveys are a way to open up dialogue and discussion with staff.
Another effective organisational tool is to survey staff with the same satisfaction survey that you send out to the community.
The reasons for doing this are quite strong. First of all, staff are often called upon to be ambassadors for your Local Government. If your staff are not feeling positive about a service, then they are unlikely to speak well about it in the broader community.
If the survey identifies that there are problems in staff perceptions, it is a clear signal that things need to be done.
Organisational climate surveys and service perception surveys are excellent tools for understanding how your organisation works and what steps need to be taken to improve performance.
* Sue Loukomitis is a director of the Auspoll’s Centre for Local Government Research. She can be contacted on (03) 9776 9900 or toll free on 1800 640 817.
