Employee Survey Industry Expertise

Manufacturing Organizations

One of the universal challenges facing manufacturing organizations throughout the world is to harness the experience of employees in the interest of continuous improvement and operational efficiency. Reducing scrap, shortening cycle-time and ensuring that employees are properly trained are issues that require constant attention in manufacturing environments. The sheer number of employees in any one plant often makes it difficult to obtain systematic and unbiased input from the entire group in any other way than through an employee survey. Stanard’s employee opinion surveys serve as a basic communication tool, one which keeps the lines of communication open throughout all levels of the facility.

It is important that managers and employees see eye-to-eye on a company’s direction, policies and procedures and work processes. If they don’t, the animosity that can result can be unproductive. Stanard has found that more satisfied employees are less likely to withdraw from the organization in one form or another. For example, more satisfied employees are more likely to report to work, more likely to stay with the company and more likely to have harmonious relationship with co-workers and management.

From a labor relations standpoint, monitoring all work groups to determine if they are satisfied with their work environment is an organizational imperative. For instance, it has been documented that in unionized facilities, grievance filings can be drastically reduced when employees perceive that management is fair and treats them with respect and dignity.

Since maintaining positive labor relations is particularly important for manufacturing companies, Stanard provides added value through its Labor Relations Report that helps pinpoint the work groups requiring immediate attention, and identifies some of the key issues within the work group that could lead to labor unrest. These labor reports comprise items that are key to maintaining effective employees relations, such as managerial fairness, compensation and workplace safety; then, a labor relations index score is calculated for each work group. Proactive companies can use this tool as another means to sustain and strengthen relations with employees.

Stanard & Associates, Inc. is proud to list many successful and respected manufacturers, such as Accuride, Brown & Sharpe Precision Manufacturing, Cooper Industries, Dana Corporation, Federal-Mogul, Gates Rubber Company, General Instrument (now Motorola), Sharp Electronics Corporation and Tenneco Automotive in its client portfolio. Many of these clients have benefited from last time/this time comparisons, which can be produced once a company repeats the survey process.

Service Organizations

Success in a service-oriented economy demands more than product quality. It also demands that you see to it that your customers are completely satisfied with the experience they have with your employees. Your employees should be focused on delivering the high quality of service necessary to achieve complete customer satisfaction. In service companies, employees are the common thread underlying all facets of your organization’s success. Whether it is creating new products or services, working behind the scenes in company operations or serving as the contact point for the customer, all employees are linked to those who use your products and services. If any part of this chain fails to provide the service or support necessary to attract and retain clients, the organization can lose effectiveness and viability. The good news is that the power to make organizational improvements is in your control, and most often all you need is a little guidance.

One of the way to enhance employee customer orientation and customer satisfaction is through information obtained in organizational surveys. Companies are increasingly recognizing the potential of surveys as a powerful tool to help them make strides in these areas. Stanard creates surveys that provide management with objective information about how employees feel about their work environment and that pinpoint how an organization’s customers feel about its products and services. Through the use of linkage analysis, we can analyze information from employees and customers to identify which employee attitudes are most related to customer satisfaction. In today’s competitive marketplace, this information is invaluable in helping an organization orient its employees to the expectations and requirements of its customers. This can create a sense of customer loyalty that enables a company to reap the benefits of repeat business and increase its customer base.

The information obtained from employees and customer surveys is undeniably beneficial in and of itself. However, more and more companies are making a greater effort to use surveys to realize their strategic objectives. Managers are starting to understand how employees attitudes relate to customer loyalty.