Like a race car without tires

Currently, many companies are investing a lot of time and money in employee surveys, leadership feedback, or 360° feedback. The results are carefully analyzed – by team, by department, by business unit. So far, so good. But then what? 

Unfortunately, I repeatedly see that little to nothing actually happens with the results. And the teams often notice this very clearly: statements such as “I am confident that something will change as a result of the survey findings” are often rated particularly poorly. Employees clearly lack confidence. And rightly so? Unfortunately, I’m afraid the answer is yes. 

Typically, managers are asked to discuss the results with their teams. They’re expected to do this on their own responsibility, often without tracking, and in the most pragmatic way possible. The problem: especially in teams where the results are poor, there is often a lack of either the ability or the willingness to engage in a constructive conversation. And that’s precisely why the results are what they are. So how likely is it that discussing the results in these teams will lead to significant change? Yet that’s the whole point of the exercise, isn’t it? 

It could be done better – for example, by investing in facilitated workshops. If not for all teams, then at least for those performing in the bottom quartile. Often I hear: “That costs money.” 
But let’s be honest: a half-day workshop is not a big investment, but it can have a huge impact. If it prevents even one (yes, one) valuable colleague per quarter from quitting, the financial investment has already more than paid off – not to mention the positive effect on the working environment and company culture. 

Look at it another way: surveys always cost a lot of money – in design, coordination, implementation, and analysis. But if savings are made precisely at the implementation stage, it reminds me of someone who buys a high-end race car but then cuts costs on the tires. Right where the power should hit the road, cuts are made. Honestly – is that smart? 

We at Choreoo are organizational psychologists. We’ve been facilitating such workshops for over 25 years. From experience, we can say: these sessions can make a big difference – especially with struggling teams. 

 So, to all company leaders and HR professionals out there: please make use of your expensive survey results! Do something with them. Change the internal work environment, step by step – in small ways, directly within the teams. Because this is exactly where everything begins or ends – everything that is developed higher up in the organization in terms of strategy and future vision. Your internal or external experts can help.