Poll: Do you think employee opinion surveys are worthwhile?

Some say they’re useful for employers. Others think they don’t reflect issues that may be affecting workers.

By Conor McMahon Deputy editor, Fora

HR MANAGERS AND employers often rely on employee opinion surveys to gauge overall worker satisfaction on a variety of issues.

But, in a column published by Fora, the head of campaigns and industrial relations at the Financial Services Union, Gareth Murphy, suggested that such reviews are a major waste of time for everyone involved.

He argued that they don’t serve employees or their bosses well, mainly because they can create a sort of positive feedback loop and don’t fully explore the issues that may be affecting workers.

However, writing for Harvard Business Review, Facebook’s head of people analytics, Scott Judd, disagreed.

Judd argued that comments made through employee opinion surveys often serve as the starting gun for positive changes in the workplace, which helps staff.

He also suggested that they provide a good indication of staff turnover rates for employers: for example, people who don’t complete either of Facebook’s twice annual surveys are much more likely to leave the company within six months.

With that in mind, we’re asking Fora readers this week: Do you think employee opinion surveys are worthwhile?