Measuring job satisfaction can be done through surveys, interviews, and performance goal tracking. The method used depends on the complexity of the underlying issues. Surveys are common and should be customized, while interviews are useful for sophisticated issues. Performance goal tracking provides indirect data. Companies should collect qualitative and quantitative data to gain deeper insight. High job satisfaction leads to increased productivity and lower costs.
Different methods of measuring job satisfaction include using surveys, interviewing employees, and tracking performance goals. Determining which method to use depends on the level of complexity or underlying issues that the firm believes are causing the dissatisfaction. If she suspects employees don’t trust her managers, for example, an anonymous survey may be more helpful than having management conduct one-on-one interviews. In situations where the company believes the underlying problem is complex, interviews may be more appropriate to understand the scope of the problem.
Surveys are a common method of measuring job satisfaction. A survey can assess satisfaction in the areas of pay, promotion, supervision, duties and employees. While standard surveys are available to businesses, a custom survey tailored to your needs and industry may be more effective. Surveys with most of the questions in multiple-choice format are generally preferred, so that responses can be compared and analyzed more easily. Employees who are allowed to remain anonymous are more likely to be more open and honest with their responses since they won’t feel pressure or fear of repercussions.
Interviewing employees as a way to measure job satisfaction is especially useful in organizations that have positive employee relationships and believe the issue is too sophisticated to be captured in a survey. If employees don’t trust the organization or the interviewer, however, the answers may not be entirely honest. Companies with low job satisfaction or employees who fear being let go may find employees reluctant to discuss the situation as they may fear it could negatively affect them in the future. The questions asked should be standardized in order to compare different employee responses and the same employee responses over time.
Performance goal tracking is a method of measuring job satisfaction that requires a company to be an active observer. Under this method, management monitors employee satisfaction using standard criteria, such as achievement of bonuses, participation in optional programs, and performance in meeting goals. This method provides indirect data on job satisfaction levels. While it can signal to management that there is a problem with job satisfaction, combining it with a survey or interview can provide the company with deeper insight into the cause of low job satisfaction levels.
Companies with high levels of job satisfaction tend to experience a decline in employee numbers, higher productivity and lower overall costs. Whatever method or methods are used to measure job satisfaction, the company should collect qualitative and quantitative data. This puts the data in a format that’s easier to parse and compare. For example, when interviewing employees, the interviewer may mix simple questions that result in “yes” or “no” answers or ratings on a scale of one to five.
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