As an HR professional, you are probably interested in the state of the culture and climate (engagement, satisfaction, commitment, psychological safety...) in your organization. You may already be using internal surveys to measure these constructs, but they probably take a lot of time to prepare and interpret.
You've probably seen various measurement providers on the market, but you may be wondering if and how they can really make your process easier.
Read:
- How to shorten the measurement time and get more objective data?
- How to ensure comparable data?
- How to transform data into actions?
How to shorten the measurement time and get more objective data?
Just like you, many of our clients used internal surveys to measure organizational climate and culture prior to Quantifly. Although internal analysis can be useful, it tends to take a lot of time and resources. Also, it is often less comprehensive, and problems may arise in the interpretation itself.
Roko Malkoč, Business Unit Director at Better Meds (Better), pointed out that as an advantage of external contractors, he liked that our team took all the responsibility and that, as a result, they did not have many additional tasks during the analysis itself.
Another problem with internal surveys is related to the objectivity of the questionnaires themselves, as well as the objectivity of the interpretation. We can often be biased when composing questionnaires, because we already anticipate what will turn out to be the biggest problem.
We can also be subjective when interpreting the results themselves, as we want to confirm our expectations. Here, cooperation with an external contractor can allow the data to be interpreted objectively, and it also usually provides us with a more holistic insight into the organizational culture and climate.
By working with external contractors, you will gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that affect your team's performance. With the help of an in-depth analysis of key personnel metrics and the organizational network, you will be able to propose solutions that will contribute to more efficient and successful work.
This was also the experience of Andrea Pulević, Head of HR at Gamanza Services: "Before that, we carried out an internal analysis, but it was not as thorough as Quantifly's analysis. We did not gain enough in-depth knowledge of what is actually happening in the company. But with Quantifly we managed to gain this insight.".
Often, in internal analyses, there is also concern that employees are not being completely honest. They know who will interpret the data and they are afraid that their answers will be recognized.
In the event that the analysis is carried out by someone from outside, anonymity is guaranteed in most cases already during the data capture. Specific comments of employees are summarized and placed in context in such a way that the author of the comment cannot be recognized.
Janez Zadravec highlighted anonymity as one of the advantages of our analysis. He always had the feeling that there was a distance between him and the employees at the annual interviews. It also seemed to him that they didn't always dare to say things that bothered them. To sum up his words: "This questionnaire made that a non-issue."
Despite all the advantages of holistic analysis and diagnostics that services like Quantifly can offer, the transition to an external contractor is often delayed due to the desire to monitor the trend in changes in satisfaction, engagement and other HR metrics.
How to ensure comparable data?
To monitor the trend or to compare different measurements over time, it is important that the measurement methodology remains the same. Therefore, it is completely justified to think about how you will compare the results of internal analysis with the results of new, external analysis.
However, it is important to emphasize that organizational diagnostics is not only a substitute, but an upgrade of internal surveys of satisfaction, engagement and other classic HR metrics.
An important part of this upgrade is the analysis of the organizational network or dynamics in teams. Rebeka Tramšek, Head of HR at Elpro Križnič, highlighted the usefulness of information about communication between individuals: "I really like the display of communication between individuals – who are the ones who have the greatest social power, who communicate with the most others. You don't get that with other tools."
Combining information about culture and climate with information about dynamics (e.g. frequency of collaboration, flow of communication and giving instructions) and structure (e.g. distribution of team roles, discrepancies in perceived workload, identified key employees and employees with the most potential) allows us to more accurately diagnose causes of the suboptimal situation.
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David Črešlovnik, Managing Director at Ceneje, also expressed enthusiasm for such in-depth analysis: "They helped us understand why we have some problems and what we can do about them."
You can therefore combine the results of past internal satisfaction and engagement surveys with the results of comprehensive organizational diagnostics.
At the same time, after several measurements, you can eventually switch to trend monitoring based on Quantifly analysis alone, reducing the amount of work for the internal HR team. The help of external partners also enables measurements to be more frequent and trends to be clearer, without significantly increasing the work of the internal HR team.
As Rebeka Tramšek said, regular measurements also make sense when using Quantifly: "Repeating the analysis definitely makes sense to see if we actually changed what we wanted to change with the measures."
Peter Marc, CEO at Parcom, pointed out that he would like to repeat the analysis in 6 to 9 months, in order to see in the short term whether the goals they set for themselves really helped them be more successful.
Because we are aware of the importance of regular monitoring of progress, we often agree on long-term cooperation with clients. The initial measurement is thus followed by the planning and implementation of the intervention. During the implementation of the intervention, we can monitor whether we are moving in the desired direction with regular but short (these pulse) surveys. At the end of the test period, we repeat a more extensive analysis and evaluate the performance. If the change was not achieved or did not have the desired effects, the selected intervention is adjusted. If the desired change has occurred, the next intervention is planned to improve other areas.
Last but not least, when monitoring progress, it is worth mentioning the usefulness of an external, more objective view of the situation (and possible causes of stagnation). Especially in organizations where a lot of effort and resources are invested in achieving change, expectations of a positive effect can lead to confirmation bias in the interpretation of results, which can lead to an overestimation of the effectiveness of interventions.
However, analyzing and monitoring trends alone is not enough. In order to justify cooperation with an external contractor in this area, it is necessary to put the findings and guidelines into practice.
How to put the findings into practice?
It has probably happened to you that you performed an analysis or received analysis data, but no change occurred. The reason for this is often the lack of time and resources, often also the absence of professional help in implementing more complex measures, but sometimes we just lack someone from the outside who encourages us and reminds us of the set goals.
As said by dr. Eva Boštjančič, our mentor and full professor of organizational psychology at the University of Ljubljana, believes that organizational diagnostics is a necessary starting point: "We need organizational diagnostics especially in situations when we lose our compass -- we don't know where and how to proceed. In fact, we need it on at least a half-yearly basis – to look in the mirror, or to see where we still have opportunities in the work organization, where there are cracks and where there are still gaps."
Tina Troha, our partner and expert in establishing an advanced HR function, also adds the importance of correct action based on the findings: "In the absence of organizational diagnostics and incorrect action, greater turnover, presenteeism, absenteeism, etc. occur. The company loses its compass, which sooner rather than later results in poor business results."
We are also aware of this at Quantifly. That's why we actively include specialists from individual HR areas in our process, who participate in identifying the necessary changes, and if you wish, they can also help you choose the approach that best fits your organization, warn you of potential obstacles, or guide you through the entire implementation process. Later, of course, they also help you regularly monitor the impact of these changes on your organization.
An example of good practice is the company Elpro Križnič, where they already cooperate with Matic Kadliček. As Rebeka Tramšek said, with the help of Quantily analysis, they defined the necessary organizational measures even more precisely and set specific activities for the future. "We got an insight into the differences between the departments. This gave me the knowledge for the future, that I know that I cannot implement some things in the same way in the entire company.". She also said that the data will be used in the planning of activities for the next year in the field of employee development.
By involving experts in translating findings into practice, you can ensure that changes are implemented effectively, and have a positive long-term impact on your organisation.
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Conclusion
Every change brings with it certain doubts and concerns. It is no different when we decide whether, instead of internal analysis, we would rather try one of the providers on the market.
Despite the fact that external experts can often shorten the measurement process itself and provide us with more objective data, there are still concerns regarding data comparability and the transfer of these results into practice.
This is precisely why we at Quantifly have decided that we want a long-term cooperation with our clients, thus ensuring the possibility of repeating the measurement in the time range that suits the customers best. In the meantime, we additionally offer the option of pulse surveys.
To ensure that the analyses are not an end in themselves, we also actively involve HR specialists to help and support our clients in implementing changes and to ensure that these changes have the desired impact.
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