In a prior article, “The Minimum Requirement for Improving Quality of Hire,” I spoke about the need for determining quality of hire and shared an idea for a short survey to send to the hiring managers.

Well this is really only half the story, because how well we did as a recruiter is not only meeting the needs of the hiring manager, but also meeting the needs of the new employee.

Unless the new employees are happy, they leave and there is turnover or they do not work as hard as they would if they were happy (see “The happy secret to better work“).

I believe the surveys sent to employees should also be very short (5 minutes or less) and do not require any typing (no short answer or essay questions).  The surveys should also be sent every 3 months (like I suggested for the hiring manager surveys).  We want to see what changes over time.

Also, we must be clear with the employee that this is not public information and will not be shared with their managers, and will not be seen by anyone other than the recruiters trying to determine quality of hire.  You must make it clear there will be no blow-back for answering honestly.

So what questions would I ask?  These are my thoughts…

Is the job what you thought it would be?

(Yes or No)

Would you say that you feel comfortable with the culture here?

(1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

Would you say that overall you are very happy here?

(1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

Would you say that you love your job?

(1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

Would you say that you have regrets coming to work here?

(1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

Would you say that you belong here?

(1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

If you could go back in time and knowing what you know now, would you still accept the position?

(Yes or No)

What is your best guess as to the grade you think your manager would give your performance in your position the last 3 months?

(A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F)

What is the grade you would give your own performance in your position the last 3 months?

(A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F)

Would you refer a friend or family member to work here?

(Yes or No)

These questions are to get a quick feel for quality of hire from the employee’s point of view (a quick pulse, so to speak), and you may want to talk to the employee further for details.

This would be in additional to any applicant survey or new hire surveys that go into detail about the pre-employment, the onboarding, and other aspects of recruiting.  This is in addition to any employee engagement surveys you send as well.  This is a short survey that focuses on how the candidate feels he or she is a fit for the job and company.

I do not want to ask if they see how their job contributes to the mission (cause), unless the job was presented from the Why first (see “Why is Missing in Most Job Posts and Initial Conversations“).  Then you would want to measure if they are seeing how their job is impacting the Why and furthering it.  If the answer is “no”, you need to stop presenting the Why first or talk to the manager to get them to communicate this better with their employees.

Of course, there are some engagement and motivation aspects to the survey…but it is not as comprehensive as the annual surveys I have seen companies give to their employees.

If the culture you want is one of safety (see “Why good leaders make you feel safe“), then I would add the following questions as well (but this may be something better suited to larger engagement/satisfaction surveys the company gives):

Would you say that you feel safe / secure within your team here?

(free to make mistakes and without fear of losing your job…also stable job/company)

(1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

Would you say that you feel your manager has your back and best interests in mind?

(1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

This may give you a little information on what the employee thinks of their manager and situation.  Good information to know as a recruiter, so I probably would include it in the 3 month recurring survey because I want timely and consistent feedback for specific departments or groups.

I know companies share with employees the engagement/satisfaction survey results for the company as a whole and/or results within an employee’s department…but we (as recruiters) don’t get to see what the results are for the groups we are recruiting for – which (I think) would be nice to know.

With the information gained from a short survey, we will know the other side of the equation to determining quality of hire.

 

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