"I NEVER PLAY FAVORITES"

Most managers view themselves as being fair and believe they don’t show favoritism. In our survey, we ask employees whether they agree with the statement, “My manager does not play favorites.”

a. 58%
b. 68%
c. 78%
d. 88%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

“THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH” – ELVIS PRESLEY

The King of Rock & Roll was famous for showing his appreciation, even when he gave me his autograph in 1957. (I still have it.) He didn’t need to show appreciation to me, I needed to show it to him.

Many managers don’t believe they need to show appreciation to their employees. What percentage of employees agree with the statement, “My supervisor tells me when I do a good job?”

a. 52%
b. 62%
c. 72%
d. 82%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"TRAINING – THE GREAT DISCONNECT"

Providing quality training so that employees can do their job well is a basic ingredient for organizational success. As a result, everyone agrees that training is extremely important to the employee, their co-workers, customers and the Company. With that said, what average percentage favorable rating do you think we receive to the question, “Does your supervisor see that employees get the proper training?”

a. 54%
b. 64%
c. 74%
d. 84%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"SHOW ME THE MONEY"

Do you have any employees earning more than the job is worth? Do you have new employees starting at higher pay rates than employees who have been in the same job for a few years? Employees react more negatively to being paid unfairly compared to co-workers than to the pay rates offered by other companies. On our survey one compensation related question is “As far as you know, are you paid fairly compared to others in your department?” What do you think is the average percentage favorable response?

a. 51%
b. 61%
c. 71%
d. 81%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"YOUR REPUTATION IS ALL YOU HAVE"

How would your employees rate the reputation of your Company in the community? On our survey we ask, “Does the Company have a good name in the community?” What do you think is the average percentage favorable response?

a. 62%
b. 72%
c. 82%
d. 92%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"HAVE YOU CHECKED THE RESTROOM LATELY?"

The employee restroom speaks volumes about the Company. A dirty restroom typically indicates that management does not care about the employees and employees don’t respect the Company. We ask employees, “Are the restrooms, lunch rooms, etc. kept clean?” What do you think is the percentage favorable rating to this question?

a. 51%
b. 61%
c. 71%
d. 81%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT"

Through the years quite a few professors and consultants have written articles about the need to enrich jobs. From their studies or perspective they claim that many American workers do not like their job. Our survey asks employees and supervisors the question, “Do you like your job?” So, what do you think is the percentage favorable response to this question?

a. 56%

b. 66%

c. 76%

d. 86%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"TEAMWORK, TEAMWORK, TEAMWORK"

One of the most frequently used words in sports and business must be teamwork. Greater success or more victories can be achieved if we play or work together as a team. So what do you think is the rating to one of our Employee Opinion Survey questions regarding teamwork, “Is there good cooperation between departments?”

a. 55%
b. 65%
c. 75%
d. 85%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY"

America is a land of opportunity, and in the business world, many employees take a job with the hope that it will lead to an even better job within the Company. Yet, the data we collected from forty years of Employee Opinion Surveys indicates that employees consistently give negative ratings to the question, “Do you have a good opportunity to move up in the Company to a higher rated job?”

What percentage of employees surveyed believed they had a good opportunity for a promotion? Do you think it is . . .

a. 34%
b. 44%
c. 54%
d. 64%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

"WE'LL LOOK INTO IT"

“Engage” and “involve” are two words repeatedly used by executives, consultants and other business leaders to describe what management should be doing with their employees. Yet during the past 40 years the results of our Employee Opinion Surveys have shown little variation in the rating to the question, "Do you believe your suggestions are listened to?” What percentage of employees surveyed believed their suggestions were listened to?

a. 47%
b. 57 %
c. 67%
d. 77%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.

“YOUR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR IS THE COMPANY”

2011 begins my 40th year as a management consultant. (I began my career when I was very young so that has allowed me time to learn about management and consulting.) One of the consulting services I have provided hundreds of clients in various industries has been our Employee Opinion Survey. Through the survey process I have developed a better understanding of the attitudes of over a million employees and supervisors. This is the first of a series of articles that share a few of my thoughts.

Richard Reinhardt, Vice President

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Whether you are in upper management or an hourly employee, the leadership ability of the person to whom you directly report is a major contributor to your job satisfaction. If your supervisor cares about you, listens, provides positive and negative feedback in a proper way, supports you when you need help, etc., then the Company is a good place to work. Conversely, if you work for someone who treats you with disrespect, then regardless of the pay, benefits and working conditions your attitude toward your work and Company will be negative.

Therefore, top management needs to focus more attention on improving the performance and attitudes of all managers, especially front-line supervisors. One way is to make sure they are well informed and too often they are not. For instance, we ask supervisors “Do you usually receive information about Company plans and changes before your employees?” The percentage that respond to this question favorably is:

a. 67%
b. 73%
c. 79%
d. 86%

Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.