5 Engagement Survey Questions Millennial Employees Crave

By Natalie Hackbarth

culled from:http://www.quantumworkplace.com
Let’s talk about millennials in the workplace. [Sigh]

As a millennial in the workplace myself…I’m tired of hearing about millennials in the workplace. Articles, blogs, and research studies that claim to have “figured out” my generation filter into my inbox everyday. [Insert eye roll] But for whatever reason, a few key pieces managed to capture my attention, and I read up on the topic. And because I absolutely hate the fact that I’ve been sorted into a stereotypical bucket based on the year I was born (and because just like everyone else—I think I’m unique), I cringe when I write the following: the findings aren’t completely off base.

We millennials are different, especially when it comes to the workplace. We have different expectations, motivators, and engagement drivers than our Gen X predecessors. It’s time for employers to evolve—and it starts with an employee engagement survey. Ask millennials for feedback. Address their wants and needs. And leverage your employee survey for better change management. I’ll help you get started.

Below are five employee engagement survey questions you should be asking your millennial employees—AND what you can do with their answers.

1. I see professional growth and career development opportunities for myself in this organization. (6-point Likert)

Professional growth and career development opportunities is the number one engagement driver for millennial employees, according to the 2014 Employee Engagement Trends Report. Meaning, when millennials are satisfied with their professional growth and career development opportunities, they are more likely to be engaged and less likely to job hop. Furthermore, recent recognition research found that millennials prefer growth opportunities to a promotion, a cash bonus, additional time off, and even workplace flexibility.

How to Take Action: If your millennial employees disagree with the above statement, your organization is at risk of being another stepping-stone on a career-seeking millennial’s path to success. Retain your millennials by communicating—help them see what their professional growth at your organization will look like. Discuss their professional growth and career development opportunities upon hire, during monthly manager-employee GOOD sessions, and at end-of-year reviews.

2. There is open and honest communication between managers and employees. (6-point Likert)

Honesty is the best policy—especially when it comes to managing and leading millennials. According to a recent Millennial Branding research study, more than half of millennials surveyed said that honesty was the most important quality of being a good leader. So when it comes to engaging and retaining millennials, open and honest communication between them and their managers is a must.

How to Take Action: You’ve already taken the first step to foster open and honest communication with your millennial employees—you’ve asked for honest feedback. Once you’ve had a chance to review the survey responses, openly communicate with your employees by sharing the results and any action steps you plan to take.

3. What two or three things could the company do to help you better manage your work-life balance? (Open-ended)

Almost half of millennials will choose workplace flexibility over pay, according to the Forbes article, “Why Millennials are Ending the 9 to 5.” From telecommuting and crowdsourcing to reliance on the gig economy and freelancing, the traditional workplace is changing—with millennials leading the front.

How to Take Action: When you ask an open-ended question about employees’ work-life balance, you get more than just a gauge of their satisfaction—you get qualitative data on how to take action. While it may not be plausible to implement all employee suggestions, try to meet them halfway. Let them know you’ve heard their feedback by conducting employee focus groups to determine reasonable and engaging solutions.

4. Our organization uses available resources at its disposal to positively impact the community. (6-point Likert)

According to NetworkforGood’s ebook, Engaging Millennial Employees, those lazy, entitled, selfish, and shallow Gen Y employees (Joel Stein’s words, not mine) really care about the community. The ebook references a recent Cone study that found that millennials aspire to support local and global causes, including education, poverty, the environment, and health and disease. Futhermore, they believe in and engage with companies that are aligned with charity. The ebook states, “83 percent of millennials trust socially responsible companies, and 74 percent are more likely to pay attention to that company’s messaging because of its deep cause commitment.”

How to Take Action: If community involvement and supporting local causes is important to your employees, your organization needs to address it. Include the above item on your next survey and you’ll show employees that what matters to them matters to the organization. If your employees select anything from somewhat disagree to strongly disagree, include an automatic drop down comment box asking for suggestions on how your organization can improve on the item.

5. Our company provides a culture in which I can thrive.
(6-point Likert)

The lines between work life and personal life are becoming blurred—and millennials like it. Forbes referenced an MTV study that found that 93 percent of millennials want a job where they can be themselves at work. Furthermore, an article in the Chicago Tribune stated that most millennials leave a company because they don’t consider it a good culture fit. It’s obvious that culture-fit is extremely important. (So important to us, in fact, that we have a page on our site dedicated to it.) Employees of all ages need an environment in which they can thrive—both personally and professionally.

How to Take Action: Finding and attracting employees that fit into your company culture is extremely important during the hiring process—but it doesn’t stop there. Employees, and the cultures they thrive in, are ever changing. Use your employee engagement survey to ask for individual feedback on how employees think they fit within your company’s culture. When a red flag arises, address it immediately by scheduling manager-employee meetings, conducting employee focus groups, or organizing an employee culture committee.