Do you really know what your team feels about working for your firm?

Whilst we may try and get feedback from staff during the year or as part of an appraisal process, it can sometimes be tarnished with them telling us what we think we’d like to hear, as opposed to what they actually feel. Also, some people won’t give honest feedback (warts and all) to you personally for fear this will be held against them in the future.

Your team is likely to be your biggest cost, but also your biggest asset, so if there are issues in your firm, why wouldn’t you want to know these with a view to trying to resolve them?

Across the UK many professional services firms, particularly accountants, struggle with recruiting staff. There just isn’t enough people out there to meet the demands of the profession. So retaining your staff, keeping them satisfied, challenged and motivated is the key to the success of your firm’s future.

Carrying out an anonymous staff survey is a great way of getting your staff to open up and tell it as it really is. Such surveys can be done online or over the phone using third-party researchers.

A staff survey can be used to research many things which could help them as individuals but also help the firm, including:

• Their current levels of job satisfaction and how well the team works together, including with Partners and Directors.
• How well the firm is in training, developing and supporting staff.
• How they think clients would rate the firm across different areas, a great topic if done in conjunction with a client survey asking the same questions.
• What services do they think the firm offers and how confident are they to talk about these to clients and prospects. This can help highlight training needs, but also help to improve client service and cross-selling opportunities.
• How could the firm improve its services or service delivery to clients?

Regardless of what is covered in the staff survey, respondents should be given the opportunity to provide suggestions for improvements, if any are required.

Momentum has recently carried out a staff survey for a firm of accountants which gave a great insight into how the team was feeling. Some of the points raised were a surprise to the Directors, others highlighted what they already knew, but the feedback from the survey spurred them to take action to address some of these issues.

One of the main benefits of doing a staff survey is staff feeling valued. They feel that their bosses are interested in finding out how things could be improved and the survey gives them a vehicle to give candid feedback. Demonstrating that you are listening to staff is one of the most important things you can do as a manager and leader.

Were the staff survey results are positive, this information can be used in future recruitment campaigns to highlight what a great firm you are to work for, based on actual comments made by staff. This can be very powerful in the recruitment space and can help you stand out from your competitors who are also trying to recruit staff – maybe even your staff!

If you’d be interested in finding out what your staff really feel about your firm, we’d be happy to help you plan, implement and/or analyse the survey results for you. For further information contact Vicki Banthorpe on 01822 833300 or email vicki@momentumforprofessionals.co.uk.