Employee Surveys – Retention of Administrative Staff

Often in a down economy, it is easy for a firm to lose sight of the value of their support staff at all levels, particularly those in Executive and Administrative Assistant roles.

Other administrative functions such as reception, mailroom, office services, production, etc., are all ‘must haves’. However, depending on the ‘downsizing’ measures of a firm, if any, the impact is most evident in the Administrative Professionals’ area. I say this because they are the first to witness the loss of, and feel the trepidation of further loss of their respective Managers. Naturally, this loss signifies automatic, and perhaps a significant, decrease in their respective workloads. This assumes of course that these Managers are not being ‘replaced’ with new recruits in the near future.

If a firm is in the ‘downsizing mode’ strictly due to current economic conditions, I feel that it is prudent, as well as imperative, that employees are aware of the firm’s direction, and are encouraged to actively participate by providing their feedback, revenue producing ideas, and cost cutting measures they collectively submit. Perhaps some of the more financially viable and creative ideas could be implemented into the ‘2010 Success Business Plan’ for the firm as well.

It is my belief that firms that take the time to ‘survey’ these administrative groups will postpone or halt the potential for valuable support staff ‘jumping ship’ during tough times, as well as when the economy turns around – which, incidentally, is closer than first thought according to Canadian economists, particularly for British Columbia.

It is a logical conclusion then that employee retention is paramount to a firms proven ability to retain their current valued assets by ensuring they remain content, which is where the ‘satisfaction survey’ comes into play. This is most certainly a more cost effective approach to retaining your ‘stars’, versus going through the time consuming and laborious efforts necessary in replacing this valued talent pool.

Naturally these surveys can be conducted on a ‘confidential’ and ‘anonymous’ basis, in that no name or specific division need be identified during the course of completing this ‘electronic’ survey. These surveys are easily accessible for those firms that do not wish to design them in-house, and are an important part of maintaining, retaining, and achieving a high level of satisfaction amongst staff members throughout the firm.