Checking for a Healthy Pulse
America's Most Admired Software Company Uses Inquisite to Measure Employee Engagement
"It's the People…"
That is one of the key company values at Intuit (the makers of TurboTax, Quicken and QuickBooks). Today, as the country's most admired software company and consistently one of the 100 best places to work, according to Fortune Magazine's 2007 list of "Best Companies to Work for", between annual employee surveys, Intuit uses Inquisite Survey to assess the engagement of its workforce.
Employee engagement is more important today than it has ever been. It fuels innovation, results in positive customer experiences and boosts retention and satisfaction. Research from the Gallup organization shows that only one-third of American workers are "engaged" in their work, while the remaining two-thirds are either "disengaged" or "actively disengaged" and estimates of lost productivity as a result are in the billions of dollars.
Intuit is a Fortune Most Admired Company because it embraces employee engagement as a core driver of its success. Intuit's "Employee Value Proposition" is a commitment to its people that defines what employees can expect from their leaders. It focuses on the ingredients for an engaged workforce: meaningful work, direct feedback, investment in growth, and a positive work environment. According to Workforce Research program manager Phil Warden, "Measuring the engagement of our employees is a year-round process that goes beyond any single survey. We encourage an ongoing dialogue about the employee experience."
Employee Feedback… Vital Signs
Each year in November, Intuit launches an annual employee survey (AES). The survey consists of 62 questions, including five engagement questions. The following spring, the Inquisite pulse survey tool is launched to measure the impact of action plans implemented as a result of the annual survey. According to Warden, Intuit's pulse survey process seeks to enable leaders to understand "the voice of the employee" — year-round. The pulse survey is launched by the Workforce Research team in coordination with human resource business partners ahead of other company operating mechanisms, such as the high performing organization review and 3 year planning process, so that taking action on the results is embedded in how the organization operates.
Actionable Data... Meaningful Change
Data collected from the annual employee and pulse surveys drives the one- and three-year planning process at Intuit. It also drives meaningful changes. For example, survey data showed that scores for "career development and mobility" were lower than anticipated for three consecutive years. As a result of monitoring this measurement and its impact, Intuit now has dedicated resources to drive the corporate strategy for Talent Management and Career Development. After two years, Warden says there is a growing "career mobility and development mindset in the organization."
The Experience
While Intuit's commitment to employee engagement and the ongoing dialogue it has created with its employees enhances the work experience, the actual survey experience is a positive one as well, according to Warden. Intuit's employees see a difference with Inquisite both as internal survey customers and survey respondents. From a survey customer perspective, Inquisite offers Warden the ability to customize surveys and create a specific look and feel for his business partners. And with the recent addition of Inquisite's Respondent Management Module, surveys can be pre-populated with demographic information, and survey invitations and reminders can be pre-scheduled, delivering a more personalized respondent experience, according to Warden.
Inquisite Chief Executive Officer Arturo Coto said, "Intuit is a great example of the best use of the Inquisite survey system. The company has transformed employee feedback into an ongoing dialogue. It makes significant changes as a result of the data collected, and it seeks to deliver an employee-centric, personalized experience at every touchpoint."
Employee engagement is more than a trend — it is a strategic business inititaive for many companies, such as Intuit. How do you measure employee engagement at your company?
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