Solutions to workplace frustrations in sight

MEDIA RELEASE

July 24, 2013

Solutions to workplace frustrations in sight

Sick of sharing your work frustrations when they fall on deaf ears? Feeling like you give plenty of feedback but it never gets through? Wondering if it’s worth bothering? Here’s your chance to get to the end game of how to engage people in your workplace more quickly – be they managers or employees.

The Great New Zealand Employment Survey®, conducted by Clarian HR in partnership with Massey University, opens tomorrow and gives people the opportunity to anonymously have their say on what their workplace is really like, and often highlights how people’s perceptions differ within the same organisation.

“This survey differs from an engagement survey in that it goes behind the well-known drivers of engagement and identifies the action plan. We want to provide information that creates a greater understanding of what managers can actually do on a daily basis to engage their staff. With an understanding of the gap in perception between managers and employees, we are able to uncover practical solutions that can help them address what’s causing these different perceptions,” says Clarian Chief Executive Officer Clare Parkes.

This year, The Great New Zealand Employment Survey’s® fifth, people will also be asked questions relating to organisational and individual resilience. Since the global financial crisis, change has become the new normal; have organisations and their people become more or less resilient as a result of the uncertainty and changes experienced?

Greater access to new technology also means people have more ability to take their work home with them, and this year the survey explores whether staff feel this is an added pressure, and is it really desirable to have staff working at home, in their car, in a cafe or even potentially while watching children’s sport?

The difference with The Great New Zealand Employment Survey® is that it brings together all the necessary benchmark data needed to understand the world of work in New Zealand from both points of view. It opens across the country online tomorrow, July 25.

The survey includes results from across the country, and from the broadest range of industries - from agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, construction, retail trade, IT, financial services and administration to education and healthcare.

For the second year Massey University is the analytical and research partner for the survey, supporting the Clarian team in identifying connections, as well as causes and solutions to issues raised by the survey.

“Massey’s input is invaluable and allows for debate around the findings with leaders of all businesses. The survey provides insightful results each year, allowing our clients to reflect on how they can make changes that align with their strategic goals and the feedback from employees, and that increases engagement and the opportunity for success in the ongoing complex world of business,” Ms Parkes says.

Associate Professor Jane Parker, of the School of Management and a member of the steering group, says Massey brings a range of expertise to the survey.

“The Great New Zealand Employment Survey® is a highly-regarded study and we are delighted to continue our association with the Clarian team. Having enhanced the survey this year, we are looking forward to seeing the results and identifying ways to support NZ businesses in engaging with their people to drive superior business results.

“The Massey team are excited that the inclusion of organisational and individual resilience is included this year as we believe this is a unique construct not yet tested, that has significant impact on levels of engagement. With the drivers of engagement already well researched, we believe The Great New Zealand Employment Survey® brings a new and more actionable data set.

“We see this partnership with Clarian as two progressive organisations committed to improving the understanding of issues affecting the New Zealand workforce,” says Ms Parker.

Anyone who is a manager or employee can participate in The Great New Zealand Employment Survey, and those who respond will be able to have the anonymous results sent directly to them. The survey is open to the New Zealand public from July 25 and can be completed by going to the website https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Gr8NZES2013 .

ENDS

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