Seven Ways To Increase

Employee Satisfaction
Without Giving A Raise
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A few years ago when employees became

dissatisfied with their organization they would quit and get another job. Today, with placement
opportunities very low and unemployment extremely high, very few people opt to quit and leave.
As a result something much worse is happening within organizations. Employees quit, but they
stay. In the last year, overall job satisfaction in the U.S. has declined significantly. Employees feel
stuck in their current jobs and their dissatisfaction with the organizations they work for increases.

However, not all organizations are experiencing these

dismal results. A recent assessment of employee
satisfaction by one of our clients showed a significant
improvement over past years, though this company
was not immune to the effects of the recession.
Examination of the data showed 7 factors that
created this positive increase in their satisfaction, even
during the economys poorest times.
1. Consistent Values. In some organizations,
employees observe that core values appear to be
abandoned when the economy is poor. Leadership
values seemed to apply in good times, but to dwindle
or even disappear during stress. This organization,
however, held tightly to its core values as the economy
turned. Employees began to more fully appreciate

those values as well when they saw what was

happening in other companies during difficult times.
2. Long Term Focus. This company clearly saw the
recession as a temporary problem, and maintained its
focus on the longterm objectives. The recession had a
significant impact on the longterm objectives, but it
created new opportunities as well. Employees dont
mind going through difficult times when they believe
there is a brighter future ahead.
3. Local Leadership. company recognized that the
major source of satisfaction or dissatisfaction came
from what happen in each work group. Every manager
and supervisor received a clear assessment of the
satisfaction of their employees and was challenged to
find opportunities to improve.
4. Continuous Communication. People tend to
communicate less during bad times, when in actuality,
they need to communicate even more. This company
increased its efforts to communicate and share
important information. If there was no good news to
share, they would share the reality of their current
situation.
5. Collaboration. Groups made significant
improvements in their ability to share resources and
work together. This reduced costs and increased
efficiency.
6. Opportunities for Development. Because the
pace of work was slower, people had the opportunity
to learn new skills and develop new capabilities. This
organization took advantage of the slower time by
challenging employees with stretch job assignments.
They also increased formal training.
7. Speed and Agility. With less budget, everyone
saw the need to move quickly and take advantage of
opportunities in the marketplace. Speed of decision
was emphasized.

Clearly, it is a fallacy to assume that bad times equate

to lower job satisfaction. As our research illustrates, it
is simply not true. The organization we described
made significant gains in satisfaction and
commitment during one of the worst financial times in
history by doing the right things, and doing them well.
These improvements helped the company create
substantial financial momentum during the
challenging economy as well.
The moral of the story is this: Many organizations wait
for an economic and business turnaround to measure
the satisfaction of their employees, but they are
missing a great opportunity. By assessing now, they
can build on the current opinions in any economy and
can make the changes that will help them capitalize on
better financial times. The activity also instills greater
trust: By asking for opinions now, you are showing
your employees that youre not just asking for what
you want to hear, but rather asking for what
you need to be hearing as well. So what are you
waiting for? If you value your employees satisfaction,
the time to be asking for their feedback is now.

Home

Job Satisfaction and New Skills

The quality professionals surveyed said they are happy with their work and
looking to improve their skills.
By Michelle Bangert

July 1, 2014

Quality professionals like what they do. According to respondents

fromQualitys14th annual State of the Profession Survey, half of

respondents said they are highly satisfied with their job and 44%
said they are moderately satisfied.
Along with being satisfied, respondents also are experienced
one-third said they had been in the industry for more than 25
years. The survey aims to discover trends in employee
compensation, work hours, and job satisfaction, along with a
profile of the quality demographic. Learn what quality
professionals said about their company, industry, and career in this
years survey.
Industries and Companies
First, lets look at the respondents industries and companies.
Fabricated metal products is the most common industry for
respondents, with 16%; followed by aerospace by 13%; plastics
and rubber came in at 11% and so did miscellaneous
manufacturing; and 10% with medical equipment and supplies.
Other industries followed: machinery; motor vehicles, body, trailer
and parts; electrical equipment and components; transportation;
computers.
More than a third of respondents work for companies that
manufacture original equipment (OEMs), 34% at components and
parts manufacturers, and 18% at job shops.
In terms of revenue, more than half of respondents have revenues
between one and $49 million. The mean was $837.8 million; while
the median was $23.5 million.
Two-thirds of respondents come from companies of less than 500
employees, with the mean company size coming in at 9,305
employees and a median of 150. For almost half (48%) of
respondents, their companies remained the same size, and
companies increased for 40%. Only 13% saw a decrease in
company size.
Shopping for New Products
When considering purchases, the quality/product assurance group
is most likely to be responsible for making purchase decisions.
Over half (51%) of the respondents indicated the quality product
and assurance control workers made purchasing decisions, but

among all the groups who make purchasing decisions, their most
common involvement is recommending or evaluating brands and
models.
In looking ahead to resources planned for next year, just over half
(52%) dont expect to change the amount of their resources, but
42% said they do plan to increase their resources, primarily in
gages. Gages topped the list at 55%, followed by measurement
software at 33%, laser measurement equipment at 25%,
coordinate measuring machines at 21%, form measurement and
video measurement both at 20%, and surface finish measurement
equipment at 18%. Other resources planned to be increased by
10% to 17% include white/structured light, measuring
microscopes, and optical comparators.
Forty-two percent of respondents indicated that they were more
comfortable waiting for others to successfully adopt a technology
before trying it themselves. Only 11% said they were willing to be
on the leading edge of technology adoption, though 33% said they
were willing to be one of the early leaders. Fourteen percent said
they would likely be one of the last to use it.
Quality Around the World
Just about half of respondents (49%) have production in the
United States only. China (30%) and Mexico (25%) were the next
most-common locations, followed by Canada, Germany, India, the
United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, France, Italy, Taiwan, Australia and
Russia. Respondents also indicated that they have production
locations in other European countries, Central and South America,
the Middle East and Africa.
But where do the respondents themselves work? Just under half
(48%) work in the Midwest, followed by the South at 20%, the
Northeast at 19%, and the West at 12%.
A Quality Profile
The average age of respondents is 52 years old. Forty-one
percent have earned a bachelors degree, 20% a masters degree,
15% have an associates degree, and only 2% have received a
Ph.D. Nine percent have taken certification programs and 12%
have a high school education.

A quarter of respondents have received an ASQ certification, and

28% have received a Six Sigma green belt, black belt, master
black belt, and/or champion certification.
As for their primary job function, the majority of respondents said
they are in quality management (37%) or quality engineering
(18%). Twelve percent are in corporate management, 8% were in
manufacturing or supply chain management, 7% in engineering,
5% in manufacturing engineering, 3% in research and
development, and 2% in purchasing.
Most respondents had been at their current company for 15 or
fewer years, with a mean of 13 years. Sixty-two percent have been
in the industry for at least 16 years, with a mean of 21 years.
Clearly, this is an experienced crowd.
Two-thirds of respondents supervise others, with 46% supervising
less than
five people. The mean number of people under their supervision
was 12.
And how much do they work? Twenty percent indicated they work
more than 50 hours a week, with the mean hours worked coming
in at 47 hours. Most respondents said their hours worked have
remained the same from last year, although a quarter said their
hours worked had increased, by an average of 7 hours more.
At work, the majority said they had quality related responsibilities,
with 74% saying implementing solutions to problems is a
responsibility. Time constraints were the top issue interfering with
their work, cited by 56%. Three-quarters of respondents said they
were a member of at least one quality team or committee.
How Is It Going?
Respondents said they are happy at work, with 51% saying they
are highly satisfied, 44% saying moderately satisfied and only 5%
saying not at all satisfied. One of the most important job attributes,
cited by 64%, was a feeling of accomplishment, followed by a
good relationship with colleagues at 50%, and salary by 41%.
Other positive job attributes followed, including technical
challenges, ability to try new or creative approaches, job security,
a pleasant work environment, and a chance to be a team leader.

One of the largest job concerns was economic conditions, cited by

48%, followed by management support at 41%, and a sufficient
operating budget at 33%. They were also concerned about
keeping current on technology, job security, keeping current on
regulations, salary, and outsourcing and privatization.
Salary and Benefits
In terms of salary, the mean annual salary was $77,242. More than
half of respondents receive an annual bonus, with a mean bonus
of almost $11,000.
Over half of respondents reported a salary increase during the
past year, on average by about 5%. Fifty-eight percent of
respondents expect their salary to increase at their next
performance review.
For those whose salary did not increase, economic conditions
were cited as one of the top reasons. Overall company and
personal performance were the top factors to lead to a change in
salary.
Along with salary, 91% of respondents received health care
through their employer, 90% receive paid vacation, and 80%
receive 401(k) matching.
In addition, 62% received some type of training in the past year.
ISO, FDA and other regulatory certifications were the most
common type of training received, followed by training in
methodologies such as Six Sigma, management, software or PC,
and equipment operation or repair.
And quality professionals are interested in learning. Certifications
and problem-solving were cited by 41% and 40% of respondents,
respectively. They were also interested in working on time
management, teamwork, employee supervision, finance and
accounting, public speaking, and writing reports and proposals.
Methodology
The survey was conducted by BNP Medias market research
division, in association with Quality, from March 24 to April 7,

2014. Active, qualified subscribers were sent an email survey, with

a response rate of 1.7%.
Michelle Bangert is the managing editor of Quality Magazine.