Did the IRS Levy Your Bank or Employer?

There are a lot of people who have received a notice from their employer notifying them that their employer has a Notice of Levy from the IRS instructing them to keep most all of your next paycheck. When this happens it is very upsetting. Right up there is when their bank  gets a Notice of Levy from the IRS and notifies them that they intend to deliver the funds in their bank account to them. Actually, if the IRS has complied with the law, a Notice of Levy should never be a surprise. 26 USC § 6330 provides in pertinent part:

(a)  Requirement of notice before levy
(1) In general
No levy may be made on any property or right to property of any person unless the Secretary has notified such person in writing of their right to a hearing under this section before such levy is made. Such notice shall be required only once for the taxable period to which the unpaid tax specified in paragraph (3)(A) relates.

26 USC § 6330 provides this respecting the timing and manner of service of the notice:

(a)(2)  Time and method for notice
The notice required under paragraph (1) shall be-
(A) given in person;
(B) left at the dwelling or usual place of business of such person; or
(C) sent by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to such person’s last known address;
not less than 30 days before the day of the first levy with respect to the amount of the unpaid tax for the taxable period.

When you take delivery of the aforementioned notices and understand them when you receive them, you should see that 26 U.S.C. § 6330(e) provides that as soon as a Collection Due Process Hearing (CDPH) is timely asked for “the levy actions which are the subject of the requested hearing…shall be suspended for the period during which such hearing, and appeals therein, are pending…” This provision renders the request for a Collection Due Process Hearing (CDPH) a decidedly valuable method to prevent an IRS levy on a bank account or paycheck.

In the instance in which a levy was received by an employer but the notice had not been served as required by the above statutes, I have seen the IRS fax a release of levy to an employer in as little as two days subsequent to CDPH hearing request being sent. Now, knowledgeable employees will be able to never miss getting their full paycheck. I’m mystified why everyone does not bring a halt to a levy sent by the IRS by timely requesting a CDPH hearing as provided in 26 U.S.C. § 6330(b)(1). I make available the forms to competently request a CDPH hearing in a situation where the statutorily required notice has not been sent at www.irsterminator.com.

Timely requesting the hearing is of the highest priority in order to make these statutory provisions work. 26 USC § 6330(a)(3) specifies that the information included with the notice the IRS sends you shall include:

“The notice required under paragraph (1) shall include in simple and nontechnical terms-
(B) the right of the person to request a hearing during the 30-day period under paragraph (2);”

However, if the IRS never served you with a notice, it is impossible to ascertain when the 30 day period begins and ends. The free videos at www.irsterminator.com explain how to inform the IRS that their failure to serve you with the statutorily required notice renders your request for a hearing timely and entitles you to the suspension of collection activities including the levy at your bank or employer. Those videos also explain plans I have come up with to keep collection activity suspended permanently which is the challenging part.

Follow me on Twitter.com/legalbear See you there.

When good employees leave it is not only a loss in terms of time, effort and all the cost associated with finding a suitable replacement but it is also the loss of losing unique knowledge and experience specifically associated to the organization; Prevention is the best cure against the problem of losing good employees.

Employees leave their employers for many valid and unavoidable reasons but it is important that an employer knows the reasons their employees leave in case they are found to be reasons that if addressed and resolved could have been avoided.

Concerns of employees can be identified early by the regular use of well designed job satisfaction surveys, allowing for problems to be resolved and helping to minimize needless loss of staff. However, some problems, especially those that are the result of a clash of personalities, are not always brought to the surface until it is too late.

Poor management and/or a lack of any real career development are two common reasons that can result in employees deciding to leave an organization. Both of these problems can be difficult to identify even for organizations that adopt regular 360-degree appraisals (i.e. where as part of the overall review process, employees may be asked to evaluate their managers).

While still employed employees can be very reluctant to criticize their managers for fear of reprisal; they can however be more candid when completing an employee exit survey.

It is unlikely that an Exit survey will prevent any individuals from leaving but it will help identify problems that could, if left unchecked, could result in poor staff moral for the remaining staff and worse case scenario, more resignations.

Lack of Career Development

Not all employers can offer, and nor do all employees desire, a clear and long term career path. There are just as many people that find comfort and security in doing one job well as there are people that need to feel that they are continual being challenged, learning new skills and moving onwards and upwards with respect to the corporate ladder. For organizations to succeed and excel they need the high flyers as well as the steady Eddies of the world.

Where losses due to a lack of career development are occasional they may also be inevitable, but where they are frequent, then changes to the organizational structure might need to be considered to allow for greater career development of the employees.

Sub-standard Management

Many a manager has achieved their managerial position through hard work and a deserved promotion, but a good worker does not always make a good manager and many are awarded a management position without any management training.

Managers who perform poorly can be quick to discredit the views of disgruntled staff, ‘I am glad they went it saved me getting rid of them’ and ‘they were useless anyway’ may prove to be common responses to those managers being asked if there are any problems that might be causing people to leave the organization.

It is proper and natural for senior management to support their line managers by giving them the benefit of any doubt, after all a good managers can always be slighted by poor employees. But by conducting exit surveys, if a man-management problem were to be identified early there is a good chance that it can be addressed and resolved with the appropriate formal training and guidance.

Records

It is not uncommon for people to leave an employer and at a later date put in a claim for constructive dismissal. With legal representation now adopting the ‘No win no fee’ model even good employers are finding this to be a real problem. Exit surveys will at best, provide a valuable record of the employee’s reasons for leaving, and at worse, provide early warning that a possible claim might be expected.

A tribunal may not readily accept the word of an employer that when the employee left they did so without indicating any grievance.

Timing of the exit survey

With the employee’s agreement Exit surveys can be delayed for a few months or be conducted as part of the termination process.

The advantage with delaying an exit survey for a few months is that after a period of reflection a former employee can be less emotional and more objective and if they have taken up another position they may be in a position to compare their previous role with their new role.

Conducting an exit survey as part of the termination procedure has the advantage that although the leaving employee may be emotional their views may be more reflective of their true state of mind and therefore closer to the real reasons they have decided to leave. If delayed any comparison between the ex-employee’s old and new roles may be the result of them putting on a brave face, and if the reasons that are given require action, the delay may have prevented the problem from being resolved.

Summary

Organization that include exit surveys as part of their employee termination procedures will generally benefit in a number of ways. They will at the very least provide good records that could prove very valuable later, at best they will provide management with information that can help improve an organization spiritually and with the bottom line.

See the following survey for sample exit interview questions.

How to create a survey using Survey Galaxy

Designing surveys is easy; isn’t it? The truth is that writing surveys is easy but writing surveys that will be effective is more difficult. The following tips will help you with your survey questionnaire design so you can write more effective surveys.

1. What is the purpose of the survey?

Surveys and questionnaires are conducted for many reasons. By correctly phrasing the questions and structuring the answers surveys can be used in many ways and for a variety of reasons. When compiling a survey don’t lose sight of the survey’s purpose.

2. Give the survey a good title

The survey title is a golden opportunity to instantly summarise a survey’s objective and encourage respondents to participate. Respondents need to invest time in completing the survey so make them feel that their investment is worthwhile.

3. The length of the survey needs to be as short as possible

Every question asked should be asked for a reason. Pay attention to the ‘need to know’ questions and minimise ‘nice to know’ information.

4. Use plain English, avoid jargon and acronyms, be consistent and ensure that the questions you ask will not result in ambiguous answers

Take care when wording a question. Ambiguous questions run the risk that any analysis of the resulting survey data will be worthless or at the very least suspect.

5. Don’t have long questions

Try to use short sentences wherever possible. Long questions tend to cause respondents discomfort and can lead to respondents abandoning a survey.

6. Ask only one question at a time

Avoid confusing the respondent with a question like ‘Do you like athletics and golf?’

7. Don’t influence the answer

Do not load the question. ‘Should irresponsible shop keepers who sell cigarettes to minors be prosecuted?’ is unlikely to have any value.

8. Make sure that the selected answer format allows the respondent to answer the question being asked

Ensure that the respondent can answer how they really feel or they may be inclined to abandon the survey. As a last resort consider the benefit of including a “Can’t say”, “Don’t know” or similar response option.

9. When you are compiling your survey consider how you will analyse the results once the survey has been published

If a question is asked that allows a free text open ended response appreciate that such information is likely to be difficult to score and/or summarised. Consider how answers can be grouped. For example “How long have you worked here?” – ‘less than 2 year’, ‘between 2 and 4 years’ and ‘more than 4′.

10. Try and ensure that the questionnaire flows

When asking questions group the questions into clear categories as this makes the task of completing the survey easier for the participants.

11. Target your respondents carefully

Sometimes you will want to target a specific group, in others a cross section. If you can’t control who responds to your survey consider including questions/answers that will allow you to filter out respondents who don’t match your target profile.

12. Allow the respondent to expand on their answer or make comments

By allowing respondents to make additional comments you will increase their satisfaction level and the comments will also give valuable feedback on the specific questions and/or the survey as a whole. Remember that for large sample collections that free text open ended responses may be difficult to analyze.

13. If the survey you are conducting is to be confidential ensure that you honour your pledge

If you have assured the respondents that the survey is confidential ensure that the individual data is not to be shared with anyone and the information is not going to be used for any other purpose. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times and any identifying information destroyed once the survey has finished.

14. Weigh up the advantages of allowing respondents to be anonymous or identifiable

If your respondents are to be anonymous then you will be unable to follow up or match “pre” or “post” surveys. However in some cases allowing people to remain anonymous will allow people to respond without possible peer pressure.

15. Carefully consider the best response format

Maintaining a consistency in the format used for responses is good practice. When designing your survey keep in mind that when analysing the data single selection radio buttons are easier to analyse than multiple selection check boxes. If a radio response can be used do not use a check box.

16. Advise the respondent as to how much time the survey will take to complete

Respondent drop out can become a problem if the survey appears to be a stream of never ending questions. It is good practice to indicate how long the survey is likely to take so that the participants can choose the best time to complete the survey.

17. Advise the respondents of the survey end date

Encourage respondents to complete the survey as soon as possible but advise respondents as to the survey’s end date so that they have the opportunity to schedule the necessary time.

18. Trial the survey

Before publishing a live survey publish a pilot survey to check for questions that are ambiguous or confusing and to confirm that the survey is aesthetically pleasing.

19. Before publishing the survey check the survey several times

Check and check again that the survey is grammatically correct and makes sense. If practical get a colleague to check the survey before you publish, if no one else is available then take a break before checking again.

20. Thank the respondents

To complete surveys respondents need to invest their time and they should be thanked at the end of completing the survey or in a follow up letter. You may even want to consider an incentive such as a reward or entry into a prize draw.

Getting started is easy and there are many survey software websites to choose from.

If a single broken window is not repaired it won’t be long before more windows are broken. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.

Ensuring your employees are happy is mostly about being tuned into what their problems are and, importantly, dealing with them early on. Keeping the initiative is vital and it is nearly always better to give a little and often.

This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. Employees prefer it if the management takes the initiative without being prompted and by taking the initiative the manager is acting in a position of strength. Employees like strong, confident management and a proactive approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn leads to further and less reasonable demands. It is not big and it is not clever.

How then can an organisation monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

Deploying online employee surveys would appear to tick all the right boxes. Online surveys are quick, easy and low cost. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks they cost nothing to disseminate and the results are collated and displayed in real time.

A corporate internet is the perfect delivery platform.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the ability of an online survey to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged, concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

By using the findings of a survey an organization can quickly identify problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

By conducting regular surveys a company is able to address small problems before they grow into much bigger problems that are then more difficult to address.

The majority of employees appreciate being consulted, asking their opinion is not a sign of weak management but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find, but there it is – sometimes management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank.

If a building’s broken window is not repaired promptly it doesn’t take long for many of the building’s other windows to be broken. Resolving problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into serious problems.

The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction can spread like wildfire and in the blink of an eye you can have the type of morale problems that are notoriously hard to resolve.

To be confident that your employees are content you need to be aware of what their day to day problems are and you need to deal with them before they get out of hand. It is important to keep the initiative and a good tip is to give a little and often.

This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. Employees prefer it if the management takes the initiative without being prompted and by taking the initiative the manager is acting in a position of strength. Employees look for strong, confident management and having a proactive approach and taking time to understand the employees’ issues will gain the respect of the workforce.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn could lead to further and less reasonable demands. It’s not big and it’s not clever.

How then can an organisation monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

would appear to offer the perfect solution. They represent a quick, easy and low cost solution. Surveys can be created in minutes and deployed in seconds, with the results compiled in real time; and by using email and websites they cost nothing to disseminate.

A corporate internet is the perfect delivery platform.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the ability of an online survey to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged, concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

Companies can use survey results to highlight problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good information managers are able to get to the root of specific problems and prepare a considered response.

A major advantage of regular surveys is that they allow companies to address relatively small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where what might be seen as a insignificant incident explodes into a torrent of pent up anger.

And don’t forget that the majority of employees appreciate being consulted so asking their opinion is not a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

Very occasionally management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; this is fortunately just one of those occasions.

If not repaired it doesn’t take long for a building with one broken window to quickly turn in to a building with a lot of broken windows. Addressing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into more serious problems.

The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction can spread like wildfire and in the blink of an eye you can have the type of morale problems that are notoriously hard to resolve.

Ensuring your employees are happy is mostly about being tuned into what their problems are and, importantly, dealing with them early on. Keeping the initiative is important and it is nearly always better to give a little and often.

This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. Employees prefer it if the management takes the initiative without being prompted and by taking the initiative the manager is acting in a position of strength. Staff like strong, confident management and this approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with those managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn could lead to further and less reasonable demands. It is not big and it is not clever.

The question is how one goes about monitoring the morale of a company without throwing money at the problem and without the luxury of having spare time?

Online surveys would appear to tick all the boxes. They offer a solution that is quick, easy and low cost. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks they cost nothing to disseminate and the results are collated and displayed in real time.

The ideal delivery mechanism is the corporate internet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the ability of online surveys to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged and collective and individual concerns highlighted.

Organisations can use survey results to identify problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific areas of concern. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

Conducting regular surveys will allow organizations to address small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up frustration.

It should not be forgotten that most employees appreciate being consulted and asking their opinion is not seen as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find a solution to management problems that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank but here one is.

If a building’s broken window is not repaired promptly it doesn’t take long for many of the building’s other windows to be broken. Resolving problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction can spread like wildfire and in the blink of an eye you can have the type of morale problems that are notoriously hard to resolve.

To ensure that your employees are satisfied you need to appreciate any day to day concerns that they may have and deal with them quickly. It is important to keep the initiative and a good tip is to give a little and often.

This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. The majority of employees would prefer their managers to act without being prompted and by doing so they prevent the situation where they have to address employees’ concern while on the back foot. Staff like strong, confident management and this approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with those managers who are out of touch. If they are late in addressing problems they are always on the defensive, having to concede to demands they run the risk of losing credibility which in turn can lead to having to agree to less reasonable demands. It’s not big and it’s not clever.

The question is how one goes about monitoring the morale of a company without throwing money at the problem and without the luxury of having spare time?

An online employee survey offers a solution. They’re quick, easy to use, and a low cost solution. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks invitations can be sent out immediately and for free and the results are collated and displayed in real time.

The perfect delivery platform is the corporate internet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the real-time results that are a by product of online surveys the mood of the employees can be accurately gauged and individual and collective concerns highlighted.

Companies can use survey results to highlight problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good information managers are able to get to the root of specific problems and prepare a considered response.

Conducting regular surveys will allow organizations to address small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up frustration.

When management show willingness to consult with the workforce it is appreciated by most employees, not viewed as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

Every now and then management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; enjoy.

In a competitive world with the need for businesses to be more productive and streamlined an organization can often find itself with a workforce working under pressure suffering from low moral and experiencing a high staff turnover. The benefits of a company having a highly motivated workforce can be considerable and the two goals of having a workforce that is both motivated and productive should not be regarded as being mutually exclusive to one another.

Left unresolved employers run the risk of alienating their employees and events can then cause employee frustrations to explode resulting in employers finding themselves on the back foot, faced with problems that cannot be ignored.

Ideally employers would allocate the time to fully understand the needs of their employees and learn from their experiences of working on the front line, but employers are too often themselves tied up with the day to day task of fighting their own fires.

By automating much of the intelligence gathering process and the findings being instantly available in a format that can be readily analysed online surveys provide employers with an affordable method to help achieve staff satisfaction and high productivity.

 

Dissatisfied & unproductive

There are many reasons why employees may be dissatisfied with their job and more often than not staff frustration is channelled into a demand for higher salaries and less hours. Employers who tackle problems thinking it is all about salary and hours, will often find later that they have been dealing with the symptoms and not the root cause.

 

It’s not about money

The following are some common barriers to achieving productivity, none of which are likely to be resolved by increasing salaries or reducing hours:-

• Insufficient training
• Out of touch management
• Dated working methods
• Lack of proper tools and equipment

Increasing salaries is not always a solution to employees’ problems nor as many studies have revealed is it the most important motivator for most employees.

Take the case of a single mother who is juggling a full time job with the need to look after four children. Out of frustration she may demand more money so that she feels that she is able to cope where a better solution, for both her and the company, may be more flexible working hours.

 

It is about communication

It is in any company’s interest to establish good communications. Without good communication between personnel and management, or where management wait until problems are raised, management may assume that they have a content workforce when in actual fact the opposite is true. It can take only one small problem and one employee to feel aggrieved for an entire workforce to develop a destructive ‘them and us’ attitude.

 

Improving communication

It would be ideal if the employer could meet with each employee one on one but in practice this would only be viable for very small organizations.

Regular meetings between management and worker representatives are good in theory but can degenerate into talking shops and slowly lose their purpose as the participants from both sides become familiar with one another and the meetings run the risk of being hijacked by the more extreme personalities.

Having suggestion boxes are useful but can be viewed as token efforts by management as they wait for personnel to highlight a problem.

Newsletters can provide a positive contribution, but their primary function is to inform and not discuss employee issues.

 

Keeping the initiative

Conducting employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis you are able to ask each employee specific questions and present a pro-active management initiative where the whole workforce can be canvassed on various issues. Surveys are able to provide a level playing field between the quieter and more vocal employees.

Being prepared to consulate with employees should not be seen as a sign of weakness, a confident manager will take counsel from all quarters before making a decision. By retaining the initiative and conducting a survey the employer is able to tackle problems from a position of strength as opposed to waiting for problems to arise and develop out of proportion.

Leave a small problem unresolved and it can lead to a situation where a minor problem might just break the camel’s back and the mood of the employees change from positive to negative over night.

 

Quick and easy

For the majority of organizations online surveys represent a proactive, effective and low cost solution. They are quick to design and for the majority of companies, where most of the personnel have desktop computers, they are also quick to deploy direct to the individual.

In situations where not all of the personal have access to a computer there are options available to implement the online survey solution such as providing a shared computer, have an operator input their responses or as a last resort, a hardcopy survey.

 

Job satisfaction

There are a number of elements that combined will provide an employee with job satisfaction, from company ethics, working environment, methodology and ethos to having good and effective management. Job satisfaction brings benefits through improved productivity and motivation from a workforce that feels that they are treated as individuals and not a commodity item.

 

Inform and educate

Online surveys can be used to educate and disseminate information on to the workforce, ensuring that the ‘message’ is consistently delivered and does not suffer from the Chinese whisper phenomenon where a message can become distorted as it is passed on.

An online survey can explain a difficult situation and get valuable feedback from the employees as to the best solution. It is rare in this situation that the workforce would appear negative; it is more likely they will feel informed and empowered and that might be enough to unite the workforce and turn a negative problem into a positive challenge.

 

Exit surveys

Exit surveys are a good way for management to ensure that when people leave the organisation they are leaving for the right reasons and not due to reasons that if appreciated earlier could have been addressed and resolved. Although identifying a problem may not prevent a person leaving it could solve an unappreciated issue that may, if left unchecked, result in other key personnel also leaving.

 

Analysing the results

After having consulted with the workforce using an online survey the survey results are available for instant analysis. Common and specific problems can be identified very easily and then brought to the attention of senior management who will then have the chance to address the issues that have been raised.

 

Summary

Used regularly online surveys represent a simple and productive method of taking the pulse of an organisation and an easy way to establish a two way communication channel between employer and employee with the results providing management with vital, accurate and significant information.

For a Sample Employee Satisfaction Survey:- Employee Satisfaction Survey Template

For a sample Employee Exit survey:- Employee Exit Survey Template

If not repaired it won’t take long for a building with one broken window to quickly turn in to a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction can spread like wildfire and in the blink of an eye you can have the type of morale problems that are notoriously hard to resolve.

Ensuring your employees are happy is mostly about being tuned into what their problems are and, importantly, dealing with them early on. Keeping the initiative is really important and the secret is that it is better to give a little and often.

This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. If the management is reactive and waits until they are prompted by the employees they run the risk of having to implement urgent change from a weak position; if they are proactive they can operate form a position of strength and will also maintain the respect of the employees. Employees look for strong, confident management and having a proactive approach and taking time to understand the employees’ issues will gain the respect of the workforce.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. If they are late in addressing problems they are always on the defensive, having to concede to demands they run the risk of losing credibility which in turn can lead to having to agree to less reasonable demands. It is not big and it is not clever.

How then can a company monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

Deploying online surveys would appear to tick all the right boxes. Online surveys are quick, easy and low cost. Instead of weeks and months surveys can now be designed and published in hours and minutes, by harnessing the power of the internet invitations can be sent out instantly and free of charge using email, links on websites and postings on social networks; the results are collated in real-time and can be automatically displayed as charts.

The ideal delivery platform is the corporate internet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With an online survey’s ability to produce results in real-time the mood of the employees can rapidly be gauged and concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

Businesses can use survey results to highlight problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

Conducting regular surveys will allow organizations to address small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up frustration.

The majority of employees appreciate being consulted, asking their opinion is not a sign of weak management but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find, but there it is – sometimes management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank.

If a single broken window is not repaired it won’t be long before more windows are broken. Problems that are fixed when they are small will stop them from developing into larger problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.

To be confident that your employees are satisfied you need to be aware of any day to day problems and deal with them before they get out of hand. Keeping the initiative is vital and it is nearly always better to give a little and often.

This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. There is little advantage for the employer to wait until they are prompted by the employee to make urgent change, if they are proactive the employer can operate from a position of strength and that in turn will help maintain the respect that their employees have towards them. Employees like strong, confident management and the management will gain the respect of the workforce if they take time to understand the issues.

Compare that with managers who are out of touch. If they are late in addressing problems they are always on the defensive, having to concede to demands they run the risk of losing credibility which in turn can lead to having to agree to less reasonable demands. It is not big and it is not clever.

The question is how one goes about monitoring the morale of a company without throwing money at the problem and without the luxury of having spare time?

would appear to offer the perfect solution. Online surveys are quick, easy and low cost. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks invitations can be sent out immediately and for free and the results are collated and displayed in real time.

The perfect delivery platform is the corporate internet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the real-time results that are a by product of online surveys the mood of the employees can be accurately gauged and individual and collective concerns highlighted.

By using the findings of a survey an organization can quickly identify problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

Conducting regular surveys will allow organizations to address small problems in a timely manner and avoid ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up frustration.

It should not be forgotten that most employees appreciate being consulted and asking their opinion is not seen as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

Every now and then management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; enjoy.