How Market Research Can Ensure Employee Success with Changing Office Dynamics

The following blog post was written by Sara Cruz, Research Analyst at RMS.

When the stay-at-home order was applied in March of 2020, millions of employees became “remote” workers. Although the change was not met without challenges, including a decrease in productivity and communication, studies show that employees overall have overcome challenges by implementing strategies and being provided with resources (click here to read about those studies).

• According to a survey, 72% of executives think that moving employees into a virtual workspace has been successful (Source).
• USA Today shared that many large companies, including Microsoft and Apple, will keep a portion of employees home even after it is deemed safe to return to normal office capacity (Source).
• Executives have noted they expect to continue to offer a working “remote” option even after the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end, and 72% of remote employees polled shared they would like to continue working remote in some capacity (Source).

For many employees, the requirement to physically be in the office has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the desire to work remote even after the pandemic is evidently present.

As a business owner, whether you think this work dynamic is temporary or you agree with many other executives that this change is here to stay, the questions become…

• Do you know what your employees want?
• If they are working from home, do you know what challenges they are experiencing?
• What is working really well for them?
• What do they need to be more efficient or feel more connected?

Have you asked them?

With many companies deciding to make this permanent change, and with many employees expressing the desire to stay remote, wouldn’t it be beneficial for you as an owner to know what your employees want?

Yes, it would be.

Sure, you can send out a company email and ask them, but would they be honest?

Maybe they would, but as a professional market research firm, we here at RMS can tell you from experience, you are much better off hiring a professional to ask your employees for their insight on any topic company related.

A market research firm is a third-party, and would help ensure your employees would be honest with their thoughts and feelings about how they feel about remote work, what is working and what is not, what they want their future work environment to look like, and how supported they feel by leadership.

A third-party provides anonymity and confidentiality. A third party eliminates the fear of repercussion for any negative feedback they may have, or any embarrassment they may feel about sharing their struggles and what they need. It also eliminates the possible guilt of being honest with a member of the leadership team. Most people don’t want to hurt a superior’s feelings, so they are less likely to share the good and the bad when asked directly by a member of the leadership team.

Employee retention is always essential for the success of a company.

Wouldn’t it be valuable to know how your employees feel about the change in office dynamics, as well as what they want and need to continue to be a loyal and contributing employee?

We are a professional market research firm that can help you successfully navigate these changing times.

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RMS is a full-service market research firm located in Syracuse, NY. If you are interested in learning more about our research capabilities, please contact Sandy Baker, our Vice President of Corporate Development, at SandyB@RMSresults.com or by calling 1-866-567-5422.