Giving Notice: Why the Best and the Brightest Leave the Workplace and How You Can Help Them Stay

6.3. Surveys: An Overview

In general, surveys are the most reliable way to gather organizational data because they eliminate the sources of bias associated with other forms of collecting information. This is why researchers have used them for generations. In the workplace, surveys solve the inherent problems found in the standard "call us with your problem" method. Here's how:

• Confidentiality: The office door is closed. The manager and employee are speaking in serious, low tones. Both are taking careful notes. The employee walks out confident that the discussion was confidential and thorough. She believes her problem was heard and will now be addressed. But what happens next? The manager takes the problem up the chain of command, to a director ...