The term “bossy” dates back to the year of the Norman Conquest, 1066. A “time” is a castrated ram, used to drive herds of sheep. The bell around his neck helped him guide the other animals. Today, the term is used to indicate emerging trends. For employers, the survey information will provide insights on how to increase employee satisfaction levels.

LET THE BELL SOUNDS GUIDE YOU
The metaphorical bell, ideally, will not set off alarm bells. If so, be thankful; I’d rather know about potential hazards than not. Usually, though, the sound of reference will guide you toward improvements that will benefit the organization, the employees, and even the customers who support you. As Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup, puts it: “To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace.”

FORMAL SURVEYS
Taking the metaphorical pulse of the corporate body doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. A simple set of agree/disagree questions can be emailed to the workforce and the results then compiled. Some of the statements in that survey might include:

They encourage me to do the best work I am capable of.
Employees are considered the company’s most valuable resource.
We are encouraged to take reasonable risks.
There are incentives to recognize those who provide good service to our
customers.
There are regular meetings where employees can share ideas to improve the
way we do business.
I am proud to be associated with this company.
Management has shown concern for employee morale.
I can point to ways the workplace has improved since I was hired.
Communications here are honest and direct.
I am willing to go beyond what my job requires.
Management cares about how employees feel.

The results can be analyzed by management alone or by a team of management and frontline workers. Among other things, general patterns must be taken into account. So should plans to find ways to improve workplace conditions. After the analysis, management can determine the best way to share the results.

INFORMAL SURVEYS
In addition to the actual survey, supervisors can meet with small groups to ask questions like these:

What three adjectives best describe your way of working?
What three adjectives would your immediate boss use to describe your job?
How would you describe the ideal work environment?
What would allow us to get closer to that ideal?

The supervisors can meet later and prepare a collective report. Or, a given supervisor might evaluate what he learned from the meeting and then report back to his direct reports.

KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER
Despite the common belief that knowledge is power, it is not. If it were, librarians would rule the world. Power comes from taking knowledge and using it appropriately. The best managers will take the information from the survey and apply it in the form of best policies, procedures and practices.

Oscar Hammerstein maintained that “a bell isn’t a bell until you ring it.” Workplace campaigns can be run through surveys or simply by observation. But if he ignores what the leaders tell him, he may not turn off the alarms that are going off about a possible disaster.