By Debbie Bolla
Executive Editor
Anyone in the human capital management industry knows how valuable feedback is for the decision-making process.
According to research and consulting firm Burke, 96 percent of the Fortune 500 companies in their sample conduct employee surveys, and 65 percent of mid-sized companies also leverage employee surveys.
Why do they work?
At the root of it, employee surveys are anonymous and provide candid and truthful feedback. Organizations gain insight into productivity, morale, turnover, absenteeism, loyalty, and engagement. That insight can be turned into action, allowing companies to tackle their pain points, reset business goals, and improve culture.
So when we launched our 2014 HRO Today Magazine Reader Survey, we had similar goals in mind. We were looking for honest feedback from our readers on what they did -and didn’t – like about our publication. The results will help drive our content and coverage of the human resources industry toward the future.
A little bit of background on you! What an influential bunch:
• 91 percent of respondents are decision makers who influence HR decisions for their companies;
• HRO Today readers’ companies average nearly $10 billion in global revenues; and
• HRO Today readers have an average of 27,010 full-time employees globally.
What do you like?
• Our Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings prove to be powerful. These customer satisfaction-driven rankings are conducted each year in the areas of talent management software, relocation, recognition, screening, managed service provider programs, and recruitment process outsourcing. They exemplify the voice of the buyer and are frequently leveraged by our readers: 71 percent of survey respondents reference the Baker’s Dozen customer satisfaction rankings when in a request for proposal process, and 79 percent report that a ranking on the Baker’s Dozen lists influenced their decision when selecting a provider.
• Market trends articles. Seventy-three percent of respondents named feature stories focusing on HR trends as regular reads.
- In today’s competitive environment, 62 percent of organizations report they are experiencing a war for talent, which is up from a mere 20 percent in 2009. It wasn’t surprising to see that 60 percent of readers look for articles on talent acquisition and recruiting.
- By 2015, end-user spending on cloud services could exceed $180 billion, so HR technology
is obviously on the agendas of our readers. Nearly 50 percent of survey respondents are looking for more coverage of technology. Compensation (payroll/benefits), talent acquisition/ recruiting, learning, and recognition programs are the main topics survey respondents favored, and we certainly took this into account when planning our editorial calendar for 2015.
We were also very pleased to see such positive commentary on the magazine. I feel like I am tooting my own horn -but I’m not. You are doing it for me! Top findings that were compelling to the editorial team include 90 percent of respondents felt the magazine was objective, and 84 percent believe it’s well written. We also strive for content that is actionable (87 percent agree) and strategic (78 percent agree).
We appreciate everyone taking the time out of their hectic schedules to provide this valuable feedback. Look for more features on talent and technology in 2015. And if there is anything else you want to see more -or less -of in the magazine, please feel free to send me a note.
