A few months ago Dan Walter of the popular “Compensation Café” posted an interesting piece called: “Are Employee Engagement Surveys Like New Year’s Resolutions?” Walter commented on the unusual number of engagement surveys that show high percentages of employees ready to jump ship: “I can’t help but wonder if some of these employees who are ready to leave are the same people who in December 2009 told major media surveyors that they made a New Year’s Resolution to lose 20 pounds and start exercising 3 times a week.”

It’s an interesting thought. Walter believes many of the people who fill out employee engagement surveys are like those that resolve to get in shape after New Year’s but never actually enter a gym. He refers to them as “Resolutionists”, and he thinks organizations and analysts fail to factor for this phenomenon. We suspect he’s right on both counts, after all there are thousands of surveys out there but very few that are validated, and fewer still are large organizations with the in-house expertise necessary to properly interpret survey results.

By the same token, there are many employers who resolve to do something about employee engagement and never get much beyond the survey stage. This is an even bigger problem than “resolutionist” employees.  It takes time and care to know which survey instrument to use, how to tailor and design it for your organization and how to analyze and interpret the results into a prioritized action plan. As one of Walter’s readers commented, “never ask a question whose answer you are unwilling to address."

Employee diagnostics can yield powerful insights for improvement if done correctly and a well designed employee survey can go a long way toward helping employers assess the real intentions of their employees. If misinterpreted though, they can send an organization on the wrong path, or worse, breed cynicism and disengagement.