"Are they really satisfied?": An exploration of issues around employee satisfaction assessment strategies

The aim of the study was to conduct an exploration into the issues around the employee satisfaction strategy and tool being utilised by a large public utility in South Africa. A mixed method approach was applied incorporating focus groups, individual interviews, and a questionnaire. The results indicate that staff are not satisfied with the existing strategy, are reasonably comfortable with the dimensions being measured but clearly want to see a qualitative aspect added. Major areas of concern are: lack of feedback, little or no action plans linked to the results and a lack of a genuine concern for employee satisfaction.