I can’t say I blame people for being unhappy.  2009 was a really hard year for a whole lot of people.  Unemployment rates were at twenty year highs.  And while some research showed that those with jobs were happier than they had been – maybe just happy to have a job at all – there is no doubt that those who kept their jobs paid a price.  Layoff survivors were expected to pick up the slack while many employers cut wages and benefits.  And those nest eggs employees thought they had built up lost much of their value.

I am positive that many companies will see a talent exodus as the economy picks up.  Those hard working but exhausted employees may see their opportunity to jump ship in 2010.

And yet – I was surprised by the Conference Board’s findings.

I don’t doubt that employee satisfaction has slipped.  But the satisfaction levels reported were far lower than what we’ve typically seen in our employee research.  In fact in a study of employed adults throughout the US that we conducted about the same time we found overall job satisfaction at around 68%.

Questar typically sees job satisfaction levels at about 65% – and has for more than 20 years.  This is significantly higher than the Conference Board’s 45%.  And it’s not just Questar.  In fact a study published by Dr. Donald Super in 1939 found surprisingly similar results with 63.74% percent of participants reporting that they were satisfied with their jobs. (Super, D.E., 1939, Occupational level and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 23, 547-564).

And other published research suggests far more stability in satisfaction levels than the Conference Board study suggests.  Carol Morello of the Washington Post offered a great commentary on other research contradicting the Conference Board’s findings in her article “Results of Polls on Job Satisfaction are at Odds”

Don’t get me wrong.  I firmly believe that employers should be concerned about employee engagement levels – especially now.  But before we conclude the sky is falling, maybe we should take a more careful look at that acorn.

Anna Erickson Ph. D. | Director, Consulting Services

I would be interested in any suggestions or stories people have surrounding presenting market research findings.

questar-mra-presentation-09

-Tom McGoldrick

Out of 31 responses from Liz's Twitter following, 9 said they would consider buying a US-made car, and 22 said they would not.

Out of curiosity, I asked my Twitter followers yesterday if they would consider buying a US car right now. I should have known that this would turn in to a blog post, but that isn’t why I asked. This has been a frequent topic of discussion on the social sphere lately. Ford has Scott Monty managing their reputation on the social web right now, and he frequently reminds us that Ford’s quality numbers are right up there with foreign automakers. But nobody seems to care about that.

The results of the poll in a nutshell: Most people said they would “probably not” and a few people said they’d consider it. I received 31 responses that I could determine a “yes” or “no” from (a lot of people informed me that they would not consider buying any car right now, maybe I should have noted that this is a hypothetical question). I will also note that my Twitter following is not at all a valid sample of the US population, but I follow them because I think they are interesting and intelligent; therefore I value their opinions.

This conclusion is unscientific and based on the explanations from those who responded, but I believe that perceptions of the auto industry right now are much more of a deciding factor than quality numbers. Most of those who said they would not buy an American car believed that foreign cars are better. A lot of people said they never have and never will buy American. Although Ford’s quality numbers are comparable to those of foreign automakers, consumers are in disbelief. The Big 3 need to do something about changing consumers’ perceptions of their brand, and quality numbers will not suffice.

I will admit; I thought everyone would say no. Nine people said yes and twenty-two said no, so it’s not as bad as I presumed. However, it is clear to me that perceptions of US automakers need to change if they want to compete with foreign companies, and it’s going to take more than quality numbers. This is going to take both stability and reliability.

I’d love to hear more in-depth reactions to this topic from those interested in sharing. Thanks again to everyone who responded!

-Liz Giel

This number makes sense to me.  In our consulting business, we are always trying to get our clients to think of the lifetime value of each customer.  When you lose a customer you don’t lose just one meal- you lose all of their future meals, and all of the new customers they would have brought with or referred to your restaurant.  The best restaurant/retail managers don’t think of their customers in terms of an individual visit; they see a visit in the context of the long term relationship they have with each customer.  These managers naturally think in terms of service recovery when something goes wrong.  They know there will be bumps in the relationship, but always do what they can to make things right. They never just assume they will do better with the next customer.

This is also a good example of the power of brands.  When driving down the road tired and hungry, most people will go to the same restaurant for dinner that they habitually go to. I would guess that the more tired or stressed someone is, the more likely they are to go to a familiar brand.  Just look at all the large brand restaurants that cluster around airport hotels.

-Tom McGoldrick