For the last four years, DCI Group has hired Peter Barron Stark & Associates to conduct an employee survey. While we could survey our own staff, getting honest, confidential feedback from our staff is so important that we use an outside vendor. The survey is just one of many ways that we solicit input from associates at all levels.

Each year, we’ve shared all of the data with everyone in the company so that all staff members know what management knows. And each year, it’s fair to say, we’ve identified one or two areas where we have fallen short and need to make improvements. In the past, we have improved our training and communications programs which has made us not only a better place to work, but also better at serving our clients.

I expect this year to be no different. We’ll absorb the data and then set out to address the concerns that are most pressing inside the company. Our goal, as always, is to be responsive to our staff and to make DCI a better place to work. Long-termers at DCI know that we take this seriously and will put real energy behind our effort to improve. We’ll listen, learn and strive to do better; and we’ll ask for our staff’s help along the way.

It’s often a challenge for companies to spend money on outside resources during a down economy; but, if anything, it’s the best time to get a good, solid dose of frank feedback to help the organization. That logic certainly applies now.