Scoff at employee surveys all you want.

While some may see them as outdated, employee surveys remain a solid way to determine employee engagement, help build morale, shape behavior and learn about employee priorities, according to a recent Harvard Business Review blog posting.

The authors arguing this point are Scott Judd, head of People Analytics at Facebook; Eric O’Rourke, the People Growth & Survey Analytics lead at Facebook; and Adam Grant, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

They write that a regular employee survey gives company staff a safe way to express their opinions, and the absence of one suggests executives don’t care about them. Surveys are also a human element that is valuable in an age of smart technology and big data. Also, soliciting employee input and insights via a survey helps executives learn from their staff and influence how they behave, they argue.

Answering “yes” on a survey creates a commitment, they said, and responding “no” can also lead to a behavior shift and show managers what their employees value.

Either way, questions in an employee survey make staff members reflect about their situation and contributions, and that is a good thing for a company, the writers assert.

You can access the full survey here or at hbr.org.