How can you conduct better employee surveys for diversity and inclusion?

1 Define your goals

Before you create your survey questions, you need to define what you want to achieve with your survey. What are the specific D&I issues or goals that you want to address or monitor? How will you use the survey results to inform your actions or policies? Having clear and realistic goals will help you focus your survey and avoid irrelevant or redundant questions.

2 Choose your method

There are different methods for conducting employee surveys, such as online platforms, paper forms, or interviews. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on your resources, time, and audience. You should choose the method that best suits your goals, budget, and organizational culture. For example, online surveys are convenient and cost-effective, but they may have lower response rates or accessibility issues for some employees. Interviews can provide more in-depth and nuanced insights, but they are more time-consuming and require skilled interviewers.

3 Design your questions

The quality of your survey questions will determine the quality of your data and insights. You should design your questions to be clear, concise, and relevant to your goals. You should also avoid leading, biased, or ambiguous questions that may influence or confuse the respondents. Additionally, you should consider the format and order of your questions, such as using multiple-choice, Likert scale, or open-ended questions, and grouping them by topic or theme. You should also test your questions before launching your survey to ensure that they are valid and reliable.

4 Communicate your purpose

One of the key factors for a successful survey is getting a high response rate and engagement from your employees. To achieve this, you need to communicate the purpose and value of your survey to your employees. You should explain why you are conducting the survey, how you will use the results, and how the survey will benefit the employees and the organization. You should also assure your employees that their responses will be anonymous and confidential, and that they can opt out or skip any questions that make them uncomfortable.

5 Analyze your data

After you collect your survey responses, you need to analyze your data to extract meaningful and actionable insights. You should use appropriate statistical methods and tools to measure and compare the responses across different groups, such as gender, race, age, or department. You should also look for patterns, trends, gaps, or outliers that may indicate areas of strength or improvement for your D&I initiatives. Moreover, you should interpret your data in the context of your goals, limitations, and assumptions, and avoid making hasty or unwarranted conclusions.

6 Share your findings

The last step of conducting a better employee survey for D&I is to share your findings and recommendations with your stakeholders, such as senior management, HR, or D&I committee. You should present your findings in a clear and concise way, using charts, graphs, or tables to illustrate your data. You should also highlight the key takeaways, challenges, and opportunities for your D&I efforts, and suggest concrete actions or solutions to address them. Furthermore, you should also share your findings and feedback with your employees, and thank them for their participation and input.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?