How can you design an employee engagement survey?

Designing an employee engagement survey requires careful planning and consideration. Here are some steps to help you create an effective survey[1][2]: 1. Define the purpose and objectives 2. Choose the right survey methodology 3. Identify key engagement drivers 4. Develop specific and relevant questions 5. Ensure confidentiality and anonymity 6. Pilot test the survey 7. Communicate the purpose and importance 8. Analyze and interpret the data 9. Take action and communicate results Remember, designing an employee engagement survey is an ongoing process. Regularly review and update the survey to ensure it remains relevant and effective in capturing employee feedback.

You can adopt the Gallup Q12 Engagement Survey for your team with additional questions designated based on the working conditions, the business environment and team structure. Some open-ended questions are highly recommended to provoke team members to share ideas related to what is good, what can be better and what should stop. Make sure, the contexts of questions are shared with the team beforehand with clear explanations, leave room for a questions and answers session to clarify the doubts. Following the completion of survey, gather the team and analyze the outcomes together, and create action plans for improvement areas.

Define Survey Objectives: Determine the specific goals you want to achieve with the survey. For example, improving team communication, identifying areas of dissatisfaction, or assessing leadership effectiveness.

A well-rounded survey will look at engagement from a strategic and productivity perspective, as well as a team-building and personal growth lens. Any survey would be remiss to not include a designated space for understanding career progression goals and perceptions of future opportunities to expand into new areas of interest. Retention hinges upon employees being able to see themselves in new and challenging positions that match their growth and goals. Another key consideration is anonymity; often employees are more apt to answer honestly when not fearful of repercussions of speaking out. And most importantly - what is the intended use of the information you are gathering? Employees need to trust that their answers will lead to change.

The most impactful employee surveys I've found ladder up to more broader strategic priorities. There has to be a 'purpose' around what is being surveyed and how it ties into not only the values and culture of a business but also their broader focus and goals

In my opinion it helps to be very specific about the goals, why you need input and how the input will be actionable. A long survey which includes questions that are good to have but not in scope for actions is boring and disappointing to the user.

Each type of survey will have a different purpose. Smaller quick pulse survey that feed into and from an annual survey often work well together. But again, be clear on your purpose.

Instead of robotic questions. I recommend using more relatable language to get the most employees to feel seen and excited to participate. Robotic language leads to less trust and less engagement. So follow copy writing best practices to design good questions and questions that really matter to your audience.

Main objective of any question is to collect some information and hence it becomes very crucial to frame your question properly. Know your audience, understand the requirements of questionnaire(end goal?), understand the pain points and then design your question. Same question set can not work equally at various scenarios so frame wisely. Answer format be it one option, multiple option, limited text or paragraph, callibrate cautiously to not get answers omitted or overfilled. Understand the key factors of rating your questions and categorising answers prior to circulation is must. Put yourself at receiving end to see how your questions are performing I have to discard a whole questionnaire with 700 responses because I missed above points.

Develop Clear and Concise Questions: Craft questions that are clear, concise, and specific. Use simple language to avoid confusion. Mix quantitative questions (rated on a scale) and qualitative questions (open-ended) for a comprehensive view. Ask about various aspects: job satisfaction, communication, work-life balance, growth opportunities, etc.

Create a list of questions that align with your objectives. Questions should be clear, specific, and designed to measure the areas you're interested in. Use a mix of closed-ended (multiple-choice) and open-ended (text-based) questions for a comprehensive view. Sample Questions: On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with your current job? Do you feel that your contributions are recognized and valued within the company? (Yes/No) What could the company do to improve your work experience? (Open-ended)

For high engagement and maximum survey responses, include employee feedback on what they wish to speak to/about. Including staff in the co-constructing of key topics that are top of mind will ensure that the questions you ask allow your employees to speak on what matters to them - and not only what matters to you.

Before administering the survey company-wide, conduct a pilot test with a small group of employees to ensure that the questions are clear and that the survey works as intended.

Employee surveys are a pivotal tool for understanding the workforce, but the key to their effectiveness lies in the questions asked. Define the survey's purpose and what it aims to learn from the employees. Use straightforward language for clear understanding. Inclusion of open-ended, Likert scale, and demographic questions to gain diverse insights. Crafting questions that are neutral and unbiased to elicit honest responses. Pilot the survey to identify and fix any issues with question clarity or length. The real value comes from analyzing results and taking action to address employee concerns. Realistic and relatable questions empower the survey to provide actionable insights and foster a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

Keep the Survey Length Reasonable: Aim for a survey that takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Long surveys can discourage participation.

I sat down on the plane, my survey results printed out, ready to soak in allll the wonderful results and feedback after my first year as CEO. Then I opened them and thought "I think they gave me the wrong one." But they hadn't. It was mine. Things hadn't gotten worse. But they also hadn't gotten statistically significantly better. While everyone "around me" was happy and humming, the reality was that I was running a huge company, and not everyone was getting the boost from my leadership Energizer Bunny self. It was that survey that made me realize that great leaders don't inspire; they create an inspiration "platform." They ensure other people are inspiring other people. Step 1 to inc survey results: ignite others to inspire others.

Follow-Up and Action Plan: After collecting and analyzing the data, share the results with employees. Transparency is crucial. Develop an action plan based on the survey findings. Involve employees in discussions about potential solutions. Regularly follow up with employees about the progress made on the identified issues.

Your company culture is only as good as your most unhappy employee... 1. Don't ignore the negatives, take them seriously (even if there's less statistically) 2. Introduce Walk & Talk 1:1's post survey. This gives you a chance to properly connect and air things out in a natural setting. 3. Celebrate consistent efforts (not just outstanding work). Your best people will be showing up day in day out. When taking action, consider what may genuinely support a boost in employee engagement. Ask yourself these questions based upon your survey results. Do your employees feel: - Appreciated - Included - Heard - Seen Top tips: - Show appreciation for consistent efforts (not just big results) - Listen as much/more than you present ideas

Although time needs to be spent on reviewing the result - there also needs to be relatively quick communication around "you said, we did". Teams need to come together to identify aligned quick wins which addresses employee pain points, as the biggest cause of a lack of employee engagement is due to a lack of progress or fixing problems

Analyse your results but don't take them as the final word. If your leaders and people on the ground are not matching your survey results then there's a mismatch. Run smaller working groups. Work with your community groups. Check the themes and patterns. If you're survey is showing up the same results YOY and you still haven't smoothed out this problem, look at why, how and what you have done. Build the story so that your board truly understands what the results are saying.

7 top ways to boost employee engagement: 1. Hybrid working (on site AND work from home) 2. Appreciate efforts (not just results) 3. Provide coaching + counselling (plus educating on benefits / how to use them) 4. Mental health days 5. Walk and talk meetings 6. Employee involvement programs 7. Encourage cross departmental collaboration! Use all of these in your own way. Remember your company is unique. Be aware of what your company values are, and whether these are matching up with your employee's individual values. Adopt methods that feel scary but also exciting. That's when you're onto something that means your company and employees are growing / levelling up!

I work in a sustainable space, that highly values its stakeholders. I would advocate for 2 distinct survey: 1) Individual Interviews: While this method may be time-consuming & yield relatively less quantitative data, it remains remarkably effective. In hybrid mode work, it is relevant & indispensable. 2) Questionnaire-based Surveys: It includes a range of questions with rating scales & seek input from employees, & from stakeholders with whom employees closely collaborate on a daily basis. This dual-purpose approach would provide two invaluable sets of data: employee satisfaction metrics and insights into their productivity and contributions. It will enable employers to engage in one-on-one interactions, as emphasized in the first approach.

here are some other things to consider which alot of time people not focus: - Keep It Anonymous: Ensure that the survey is anonymous to encourage honest and open feedback. Assure employees that their responses will remain confidential to foster trust. -Keep the Survey Short: Long surveys can lead to survey fatigue and decreased participation. Aim to keep the survey to a reasonable length -Communicate the Purpose and Importance: Clearly communicate the purpose of the survey to employees and highlight its importance -Choose the Right Timing:Select a time for the survey when employees are not overwhelmed with other tasks or under stress. This might vary depending on your organization

The basis for any successful engagement - employee - or others - is trust. Before considering an employee engagement process you must be clear in your intention, sincere in this intention, and communicate this honestly to all employees. If you want employees to give their considered feedback through the employee engagement process they need to know that this feedback will be treated confidentially, with respect, and with a genuine commitment to improvement. You may wish to consider a co-design approach - which involves employees in key aspects of designing the employee engagement process.

Employee engagement is an ongoing process, and the survey is just one tool to help you gauge it. Designing an effective employee engagement survey is essential for gaining insights into your workforce's satisfaction, motivation, and overall well-being. Continuous communication and action based on survey feedback are key to improving employee engagement and organizational performance.