How do you explain the value of employee surveys?

Getting people to see the real value in employee surveys is key to its ultimate effectiveness. Clear and compelling communications are a must! But, with different stakeholder groups (with different needs), messages need to be tailored. For managers, get them involved early, tell them what you're doing and why, involve them in shaping the programme, tell them how they'll benefit. For employees, raise awareness around the launch, build interest and excitement. Reassure them on confidentiality, make them want to take part by explaining how their views will be used (to drive positive change). And, post survey, make sure you connect the dots by linking back changes made to survey feedback with so-called 'you said, we did' comms.

If you want to communicate the value of surveys to employees, first explain the purpose of the surveys and how the results will be used to improve working conditions and management strategies. Provide examples of positive changes from feedback, emphasize anonymity for honest responses and explain that even non-anonymous surveys can offer valuable insights too. Show management’s support and update on actions taken based on results. Encourage participation with rewards, and regularly highlight the importance of surveys through communications. Offer clear instructions, create an open feedback environment, and use brief surveys for quick insights. Include results in performance reports to demonstrate the impact of employee feedback.

Can you confidently describe your culture and employee satisfaction? If yes, truly yes, no need for a survey. If no, this is a fairly quick and fairly low resource opportunity to get an understanding of your employees. Without it, you're guessing. I actually believe there are better ways to improve engagement, but a survey is a fantastic 'starter for 10', and when done right will give you rich, actionable information to improve engagement.

Employee Surveys: More Than Just Checking Boxes Employee surveys might seem like just another thing on your to-do list, but they're actually treasure troves of information. They're like having a direct line to your employees' thoughts and feelings about the company. These surveys help you understand what's working well and what needs improvement, from work-life balance to company culture. By listening to your employees, you can create a happier, more engaged workforce, which ultimately leads to better results for the entire company. So next time you see an employee survey, don't just check the boxes – take the opportunity to learn and grow as a company.

Employee surveys are an active way of listening to people and understanding their views on key topics. They're especially useful when you lack other data on those issues or when you want to involve people in changes. They should be part of a holistic listening strategy that sets up a process of ongoing conversation and action, rather than a stand-alone.

Surveys start by defining objectives and aligning them with company strategy. Key steps include agreeing on goals and plans with stakeholders, analyzing needs, and setting up a data collection plan. The process involves regular monitoring and adjustments based on feedback. After collecting data, it should be analyzed and compared to the objectives. Results are communicated through reports or presentations. If not all employees needs can be met, ensure transparent communication, explain limitations, set priorities, develop a phased change plan, involve stakeholders in decisions, and adjust based on feedback. This helps manage the situation effectively and maintains a good climate among employees.

First question, before you even consider a survey as the solution, is what is the challenge? What are you trying to solve with employee engagement? Are you trying to understand happiness of employees, do you want to know what benefits are hitting the mark, are you looking to get more buy in, or even know if your staff are truly bought in? What does 'good' look like as an answer to these questions. Find that out from key stakeholders, find out what results are desired from the questions you're asking, understand what challenge you're looking to overcome.

An important part of mapping out a survey strategy involves identifying and engaging different stakeholder groups. Commonly, this may include senior leaders (board exec), line manager, HR/project team and the wider employee population. Aim to consult and discuss survey goals with each of these groups, asking what they want from the survey (their goals), with a view to aligning this with the organisational aims and, crucially, feeding in this context to the survey programme design and questionnaire. This process should help you create a programme this is well aligned, with good buy-in from stakeholders leading ultimately to better outcomes.

Provide managers with insights rather than data, so they don't get stuck in analysis paralysis. For example, you can distil results down to three things that are working well and three opportunities. You can also provide tips and thought-starters for managers, so they're able to quickly begin action planning with their teams.

Want managers invested in employee survey results? Don't just dump data! Turn it into actionable insights. Partner with them to identify key areas and co-create solutions. Show appreciation for their role in creating a better workplace. Remember, engaged managers lead to engaged teams!

Invite their peers to talk about activity/interventions they've successfully introduced based on previous feedback. Often hearing from a trusted colleague who is 'closer to the action' can influence change much more than just hearing from the central team delivering the survey. It can feel more authentic and tangible than just looking at numbers on a screen.

This is all about two things - 1) getting managers in 'on the ground floor' and seeking their input up front to build buy-in, shape the programme and educate them on how they will be able to use and benefit from the survey results. And 2) equipping managers post survey with intuitive, time-efficient tools and support/resources to review their local results, consult with their team and take action, where needed.

Introduce rewards for employees who take active participation in completing a survey. This process would motivate other employees to contribute their opinions to the survey. As an employer, explain how survey participation would help the organization scrutinize certain key measures to achieve positive outcomes, which in turn would improve employee development.

To motivate employees to participate in surveys and ensure their seriousness and honesty, clearly explain the survey's purpose and its impact on improving work conditions. Assure confidentiality, emphasize the value of their input, and involve management in encouraging participation. Showcase how previous survey results led to real changes and simplify the completion process. Use interactive elements and provide regular feedback on results. Create a positive atmosphere around surveys and involve employees in question development to make the surveys relevant and engaging. Highlight positive case studies and offer timely feedback to boost participation.

Just get the first one out... Even if your first survey gets 1 response, focus energy on taking at least one meaningful action on that response and communicating as widely as possible in as many different ways. The more employees hear the action taking the more likely they are to respond and embrace surveys, regardless of the format, length, and frequency. Providing you're realistic in setting expectations and being able to meet them.

Prior to survey distribution, I emphasize the importance of employee feedback with my team. I value surveys as tools for understanding the needs, motivations, and challenges of our workforce, particularly my team. They help me gauge my effectiveness as a manager in creating a safe environment for open communication. Surveys indicate if I've fallen short and provide anonymity for expressing concerns. Regardless of feedback, I commit to sharing it with my team, involving them in addressing concerns, and implementing improvement plans together.

Let's face it, surveys can feel like a chore for both employees and the companies sending them. Are crickets chirping in the response section? We've all been there. Two things I always try to do. Keep it secret, keep it safe:?Promise to keep their answers private, no matter what. This will make them feel more comfortable being honest. Make it quick and easy:?Let them do it on their phones, computers, or even paper during work hours. Nobody wants to spend their free time filling out surveys.

Fix things. You don’t need to action every comment or respond to every idea. People don’t expect to get everything. But they do expect timely action on the items that are of clear importance to the people with whom they work. And don’t over rotate on the WE HEAR YOU corporate messaging. Give people a channel for sharing feedback and ideas. Review everything. Action the stuff that makes sense. Follow up with the people who flagged the concept. Prioritize action over messaging. ??

Here are some good action planning questions for managers to ask: - What's already working well? (Leverage strengths) - What should we continue / do more of? - What should we stop / do less of? - What are we already planning that will help? Surveys rarely contain surprises. It's not often you have to start action planning with a blank page. Interestingly, of these questions, the one on "what should we stop doing?" is often the most challenging.

Think very carefully about disaggregating results. Focusing on "% positive" is a death sentence to effective action. Break the results down until you get clear, practical distinctions in the experiences of the survey participants. At that point, you at least have a chance of taking the correct action.

It is important to implement a comprehensive approach to effectively measure and communicate the value of employee surveys. First, identify critical metrics: engagement, productivity, business results, customer satisfaction. Gather data through regular surveys and track productivity and business results before and after implementing changes. Analyse the results against industry standards, using case studies to illustrate specific achievements. Organise focus groups to get qualitative feedback, evaluate the financial benefits of the changes, including ROI calculations. Use data visualisations to make information easier to understand. Update survey results regularly to keep everyone informed of progress and achievements.

The 'you said we did' approach is far more compelling than the stats. Employees prefer the qualitative, visible results. Why not ask employees in the follow up 'do you feel the last survey produced change' and start to track effectiveness (as well as engagement)

It is possible to break down results by department or division. In addition to overall results, another real benefit of employee surveys is that you can use back-end segmentation. If the feedback of your employee survey informs employees overall are not satisfied with your company, take a closer look at the individual factors bringing the satisfaction score down.

The single most important element to conducting a successful and valuable employee survey is communication. You need to communicate the objectives at the onset, so people know why they're participating. You have to communication the results, so people know what the outcomes were. And don't forget to communicate the action plan, so people know it was worth their valuable time