8 Tips to Improve Your Employee Survey Participation Rate

If your employee survey response rate is low (that is, 50% or less), this is a warning sign that you need to make a change. When employees are not responding to surveys, it can mean that (1) your company is not effectively communicating the importance of the survey (2) the survey itself is ineffective (i.e. too long, too tedious, or vaguely worded) (3) employees feel that their voice won’t be heard regardless of whether they complete it or not (4) there is an underlying lack of trust that anonymity is being upheld.

A key concern is that low participation will not provide a complete picture of your company. Results are in turn, more likely to be biased and/or skewed, causing HR leaders to struggle with developing positive, organization-wide changes. Especially as we kick off 2021, improving employee participation is crucial to ensuring HR and top leadership have a holistic view of current strengths and improvement opportunities.

Low Participation Rate = Low Employee Engagement

How can you boast about high levels of employee engagement if your survey response rate is low? Well, to be clear, you can’t, or at least shouldn’t. The two are very much intertwined; if you don’t have a clear understanding of your workforce, you cannot take specific and measurable steps to support employees’ ability to achieve targeted KPIs and ultimately improve your ROI.

As HR leaders, you understand that such surveys are critical in gauging internal satisfaction levels and in determining actions to increase productivity and retention. My objective is to make sure that you are properly prepared to leverage surveys moving forward. If you’re struggling with participation, that is okay. Now is the time to get to the root of the problem, and New Wave Solutions is here to help.

The Importance of a Top-Down Surveying Approach??

First, it’s important for me to be candid about one of the main problems I’ve seen. It deals with leadership buy-in, or the lack thereof. C-suite, managers, and HR need to be in sync and ready to support the implementation of employee surveys. If you are receptive to listening and willing to act on employees’ responses, your chances of success will increase.

And, trust me. Moving into 2021, it’s more important than ever to improve your employee surveying process…

New Wave’s Tips to Improve Participation

Here are 8 tips we urge you to consider before you roll out your next employee survey. All have proven critical in impacting the success of the surveying process.

1.???Use a third-party vendor. Employees are more likely to participate and provide honest answers when they know a survey is being run independently by a reputable employee research company. Also, keep in mind that survey platforms like New Wave Solutions only oversee surveys. We have certified researchers involved throughout the survey process, so we can create unbiased questions, quickly process responses, and turn data-based insights into actionable follow-up.

2.???Don't require email entry. Consider integrating your survey into existing software so that there are no additional log-in steps required. Or offer easy access through QR codes or anonymous links. If an employee has to register a new account, this is problematic. The easier it is to get started on the survey, the higher your survey completion rate will be.

3.???Maintain employee anonymity. Ensure employees know results will only be reported in the aggregate. Clearly communicate that they will never be singled out for a free response question; also, in any place that you request personally identifying information, such as a location or position, explain the rationale behind why the information is helpful. Consider making demographic questions optional, if they are not absolutely necessary.

4.???Encourage employee involvement in the survey process. Allow for employees to be a part of the discussion surrounding the survey. Host a virtual meeting allowing employees to suggest topics to be covered or facilitate a virtual discussion board. For example, New Wave Solutions has a week-long period before the survey starts. Employees are encouraged to ask questions, so we can address any concerns that might inhibit participation.

5.???Communicate expected survey length. Participation decreases as survey length increases, so be transparent about what employees are committing to. Let them know how many questions are included and the approximate time requirement they should prepare to allocate. For reference, New Wave Solutions’ surveys are always shorter than 15 minutes.?

6.???Empower managers to oversee team participation. Managers need to demonstrate to their team that they care about this survey and actively support it. Have them help manage reminders to their team, encourage them to host a Q&A, etc.

7.???Provide a clear timeline. If you are requesting employees to dedicate time to this survey, they need to know that the results will lead to substantive improvements. From the onset, outline your timeline for how long it will take to analyze the results and relay when they should expect to hear about the initiatives you will undertake. At New Wave Solutions, we work with you directly to construct a specific timeline to share with your employees.

8.???Have fun with it. We’ve had success with sending creative email reminders and designing posters to hang around the office. We also encourage employees to spread the word themselves. This is an opportunity for them, as much as it is for you, to create a positive impact. Give them the freedom to do so!

Surveying in the Age of Remote Work?

With teams continuing to work remotely at scale as the Covid-19 pandemic continues, employee surveys are a crucial touchpoint that managers and HR teams must monitor. With internal processes in a state of transition, employee surveys are more important than ever before to help organizations responsively and dynamically adapt.

Even if managers are hosting weekly team meetings or regular check-in calls, many are navigating the experience of overseeing a remote team for the first time. Employee surveys are, in turn crucial, providing a much-needed opportunity for both management and HR to remain connected with employees, regardless of physical distance.

It’s Time to Get Your Surveying Plans in Order for 2021

When leaders effectively follow-up on employee feedback, it leads to higher retention and productivity and better morale. It's time for you to effectively leverage the right surveying tool for your company and tackle underlying issues head-on.

Whether you’ve been circulating employee surveys for years or this is your first time, our team at New Wave Solutions is happy to connect and share our expertise regarding crafting a customized survey for your company.

**If your company measures Employee Engagement,?here are?3 Research-Backed Reasons to Measure Commitment Instead of Engagement.

Thank you for reading!

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Written By?Andrew Kitchner

CEO |?New Wave Solutions

E:[email protected]

P:?714.496.2984?

New Wave Solutions’ Employee Surveys enable our clients to measure, track, and improve Organizational Commitment so they can better gain, train, and retain top-tier talent.