Don’t Survey Employees Just Because You Can!

Summary: It’s time to act on your employee survey results. An employee opinion survey only becomes effective when something is done with the feedback provided. In this opinion blog I suggest a practical six-step action plan that will help you ensure effective interventions are implemented as a result of your employee survey.

“The best formula to destroy trust: Conduct an employee opinion survey and then do nothing”

Trust is the strongest bond that exists between employees and senior leaders. It is the foundation of employee engagement and all positive relationships you seek to create in your organisation (Read more: Employee Engagement vs. Job Satisfaction).

However, trust is also one of the most fragile aspects of organisational relationships. You can spend years building trust between your employees, managers, and senior leaders only to see it vanish when attitudes by your senior team disrupt the existing environment of organisational trust, like taking no action on your last employee opinion survey. Yes, neglecting employee survey feedback is a proven way to disengage people in organisations, damage which is not easily reversed (Read more: Creating a culture of ‘Respect and Trust’).

We all agree it is important for organisations to listen to their employees, unfortunately ‘only listening’ is what most organisations do. Although a good start, it is not enough, organisations need to ‘act’ on the insights provided. Organisations must carefully consider employee feedback and commit to meaningful and lasting HR organisational development initiatives and change. You need to make sure your organisation’s improvement is continuous and sustainable, more of a journey than an isolated event (Read more: Employee Feedback and the Culture of 'Continuous Improvement').

When it comes to employee surveys, the main challenge organisations face is not being able to act on their employee feedback. Some organisations survey their employees so frequently that they don’t have the required time to act on key organisational insights identified. Other organisations simply lack the necessary internal skills, willingness or commitment to convert their employee feedback into action (Read more: Do we really need more frequent employee surveys?).

“Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair”

In general, most organisations do a fantastic job conducting their employee opinion surveys. They consider and respect all the principles of survey research when designing their survey content, all pre-survey communications are timely executed, the survey is perfectly implemented and gets very high participation response rates. The difficulties start when all the employee survey results reports are in… and organisations don’t have the remotest idea what to do with the feedback!!! (Read more: Ensure ‘authentic and meaningful’ employee survey participation).

Taking your survey results to ‘Action’

How can the HR team ensure results are actioned throughout the entire organisation? The answer to ‘Actioning Employee Survey Results’ is having a clear project planning methodology. It will help you turn employee insights into practical and manageable implementation phases. You need a process that will help your organisation and all your key business units focus their ideas and help them decide what steps they need to take to achieve their HR organisational development goals.

After your survey is complete and the results are in, you should begin sharing this information with people in your organisation. It is sensible to consult with employees what should be the priority areas for action, how corrective interventions could be executed in those areas of opportunity, and how the progress of planned actions should be monitored. Finally, you need to evaluate the impact of your corrective actions by conducting a repeat survey - consider making your employee opinion survey initiative a permanent fixture in your calendar year.

“People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do”

Here I propose six action planning steps to ensure action is taken after your employee survey implementation is complete, officially closed, and all results are in.

STEP 1 - Communication of Survey Results

For many employees, the annual ‘Employee Engagement Survey’ is meaningless when the actual results are never shared with them. So, immediately after the survey has been officially closed, you need to carefully plan the initial data analysis and cascading of the survey results within the organisation.

Firstly, engage and involve your executive team:

• Engaging the senior leadership team as early as possible in the change process is essential.
• Educate them about employee engagement and the benefits it offers the organisation.
• Senior leaders are typically driven by numbers - be prepared with financial justification supporting an employee experience program.
• Explain the cost of a poor employee experience.
• Outline what it will take to implement changes.
• A critical point to make is that employee experience improvement provides enormous value at low cost.

Secondly, have a communication plan in place to ensure all survey results are shared clearly and objectively with employees. Communicate your employee survey results as soon as possible, ideally two weeks after the closure of the survey, do not offer granular information at this stage, just concentrate on high level results:

• Thank employees for their participation;
• Reinforce the objectives of the survey;
• Show the facts and figures, but don’t make an exhaustive list of them. Provide a brief overview of the results including participation rate, high level historical trends and comparisons to other organisations in your sector, overall engagement statistics, top and bottom items;
• Inform employees about next steps, such as communication of priorities for action, focus group opportunities and team meetings to further analyse and discuss the survey results.

Remember the longer you wait to present results:

• the more employees will expect you to talk about actions and solutions;
• the more employees will lose trust and confidence in you and the process.

STEP 2 - Prioritisation of Issues

Decide with your executive team what are the most important corporate areas to be addressed from your organisation’s employee survey feedback. Have your executive team identify and commit to two or three areas (maximum) on which to focus all your improvement efforts in the year come. They should make sure they emphasise matters that drive employee motivation and engagement and have a positive impact on how the organisation operates (Read more: If Employee Motivation is Low… Then Read This!).

It is sometimes tempting to try to indirectly address a symptom by selecting it as a priority area before root causes have been evaluated. Senior leaders should resist this temptation, when they encounter a symptom, it should serve as a prompt to dig deeper to get at the real root causes for an issue. For this purpose, you need to carefully revise not only quantitative data, but more importantly, the qualitative feedback, all employees’ written comments. There are several methods of root cause analysis, including failure mode analysis, fault tree analysis, and fishbone diagrams. For diagnosing performance issues, one of the most popular approaches is the ‘Five Whys’ - This approach simply requires participants to ask ‘why’ several times until root causes are uncovered.?

Once the three priority areas have been agreed and the executive team is fully committed to taking action on them, then communicate these corporate priorities to the wider employee population. The aim is for the whole organisation to move forward together towards the same goals. For communication purposes, develop clear priority statements using the quantitative and qualitative information (people’s comments) provided by your employee survey.

“Don’t conduct an employee survey unless you are convinced your leadership team is committed to listening and acting on the feedback provided”

Larger organisations (1,000+ employees) may want to have additional priority areas, or even separate action plans, for specific business units, however, my advice is to keep the action planning at very high level (group level). Organisations should not overstretch themselves by trying to tackle absolutely every single issue found in the survey, this would be a mistake, it is better to concentrate on no more the three focus areas that really matter, those that will have the most positive impact on the organisation and levels of employee engagement / experience (See image below).

STEP 3 - Development of Action Plans

The development of actions should follow immediately after employees have been informed about the outcomes of the survey and the agreed key areas for action. The aim of this stage is to translate the survey results into concrete, well-coordinated actions. So, now you need to decide what to do:

• Support existing actions?
• Re-prioritise planned actions?
• Develop new actions from scratch?

Once the most important areas have been prioritised, you then need to coordinate these into a clear plan of action. For each corporate priority area identified (no more than three), you need to define very precise SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Resourced, Time-bound) to clearly measure the success of your interventions in that specific priority area. The objectives should not be linked to survey metrics but to key performance indicators directly connected to the priority area.

Once the SMART objectives have been clearly demarcated, brainstorm and define all the necessary actions to achieve those specific goals. This step has more to do with how senior leaders create a business environment where innovation and creativity is encouraged at every single level within their organisations. In this respect, consultation sessions (e.g. focus groups) at different levels in the organisation is an effective means of generating ideas for improvement which is an essential part of the action planning process.

Once we know what needs to be done and all the actions have been agreed, the next step in the plan is to decide who will be responsible for each action, by when, and what resources will be required (See summary image below).

The key aspect in this stage of the planning process is to involve managers and employees in the idea generation / innovation process to design actions that will lead to organisational improvements.

Developing and prioritising actions should be a collaborative effort - the more involved employees are in the action planning process, the more likely they are to support and follow it through. Promote dialogue with employees, encourage comments and discussion on the corporate priorities from all managers and employees by organising focus groups / consultation events: What surprised you? What did you expect? Why are the results like that? Are there areas that require more information? What feels most urgent to you? Any actions in mind? Record as many action ideas as you can. Don’t worry if some of the suggestions seem unrealistic, just use these sessions to generate as many action ideas as possible (Note: you could also research, recycle and adapt best practices from successful organisations).

The aim of these discussions is to allow people at all levels to brainstorm ideas and recommendations for improvement. There will be great ideas and not so good ideas, so it is important to concentrate on those suggested actions that are realistic and will have the greatest impact on the organisation (Read more: In search of a ‘Culture of Innovation’).

Once the consultation exercise is finished, look over the list of ideas and select the best suggested actions, choose ideas that are both realistic and actionable. When ranking the importance of all suggested action ideas for each objective, it is necessary to take into consideration: cost and financial viability, ease of implementation, employee acceptance and general impact on the organisation. If any action scores low in these assessments, then you have good reasons to put this action on the back burner. In your team discussions you could use an ‘Action Ranking Tool’ that would allow you to objectively rank and select the most viable ‘Top Actions’. See example below.

STEP 4 - Communication of Actions

It is a common mistake to stop the survey process just at the results communication stage. The employee survey communication should not stop at that point in time, it should be a continuous process, it should continue until the launch of your next survey. This means you also need to communicate not only survey results and priorities, but most importantly, what you will do with the feedback provided. Employees need to understand what their feedback is being used for, and more importantly, that it is being taken seriously by senior leadership.

The results of your employee survey are key to highlighting potential organisational challenges being faced by the organisation and the proposed actions designed to fix them. Employees need to appreciate why those proposed actions are necessary; it is crucial that they understand the need for change.

Most importantly, they need to know what is in it for them. You need to communicate the benefits of the proposed actions and how the changes you are to implement will improve their work experience and overall organisational productivity (Read more: Communicating in uncertain times).

Clearly explain the new action plan to all employees, discuss with them how they can be part of the change process and provide them with the tools and training needed to succeed in the implementation process. Also let employees know where to go for additional resources or support.

They need to have a good idea of what actions can be supported by each of them at an individual level, what actions can be implemented locally, and which issues they will be unable to action directly but can influence at corporate level. See image below.

The ‘scope and timing matrix’ example below helps to clarify the different areas of influence, those actions that can be implemented a local level, at corporate level, and implementation time-frames.

This employee empowerment approach will ensure greater participation and support in the action planning process and greater response rates in your next employee survey (Read more: Ensure ‘authentic and meaningful’ employee survey participation).

STEP 5 - Action Plan Implementation

Now, the aim of this stage is to take the agreed actions and break them down into smaller, more actionable steps. These smaller steps will help you develop your official action plan that details the best practices for specific focus areas. The plan should include your opportunity area, objectives, selected actions, actionable steps, plan to measure progress, date of expected positive change, and plans to celebrate both quick wins and planned completion.

The plan needs to answer the following questions:

• What is to be done? Communicate priorities and objectives; Specify clearly the actions to be taken.
• Who will do it? Identify the person(s) responsible for implementation of each action; Build responsibility into personal objectives.
• When it will be done? Evaluate your timing; Focus on ‘Quick Wins’, crisis/emergent issues, longer-term strategic issues.
• Which resources will be required? Budget/investment; Reallocation of staff/workloads; Outside help.
• How will success be measured? Longer term plans require intermediate milestones; Qualitative – behaviors and attitudes; Quantitative – times, units, money.

In terms of actual implementation, you can opt for an ‘Engagement Champion’ or ‘Task Force Team’ approach. Responsibilities include:

• Senior Leadership to identify one engagement champion for each priority area.
• Each engagement champion to form and lead a ‘Task force Team’.
• Task Force Teams should integrate volunteers from different departments / units to: brainstorm and agree on main actions to be taken to achieve objectives for each priority area; help implement the various agreed actions; share best practice; regularly update Senior Leadership and rest of employees on progress of the different actions.

If your organisation is very small (up to 50 employees) you may want to have one ‘Engagement Champion’ overseeing the implementation of all three priorities. For medium sized organisations (up to 500 employees) you may want to have one engagement champion responsible for each priority area. For larger organisations (500+ employees) you may want to consider one cross-functional ‘Task Force Team’ to address each priority area.

In this respect it would be advisable to develop a Gantt chart to track the status of all project activities. It will allow you to track the status of all project activities, track deadlines, milestones, time intervals, the duration and the person responsible for each activity. Gantt charts are incredibly useful in project management instances of this nature.

STEP 6 - Monitor Action Plan Implementation

No action plan would be complete without setting up a method for measuring results, remember, improvement is a journey, not an isolated / static event. The aim of this final step is to review and follow up how the project is progressing, to ensure people are completing their assigned tasks which should translate into actual improvements in the work experience of all your employees and subsequent organisational performance.

Ensure the different teams are making adequate strides. Hold all people involved in the project accountable by publicly sharing team goals and routinely updating progress. For this purpose, you need to create an accountability plan which schedules regular check-in meetings with all engagement champions or task force teams who have a role in executing your action plan. It should set clear milestones to track the success of the plan. At the same time, do not forget to keep the teams driven, celebrate small wins to motivate the team and keep things moving forward. This will help to energise your different implementation teams and keep the momentum going.

There are four basic measures that you could track to determine the consistency and pace of results communication and action planning:

• Percentage of employees that learned about the survey results
• Number of actions developed
• Degree of action implementation / Number of actions that were started
• Percentage of actions fully implemented / completed

These measures should be tracked and reported quarterly. You will have a better chance of selling your action plan to your senior leaders if you can show measurable results. Secondly, your employees are more likely to support the changes if they feel involved in the project and know how it is improving their immediate work environment.

Now, the big question is, have these actions you have taken led to improved employee experience and morale? Your next survey is the ideal opportunity to evaluate the effects your investments have had and how much employees have appreciated the effort. If you establish the employee survey as a well-established upward communication instrument, you increase the likelihood that employee opinions and trust will continue to improve.

As you gain insight, adapt the questionnaire to include different or additional survey statements or action points. For example, in your next survey you may want to include the following statement:

"I feel significant actions have been taken as a result of our previous survey."

This survey statement will help you identify which business units and managers have actioned their survey results and which have not. We would expect a minimum favourable score of 60%, sadly, the actual benchmark for this statement stands at 46% - a very low bar indeed!

Some Final Thoughts…

We all agree that turning employee feedback into positive change is a challenge. It takes time and commitment, but the potential benefits, such as enhanced camaraderie and employee morale, improved employee engagement and higher levels of organisational productivity, are well worth the effort.

My main advice is ‘Don't try to boil the ocean’ – just keep things simple:

• Communicate high level survey results as soon as possible.
• Start small. Pick only three priority areas to focus on first.
• Find a way to harness those priorities towards other critical corporate projects.
• Do not over-engineer the action planning process (methodology).
• Concentrate on high level action planning.
• Create a targeted campaign to shift each of those corporate priorities. Consider ‘Engagement Champions’ or ‘Task Force Teams’.
• Remind people of achievements, regularly communicate action planning progress.
• Finally, remember that a series of small measurable wins will add up to serious psychological momentum over time and do a lot more to shift towards the desired organisational culture than feel good slogans and lofty rhetoric.

It's important to follow through on promises after an employee opinion survey to show your commitment to improving your organisation. It also shows that you value your employees’ feedback; that they are being heard and that they are being empowered to participate in the change process and success of the organisation.

Remember, you have the option of using the feedback from your employee surveys to make real change in the workplace or simply sit on this data and allow your employees to become disengaged at work. As a leader, you need to set an example by following through on all employee feedback and agreed actions. Don’t allow employees to distrust your survey initiatives!

Thanks for reading my blog & your kind support. Were any of the insights provided of value to you? I would welcome your feedback - please do ‘Like’ or ‘Comment’ your experience on this subject in the space provided! -?Follow me on LinkedIn?for more articles and insights!

Disclaimer: The author is making this ‘Opinion Blog’ available in his personal effort to advance the understanding of best practices in workplace related matters. The author assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this ‘Opinion Blog’ or for the results obtained from the use of the information provided. The information is provided on an ‘as is’ basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness and without any warranties of any kind whatsoever, express or implied. The views expressed are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of any entity whatsoever with which the author has been, is now, or is to be affiliated in the future.