Six Reasons Why Surveys Have Superpowers to Spark Change

When it comes to understanding people and organizations, surveys are great tools. Surveys of many types are found in companies because surveys have superpowers to ignite personal and organizational change. Coaches, consultants, and business leaders primarily collect survey feedback in four areas: organization development and change, leadership development, talent acquisition and retention, and performance management. In many organizations, surveys about people and human resources practices are underway throughout the year. Even as surveys increase in type and frequency, it's essential to understand the value that arises from understanding the power of surveys.

Several years ago, I had about given up my faith in most organizational survey results, and my declining faith wasn't related in time to the failed polling predictions in 2016. Instead, my concern was that we had moved to a new era in people and organizational change, the age of "survey says."

Experts delivered survey results to executive teams and packed audiences of employees, urging understanding and change. In this new era, expertise created a straight path to action. With action planning in place, accompanied by repeated survey cycles, substantive organizational change stalled in many companies. In moving straight from data to action, the critical steps of reflection and planning were overlooked. Magnifying the issue of results to immediate action, a widespread practice of setting executive bonus targets based on improved survey results emerged.

The employee data scientists at Gallup have been tracking engagement since 2000. In the 20 years since they began this work, their results have been steady and without significant score fluctuations. This year, however, results showed historically high fluctuations (related to COVID-19 and George Floyd's murder) and record-high levels of engagement. But as we entered the last business quarter, Gallup reported that engagement has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. Only 36% of respondents in the most-recently reported survey results indicated that they were committed, involved, and enthusiastic about their work and workplace.

What hasn't changed about surveys in this or any other era is that they provide an efficient mechanism to collect information on employees' thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Because of their efficiency, they are often overused by many. There remains a frequent tendency to deploy surveys as a primary means of understanding when other data collection methods would be more practical. The best managers get out of their chairs and ask and listen for feedback.

Some worry about the increasing frequency of employee and team surveys, fearing that survey fatigue slows participation. I'm not bothered by this. People are surveyed all the time, particularly regarding their experiences as customers. If we are undeterred in providing feedback about our experiences as customers, a similar logic applies to employee feedback: don't hesitate to ask frequently. However, the benefits of surveying diminish without input and discussion. I'm reminded of the expression, no action without data, and no data without action.

There is plenty of evidence establishing a nexus between customer satisfaction and employee happiness. Many organizations continue to strive for creating extraordinary experiences for employees and customers alike. Surveys deployed to improve the workplace experience and create fantastic experiences for employees and customers are useful.

Surveys will continue to be used in varied settings and formats. While this post refers to online surveys, their utility in one-on-one and group meetings should not be overlooked. Individual and focus group data often provide a deeper understanding of topics reported in survey data. One-on-one surveys and group survey feedback continue to have value as development tools for managers and leaders. The variety of survey collection tools is enormous, and few organizations go beyond conventional practices.

Six Powerful Reasons to Survey

While debates on survey approaches and methods will continue, there are six powerful reasons to conduct a survey. As you consider these six reasons, what else would contribute to this rationale?

1.    Demonstrates care. Surveys show employees that you care about their satisfaction, engagement, and development. Employees willingly participate in surveys that lead to thoughtful action. In coaching situations, surveys signal essential work, both for the client and their stakeholders. When leaders fail to respond to survey results over time, participation and engagement decrease. Surveys are one of the primary ways that leaders demonstrate care.

2.    Gives voice. Employee surveys provide a voice to employees. Surveys create a stake for employees in any anticipated future change or organizational strengthening. In the best situations, survey results are shared deliberately and directly. In many other organizations, where fear persists, survey data is collected with strict confidence and assurances of anonymity. For managers of many, surveys can provide perspectives that are otherwise difficult to gain from large numbers of people.

3.    Frames understanding. Preparing a good survey requires planning. When leaders and employees move into reflection and survey action planning, a great deal is determined by the questions and models employed in the study. Survey development is one area of people management where greater attention is needed. Most organizational action occurs in relationship to these frameworks. Without well-conceived frameworks, efforts can be directed to improving survey results, while underlying issues remain overlooked and unsolved.

4.    Surfaces early indicators. With regular practice, surveys can provide an early barometer on employee sentiment or pulse. Surveys provide a snapshot of time. Compared to other surveys or similar data, results of current surveys might provide early indicators where attention is needed. Well-designed surveys also help organizations to focus on improvement efforts.

5.    Provides quantification. Surveys easily yield quantification. We count rates of participation, degrees of satisfaction, numerical assessments of candidates, and many other measures. Instantly and over time, quantification provides additional insight. Combined with rich and thoughtful discussions that elucidate survey feedback, quantification is a useful output for continued measurement. The data-hungry in organizations relish quantification.

6.    Offers comparison. In nearly every presentation of survey results, one question always arises: How do we compare? People may want to know how they compare to the best of the best, companies of comparable size and revenue, and industry rankings. These contrasts are all valid and provide additional insight that can only come from comparison. Skilled consultants and people leaders steer survey discussions from "how do we compare" to "what do we value" as a meaningful comparison.

Moving to the Next Steps

Coaches, consultants, and people business leaders are pivotal in designing thoughtful employee data collection approaches through surveys. Surveys are powerful tools for employee involvement, understanding, and fueling change and growth efforts. For coaches, surveys provide context and completeness. Surveys that help developing leaders understand and strengthen competencies contribute to building organizations where people do their best work.

Surveys represent one of the best approaches for capturing feelings, opinions, and thought in large groups. When surveys are used in teams of six to ten people, they can help to prioritize and clarify topics important to the team. Appropriately timed, surveys provide a necessary wake-up call, catalyzing understanding resulting in purposeful action. The best coaches, consultants, and people leaders help others understand the power of the survey to create and sustain growth.