The Ultimate Guide To Effective Employee Surveys

by Srikant Chellappa Aug 31,2021
Engagedly
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The People Strategy Leaders Podcast

with Srikant Chellappa, CEO

The transition throughout the pandemic has not been easy for anyone. Both the employees and the organizations are still struggling to adjust to the new normal. While for some it was easy, but for some it was a major cause of disengagement and distractions. So the question is, are you checking on your employees often and what is the best way to do so.

Employee surveys can be used as an effective way to manage your employees and gauge their engagement.They are designed in such a way that they drive employees to engage more and have a positive impact on them. Once you know how your employees feel, it will be easier to figure out how to better engage them and obtain employee engagement ideas.

Here are eight steps to embrace when you conduct employee surveys.

1. Identify The Objective Of The Survey

Determining the objective of a survey is the most important aspect of conducting a survey. Clarify the purpose of the survey by asking yourself why is the survey important to your organization and what you aim to achieve through the survey. A clear objective gives your survey a direction and motivates your employees to take it more enthusiastically.

For instance, you can carry out a survey to gain insights into your employees’ perception of their work or to increase employee engagement. The point is that you need to have an absolutely clear objective before you give your employees a survey. A survey without an objective is pointless and has high chances of failure as you will get responses which you will not be able to do much with.

2. Communicate To Your Team

Once you’ve figured out the objective of the survey, the next thing you need to do make sure that your employees realize this survey is important. And that their participation is necessary. A lot of surveys tend to fail because the people taking them do not take them seriously. In order for your survey to work, you need accurate and honest feedback. You can also use a third-party provider to administer the survey, to assure your employees of anonymity and fairness. Using a third-party provider increases the response rate and provides you with an unbiased end report.

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3. Determine The Survey Method

It is important that you select the appropriate survey method. As there are different types of surveys, there are also different methodologies to conduct the surveys. The survey methodology depends on a few factors like the participants of the survey, ease of distributing the questionnaire, ease of receiving the responses, etc. Online questionnaires are widely used now tools such as engagedly you can design and implement a survey rapidly. You can choose one of the two methodologies to conduct an employee survey.

4. Ask The Right Questions

Depending on the survey objective and the target audience, make a list of important topics to be included in the questionnaire. Make sure that any question doesn’t have a negative impact on the relationship of your work staff. Mostly, try to formulate positive questions and avoid typical social norm questions which encourage criticism of their coworkers. You may want to have some questions that can bring out employee engagement ideas you may not have thought about. You might need to make multiple questionnaires and validate them before you can release the final version.

Also Read: Goal Setting Software Guide For CIOs

5. Encourage Participation 

Now that the questionnaire is ready, all you have to do is get your employees to take the survey. To get responses across the board, you might have to promote the survey aggressively. Encourage your employees to participate in the survey. Help them understand how they can benefit from it. Once they are clear about the outcome and benefits of the survey, they will be more eager to be a part of it.

6. Make The Outcome Of The Survey Public

After the survey is conducted, make sure that you communicate the results of the survey to your employees. Don’t suppress them results. In fact, your employees deserve to know what the survey says and what the general consensus is. You can probably have a short presentation about the results of the survey and then discuss the results with your employees.

Also Read: 7 Proven Ways To Be A Better Leader In The Workplace

7. Create An Action Plan

After presenting the results, make sure that you act on the results as you discussed with your employees during the presentation. Create a plan of action and a set of goals to be achieved. Also, involve your employees in the plan and assign them responsibilities so that they solve the issues themselves and feel empowered.

8. Conduct Surveys Often

Carry out employee surveys at regular intervals of time. Any survey is of no use if it is conducted once in a year or once in two years. You will only know how your employees feel if you make it a habit of asking them.

Have you carried out surveys in your organization? Share your experiences with us in the comments section below!


Want to know how Engagedly can help you implement effective employee surveys? Request for a demo from our experts.

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Author
Srikant Chellappa
CEO & Co-Founder of Engagedly

Srikant Chellappa is the Co-Founder and CEO at Engagedly and is a passionate entrepreneur and people leader. He is an author, producer/director of 6 feature films, a music album with his band Manchester Underground, and is the host of The People Strategy Leaders Podcast. He is currently working on his next book, Ikigai at the Workplace, which is slated for release in the fall of 2024.

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