10 Tips for Effective Employee Surveys Part 2

Last week we looked at the first five tips to make your enterprise surveys more effective. Today we’ll address five additional tactics, including survey length and developing an action plan.

1. Survey length:

   As with any kind of survey, you need to keep it short to ensure engagement and avoid drop-off. Research shows that the shorter a survey is the more likely people are to respond. A well-constructed employee enterprise survey should take no longer than twenty minutes to complete. Be sure to do a trial run of your survey to assess the completion time.

2. Time to respond:

   It is important that you give employees time to fill out the survey at work. If you ask them to complete the questionnaire on their own time, you will see a significant decrease in response rates. Communicate a deadline for completion and ensure that all employees are given adequate time to respond.

3. Offer incentives:

   Some companies offer incentives to complete surveys, which increase engagement and response rates. However, use this tactic with caution as it could potentially affect confidentiality. You could offer a prize whereby participants enter their names voluntarily. That way, identities are not tied directly to the survey responses and there is still an incentive to participate.

4. Communicate results:

   It is important that you share the results of the survey with your employees. Communicating the results shows transparency and the company’s commitment to the feedback process. It is recommended that you develop a plan that outlines how and when you’re going to communicate the results.

5. Develop action plan:

   To ensure that an employee survey is effective, you have to act on the feedback provided. The management team needs to develop a plan that outlines specific actions for improvement. The action plan will also address any key issues that were raised during the survey process. Showing that the company acts on the feedback will increase the engagement and participation of employees.