Ever since organizations began to realize the link between employee engagement and productivity, customer relations and overall success, HR leaders have sought ways to measure and keep track of it. Employee engagement surveys seemed like an obvious solution: if you want to know if your employees are engaged, why not ask them? However, sending out a survey is not as simple as it sounds.
How can you be sure that your employees are answering honestly and not just saying what they think their managers want to hear? And how do you get your employees to actually fill out surveys in the first place?
Design your survey process to get maximum participation and get real, honest answers with these 9 tips:
Communicate Broadly and Abundantly
And then communicate some more. When it comes to gaining buy-in, you can’t communicate effectively enough.
Market the Survey
Talk about the upcoming employee survey in multiple formats and get creative with your marketing campaign. Gain attention with posters, table tents, newsletters, intranet postings, and even your email signature.
Get Leadership Buy-In
Before you can expect employees to participate in your engagement survey, your leadership team needs to be on board with the initiative. Leadership plays an influential role when it comes to an organization's employee survey participation rate.
Make It Easy
Make employee survey information easy to understand and the survey itself, easy to take. Keep it short and to the point, use clear and concise language, and create an obvious call to action.
Explain the Benefits
The financial benefits of conducting an employee survey might be obvious to you and your leaders, but how does it benefit employees? If they complete the survey will it improve their work experience, impact the type of recognition they receive, or allow them to influence the direction of the company? Make sure your employees know what they’re going to get out of it, and they’ll be more likely to participate.
Respect Confidentiality
Being able to ensure 100% confidentiality is critical to building trust in an employee survey. Give employees the freedom and security to submit honest opinions, without having to worry about potential consequences. Partnering with an external vendor like Great Place to Work can help you make your employees feel safe.
Look at Past Survey Outcomes
If your organization has participated in an employee engagement survey in the past, relay the positive outcomes that came from it to motivate employees to participate again. For example, did you implement a new recognition initiative due to last year’s scores or refurbish office furniture as a result of employee comments?
Keep Track of Your Progress
Monitor your employee response rate in real-time to stay on track with your participation goal. If you partner with an external vendor like Great Place to Work, you can receive timely updates on your survey completion rate. Leverage it to track daily progress and help you achieve overall participation goals.
Schedule it in
Make completing an employee engagement survey a no-brainer for your employees. Set aside 15 minutes for them to complete the survey during the workday.
Why not get started on planning your employee engagement survey today? Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
About Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the Global Authority on Workplace Culture. We make it easy to survey your employees, uncover actionable insights and get recognized for your great company culture. Learn more about Great Place to Work Certification.
