5 Success Factors for Employee Surveys

Here are 5 fundamental success factors for designing an employee survey:

• Pose clear, unbiased questions: Writing a bad survey question is easier than you think. Common pitfalls (the "don'ts") include:

• • Leading questions: Don't ask questions that steer the respondent in a particular direction. How much did you enjoy using the redesigned online training modules? Instead, ask "On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with the redesigned online training modules?"

• • Loaded questions: Don't ask questions that include one or more unverified assumptions. What problems do you have with your line manager? Instead, ask "Describe the relationship you have with your line manager."

• • Compound questions: Don't ask questions that force the respondent to give one answer about two or more issues. On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your current pay and paid time off benefits? Instead, divide this into two questions that allow the respondent to assess pay and benefits separately.

• Include open-ended questions: Open-ended questions allow respondents to provide valuable detail and context regarding an issue that cannot be captured in closed and multiple-choice questions. In addition, they give respondents an opportunity to suggest other critical topics that you may want to explore in future surveys.

• Organize your content: Your overall survey should tell a story. Take care to ensure your questions are logically grouped and flow clearly from one topic to the next. Jumping from engagement to time off to compensation will only confuse respondents about the survey’s purpose.

• Be respectful of your respondent’s time: When your company budgets for only 1 or 2 employee surveys a year, it may be tempting to pack as many questions as possible into your survey. However, respondents who feel inundated by the volume of questions may speed through the survey or abandon the survey before completing it.

• Have a test run: Share your survey with a small group before administering it to your entire target audience. This dress rehearsal will give you the opportunity to address issues raised by your test group before your survey launches.

Keep in mind that an employee survey is just a starting point for measuring employee attitudes. A multi-pronged measurement approach — including pulse surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews — will provide a more well-rounded picture of what employees want. With this information, you can revamp your company’s employee experience to keep valued team members from looking elsewhere for a more compatible work relationship.