Employee Engagement Surveys: Are They Worth It?

Short Answer: Yes. 

Long Answer: Yes, if done correctly…. 

In recent years, employee engagement surveys have been widely adopted by large companies, but they can be beneficial to companies of all sizes. Commonly used during periods of change, employee surveys are a great way to improve the relationship between the employee and the organization and show employees you care about their opinions.

Employee engagement surveys can help you gain insight on topics such as:

• Retention
• Satisfaction
• Brand Perception
• Company Culture

Why run an employee engagement survey?

When a company decides to do an employee-wide survey, they may be looking to build a strong internal brand, solve a retention problem or guide employees through changing times.

But you don’t need a larger reason. Wanting to gauge the opinions of your employees is enough. Whatever your reasoning, keep these tips in mind:

1. Gather an Accurate Sample Size
If you’re not going to survey every single employee, it is vital that you gather an accurate representation of your organization. This means diversity of department, age, location, race, etc, but more importantly it means making sure that the number of employees you survey from each category represent the population at large. For example, if Information Technology is the largest department in your organization, they should be the most represented in your survey. 

2. Ask the Right Questions
When crafting your survey, your questions need to match your goal, even if your goal is just deeper insight. Each question should have a purpose, and should be measurable. Write-in answers are good, but should not be used often. The Likert scale is the most popular format. 

3. Be Sure to Follow Through
There are many things to keep in mind when crafting a reliable survey, but the key to a successful employee engagement survey is to follow through and follow up. If you don’t act on the concerns of your employees, then it’s a waste of time and resources. It’s also important to be transparent about the process. Let employees know why you’re doing the survey and how it will affect them and the company as a whole.

Employee engagement surveys can bring to light both the positive and negative aspects of a business. Don’t be surprised if the feedback you receive is not what you expected. It may be hard to face negative criticism from employees, but it is necessary for growth. Take accountability and take action.

Need help getting started? See the benefits of strategic human resource management with HRO Resources.