FAQs
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When is the best time to do an employee survey?
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Who should be included in surveys?
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How often should surveys be administered?
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Do you recommend including open-ended questions/collecting comments?
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What are typical response rates?
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What is the minimum number of respondents in a group needed for reporting results?
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Who should get survey results reports?
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When is the best time to do an employee survey?
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There is probably no one best time for everyone in the organization to do a survey. Work demands can fluctuate based on industry and function. There is a tendency to want to wait until "all of the changes are in place," or "until things get on track" before doing their first survey. It is natural to have a fear of the unknown. To help ensure that the survey results will be used to make positive change, we recommend conducting an annual survey at a time when the results can be incorporated into annual budgeting and strategic planning efforts.
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Who should be included in surveys?
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Burke advocates a census approach. In general for broad based surveys, we believe all employees should be given the opportunity to complete a survey. Full inclusion helps to build buy-in to the process by giving employees an opportunity to be involved. Depending on size of organization and number of employees, it may be worthwhile to do quarterly sampling for tracking purposes or to better understand specific issues as they arise.
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How often should surveys be administered?
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Once a year is optimal. Research shows that the majority of companies conduct annual surveys, followed by bi-annual surveys. It is common to monitor trends on target topics more frequently, as appropriate. Other than for simply tracking trends and monitoring hot issues, it is a real challenge to try to use quarterly results effectively. Improvements take time to create and implement, and frequent measurement without change can be frustrating to both employees and management.
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Do you recommend including open-ended questions/collecting comments?
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Yes. It's best if they are constructively positioned, such as, "What one thing would you suggest to improve ?" Comments provide an outlet for sharing powerful examples and suggestions. They provide additional information for understanding the quantitative results, and provide a good start for using the results. Comments should be used to support the quantitative findings rather than vice versa.
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What are typical response rates?
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Ultimately, the response rate depends on a number of factors including:
(1) the message about the survey regarding purpose and management support
(2) the employees' perceptions of its usefulness and value to them personally
(3) ease and convenience of completing the survey
(4) the general culture of the organization, i.e.,is there trust - do employees believe their responses will be anonymous?
(5) does the history of previous surveys include communicating results to all and efforts to make improvements based on those results?
The more positive the response to each of the above 5 factors, the higher the response rates. Typical response rates are in the 60-70% range. Below 50% is a concern. Response rates also vary by mode of administration with group administrations delivering the highest response rates, although web surveys are now offering strong response rates as well.
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What is the minimum number of respondents in a group needed for reporting results?
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We recommend setting the minimum number of respondents for a report at 10. If the group size is less than 10, we suggest that they be rolled up to the next level. With less than ten, one or two people can have major impact on total results as well as trending. Reporting for less than 10 cause individuals to feel "at risk" for identification, and this may cause them not to participate and/or not provide accurate responses if they do.
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Who should get survey results reports?
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This depends on how the organization will drive the use of results, i.e., who will have accountability for making positive change. It is usually good for managers who have at least 10 respondents to get their own results as this builds buy-in and makes the results personally relevant. If the results are only presented at the higher levels, lower level managers will not own the results, and there is little opportunity for identifying and addressing local issues.
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