Organisations who run an annual employee engagement survey and subsequently act upon the results are already ticking many boxes. Research consistently demonstrates that companies with high employee engagement have a happier and more productive workforce, lower employee turnover, and higher profitability.
However, we are increasingly noticing that not all annual surveys are fit for a modern workforce. With many changes to the way we work, particularly in recent years, it is important that organisations are reviewing historic surveys and ensuring that they are asking the right questions. If a topic is no longer relevant or not one that your business can act upon, then it should have no place in the annual survey. Replacing outdated questions with fresh ones will revive your feedback process, ensuring that the data collected can be used to make key business decisions that support your teams as well as your organisation.
Reviewing priorities for your organisation
Speaking to clients on a daily basis, we create a variety of question sets based on their exact requirements. These can be a mixture of core employee engagement questions to allow for benchmarking year-on-year results, along with changing themes on the issues that matter to the individual business. Recent priorities for our clients include understanding more about the impact of hybrid working, diversity and inclusion and carbon footprint. Mental health and wellbeing has a significant focus within employee engagement surveys, especially in a post-Covid world. Understanding whether your organisation provides the right support for colleagues who are struggling is imperative, and if you never go beyond the standard questions then you cannot easily identify any areas where your processes may need adapting.
At We Love Surveys, we always recommend including a free text question in your surveys, giving employees the opportunity to leave additional feedback about anything else that really matters to them within their role. This allows for both positive and negative feedback – colleagues expanding their responses around themes that you may not have considered.
How feedback can help your business
We understand that survey fatigue can be a problem, so we’re not suggesting that you cover all of the topics mentioned in one huge survey! For many of our clients, an annual survey is no longer enough. Adding in shorter pulse surveys on topics that matter to their organisation allows them to gain actionable insight throughout the whole year. Knowing what matters to your teams and how you can improve employee experience will result in happy, productive staff and increase employee retention.
Book some time in your diary to review your annual employee engagement survey and check that the questions are still relevant to your employees and your goals for a happy and productive workforce. A programme of surveys that align with your business goals will reveal valuable insights. If you’re unsure and looking for advice then we are here to help - get in touch today.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash