The past few months have seen unprecedented changes for businesses across the globe with no industry being left unaffected. Many people are working from home and struggling to juggle a healthy work-life balance, or they are returning to a workplace that is very different than it was in February. We’re looking at how pulse surveys can make these processes smoother and the benefits they can offer not only now, but in the long term.
As a result of all the recent changes, in the UK, we’re currently experiencing what the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has called an “employee engagement deficit”, with only one third of workers saying they feel engaged with their roles.
While it’s understandable that priorities have changed, your employees are the lifeblood of your organisation and looking after them is more important now than ever. The saving grace for many HR departments has been technology. It means we can still communicate and operate effectively, without having to be in one place.
What is a pulse survey?
One of the technologies available to HR professionals and business owners is a feedback tool known as a pulse survey, which is “often used by companies to measure their operating climate and overall performance. A pulse survey is conducted on employees or customers on periodic basis.”
In other terms, it’s a solution that allows you to collect feedback from your colleagues on a regular basis, sometimes in the form of everyday engagement. The differentiator between pulse surveys and standard surveys is that the questions are short, sharp and asked more frequently. The data can be collated and analysed to assess the overall levels of engagement and satisfaction within the business.
The benefits of pulse surveys
Regular feedback
Due to the speed in which the situation is constantly evolving, it’s important to keep up to date with how your employees are feeling. An issue that might not affect them one day, might the next.
If you're not collecting feedback regularly enough, your survey might be too little, too late.
Increased honesty
Incorporating pulse surveys into the normal working routine reduces the amount of pressure that large, irregular surveys often bring with them. Less pressure leads to more honesty.
Increased employee (and survey) engagement levels
The nature of pulse surveys means they don’t intrude on your team’s day in the same way traditional surveys do. When feedback becomes a choice for colleagues, engagement naturally increases.
Just asking the questions can lead to increased engagement levels as everyone feels as though their opinions matter. With the uncertainty in the world right now, let your staff know they’re being heard. Employees who are engaged feel happier, more satisfied and more motivated. In turn, this offers advantages to the business, resulting in higher productivity and better performance.
Trend analysis
Each survey you gather provides a snapshot of how each employee was feeling at the time they answered it. This gives you the information you need to act on any urgent issues.
In addition, over a long period of time, pulse surveys can be used to identify trends within the business or within specific teams. For example, if the overall employee satisfaction is reducing over time, you may want to implement changes to your employee engagement strategy to rectify this.
What to ask in pulse surveys
If you’re asking your employees questions frequently, then it’s important to make sure you’re asking the right questions, in the right way. The exact questions you ask will be specific to your organisation, but here are a few examples to get you started:
How happy are you with our company? (very unhappy, unhappy, neutral, happy, very happy)
I feel comfortable offering my opinion to my managers (very uncomfortable, uncomfortable, neutral, comfortable, very comfortable)
How would you rate your work-life balance, on a scale of 1-10?
I understand what success in my role looks like (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree)
Remember, all questions should be clear, concise and open – don't ask any leading questions. Also, leave out any questions you don’t have the power to change.
The survey isn’t the end
As with any form of employee feedback gathering, it’s important to remember that asking the question is only the beginning. The information you glean from this should be fed into your wider employee engagement strategy and used to create a more employee-focused culture.
By taking action, you show your team their feedback is listened to and that you care about what they have to say. Then you’ll have happy, engaged employees.
