When to run an employee engagement survey
Once you have made the decision to run a survey, it can be tempting to jump straight in and launch as soon as possible. HR are often pressured by well-intentioned senior leaders who are eager to get the feedback quickly so that the business can get started on making positive changes.
Choosing the ‘right’ time to launch is critical to the success of any employee engagement survey. Launching at the wrong time can result in low completion rates or data skewed by negative emotional states.
Taking the time to plan your survey will ensure your people have the time and focus to provide well balanced, quality feedback.
Ideally, your people should be in a ‘neutral state’ when completing e.g. not overly stressed, frustrated, negative or equally gushing with positivity.
Here are our tips on what you need to consider when planning your survey launch:
– Avoid peak times
Whilst this may sound obvious, avoiding peak business times is important. Busy periods mean your team will have less time to focus on providing quality feedback. Increased stress levels experienced at these times also means that results may be heavily focused on how the individual feels at peak times rather than providing a more balanced view of what it is like to work in the business across the year.
Ensuring team members have the time to complete the survey also means avoiding peak holiday periods. Expecting people to complete right before finishing for or during annual leave will result in rushed responses.
– Plan around key business projects
Key business projects, particularly those which have a significant impact on your people must be considered. If you are planning a project that will impact workload or working conditions, it is advisable to ensure the change has embedded before launch.
The exception to this is obtaining specific feedback on how a change has impacted the team. Whilst a separate survey is recommended, if you choose to include in your main engagement survey you must consider how the timing may affect the overall feedback.
– Take the time to plan and engage the team
It is ironic that ‘engaging’ the team is one of the key steps often missed when planning an engagement survey! Your team must be fully aware, bought in and prepared for the survey launch. Drip feeding information over a period of time will help build momentum for the project. That way when your survey launches everyone should be ready and willing to participate.
Develop a pre-launch communication plan to ensure your team members understand:
- The reasons why you are running the project
- Key benefits to the them and the business
- How you will protect anonymity
- Details of the survey launch period
- How they can expect to receive the survey and what they need to do
Leaders (at all levels) also have a key role in ensuring the success of the project. Therefore getting their buy in is important. Leaders must be positive advocates for the survey, be ready to answer questions/deal with concerns and encourage participation. More details on the leaders role in a successful survey project to follow.
Key Advice for perfect timing:
- Avoid peaks
- Plan around key business changes
- Take the time to prepare and engage your team!
For more information on how we can help you deliver your survey project go to https://www.listentoyourteam.co.uk/our-packages/ or contact kaye@listentoyourteam.co.uk.
