Survey Says…

Employee Outreach Surveys…

• How do we best support a return to work?
• How do we best support those working from home?
• How do we create a benefits plan with the highest perceived value?
• How do we develop our people?

A survey can be a great way to gain insight into the thoughts and feelings of your employees.  Even though they are usually anonymous, they are still a way to connect.  With many of us working on distributed teams, far away from the water cooler, many organizations are looking for ways to get a read on their people.  Granville West can help you get a sense of employee sentiment in uncertain times.  

If you are thinking about launching an employee survey, here are some things to keep in mind:

4 steps for effective survey development

1. Survey Focus:  A survey that is too long is usually written without clear intention.  What are you looking to do?  What information do you need to do it?  How will the results from this survey be a guide to you?  Know this before you start.  
2. In your preamble include:  The length of the survey, the purpose of the survey, if it is anonymous or not, who will see the data, how the data will be used, and when they will be shared with everyone.  And of course, say thank you!  The information they are sharing with you is a gift. 
3. Demographics:  If your organization is large enough to break the results into demographic groupings without threatening anonymity, this can be very useful.  Typical demographic breakdowns include; length of service groupings, departmental grouping, and manager versus employee groupings. 
4. Timing:  Launch when your people have the time to do the survey and when you have the time to do something about the results.  Avoid:  peak vacation season, the middle of a major project, at the top your industry’s high season, etc.  Be prepared to make a reasonably quick turnaround once the survey has closed.

Write good survey questions.  Here are my top 5 tips:

1. Most employee surveys are anonymous.
2. Try not to ask more than one thing at a time.  
3. Get specific.  
4. Try not to ask leading questions.
5. Know why you are asking every single question.  

5 Work from home questions to consider:

1. I feel comfortable communicating my questions/concerns about COVID-19 to leadership: always, usually, rarely, never.
2. I have healthy boundaries around work while working from home:  always, usually, rarely, never.
3. Since working remotely, I am getting the right amount of communication/interaction from my colleagues:  always, usually, rarely, never.
4. Since working remotely, I have noticed my physical health has:  stayed about the same, been positively impacted, been negatively impacted, other.
5. Since working remotely, I have noticed my mental health has:  stayed about the same, been positively impacted, been negatively impacted, other.

With Granville West Group you have an experienced team behind you helping you make informed decisions on all aspects of your benefits program as well as your HR.   You do not need to make assumptions when it comes to your people.  Just give us a call – we are here to help.