The 3 criteria for real impact in measuring satisfaction
Getting the survey design right is only half the battle. The other half is execution. You can have a perfectly scientific 10-question survey, but if only 40% of people respond and it takes six weeks to generate reports, you have wasted everyone's time.
Criterion 1: Ensure a high response rate
We all hate reminding people to answer a survey, but it is necessary in almost every organization. Our experience with pulse surveys is that roughly 50% of people answer each time we send a reminder. The first reminder gets 50% of non-responders to answer, the second 25%, the third 13%, the fourth 7%, and that is how we help companies hit a 90% response rate.
Smart systems do not remind everyone but only the ones who have not answered yet. Sending reminders on multiple channels like email and Slack also helps, especially if you have employee groups that mostly communicate internally with colleagues on Slack (engineers, for example) rather than email.
Criterion 2: Turn data into reports quickly
Employee satisfaction is not static. These measurements are a snapshot representing the dominant employee experience over the past 2 to 4 weeks. So it is not ideal if you spend 4 or 6 weeks after people have answered before managers have a report for their team or the executive team has a report on the organization.
You should strive to have all analyses and reports done within a week or two after the survey closes. Many keep a survey open for a month, but we would recommend a short one-week window (maximum 2 weeks) to ensure the results are still valid when you review them in teams, departments, and on a company level.
Using a platform like Zoios ensures that analysis, visualizations, and reports are instantly available as the data comes in. Modern software generates analytics in real time, with no waiting for spreadsheet gymnastics or manual deck creation.
Criterion 3: Ensure managers get recommended actions
HR and executives are used to this type of work. Managers, however, are busy and not always the most experienced leaders. To make the most of a satisfaction measurement you need to help them by converting the scores, ratings, comments, and feedback into a holistic analysis.
First, which factors or drivers are the most important to focus on in their team. Second, what is the root cause for a decline in, for example, optimism. Third, what concrete actions can they take to improve the situation in their department or team.
These analyses can be complicated to make, but with Zoios' AI engine it happens automatically for every team, department, and unit. If you do this yourself, make sure an HR partner sits down with every manager to provide this context, analysis, and recommendations.
