Sign in Subscribe

Topic

Tips & Tricks

I spent seven years leading methodology and data science for employee engagement surveys at Peakon and Workday. Over that time, I’ve worked with everyone from tiny tech startups to massive retail brands, mining operations, football clubs, and even government entities. Now that I’m no longer directly involved in survey creation, I can share my honest thoughts on the most effective ways to run employee surveys.

Skipping Questions in Employee Surveys

If you run an employee survey that allows individual questions to be skipped (which it should!) then you might wonder if this has an impact on representation or margin of error. This is what to expect from employees skipping questions.

Are Employee Surveys Really Anonymous?

In many organizations, “anonymous” surveys are actually better described as “confidential.” There’s a critical difference: truly anonymous surveys don’t track who provided which response, whereas confidential ones can tie responses back to individuals.

Should You Use Open-Ended Questions in Employee Surveys?

If you’re looking to truly understand how your employees feel and why they feel that way, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Open-ended questions bring depth and nuance that purely numerical ratings often miss. Here’s a closer look at how you should be using free-text feedback in your surveys.

Who Should You Benchmark Employee Surveys Against?

Benchmarking can be helpful, but it shouldn’t overshadow your overall engagement strategy. Here are three points to keep in mind when deciding who you stack up against.

How to Benchmark Employee Surveys

Benchmarking an employee engagement survey by comparing your engagement survey results with external norms can certainly offer valuable context. But it’s not the silver bullet some might expect. Here’s what to keep in mind.

Choosing Questions for Employee Surveys

When designing an employee engagement survey, a common concern is choosing the right questions. You don’t want to waste anyone’s time, and you need insights that will guide real action. Here are three key considerations.

What’s the Right Way to Measure Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement metrics can feel like a maze of competing definitions and methodologies. The truth, however, is that while many providers claim to have a unique formula, most approaches are closely correlated.

Is My Employee Survey Representative?

When it comes to employee engagement surveys, one of the most frequent questions is whether the results accurately reflect everyone’s views. Here’s what you need to know.

Margin of Error & Confidence Intervals for Employee Surveys

One of the most common statistical terms you’ll come across in surveys is “margin of error". Take a closer look at why this is the case and how you can put these numbers in context when evaluating your results.

How Often Should you Survey Employees?

One of the most common questions HR leaders ask is how often they should send out employee engagement surveys.