We live in an age of information. We are used to having instant access to information. What city is my package currently in? What are the current traffic conditions? However, when working with people and addressing their unique opinions and perspectives, real-time status updates aren’t usually a realistic option. Getting the information you need at the time you need it, is almost as important as the information itself. Asking your employees to complete a survey on a regular basis can help you get the right information at the right time.
1) Track progress
To see how different factors at your company change over time, you need to know your starting point or baseline. It’s important to do a survey before starting any major project or implementing changes, so you have a baseline to compare against your final results. Re-administering a survey regularly, possibly on an annual basis, is a simple way to keep track of the different factors you are interested in and to see the effects of the changes you make each year.
2) Remember that changes take time
Whether your company is big or small, making a substantial change is likely to take some time. Often projects need to go through multiple levels of approval, be accounted for in the budget, and receive funding and employee buy-in before the project can even get started. Requesting a survey to see how a change has impacted your company before the change has taken effect can make employees feel that you aren’t really interested in making improvements and that you expect their answers to change just because an improvement was talked about, rather than put into action.
3) Help employees feel heard
The flip side of doing surveys too often is not doing a survey often enough. Neglecting to ask employees how a project went, after its completion, can make employees feel that you aren’t interested in their reactions or ideas for further improvement. Communication is an area of concern for any business, and surveys can help keep avenues of communication open for all employees. The great thing about administering a survey via a third party is that every single employee has the opportunity to have their voice heard in a safe and confidential format.
4) Find ways to improve
One lesson that the world teaches us time and time again is that circumstances can change quickly and drastically. Even in less tumultuous years, there are new conditions your company needs to adapt to and ways to improve both your employees’ experience at your company and how your business is performing. A regular survey can help keep track of how your employees are doing, what factors are having the biggest impact on them and their ability to work well, or other factors that are important for you to keep track of.
5) Work from expert recommendations
Surveys are our business. Having a survey on an annual basis is a schedule we’ve found to be helpful for companies of various sizes in various fields, but let’s talk about what makes the most sense for your company. Our team is composed of people with different backgrounds, who know what it’s like to work in different types of business and the challenges that different workplaces face. We know that companies that are able to make quick changes may need semi-annual surveys to keep track of changes and progress; companies that take more time to make a substantial change may need two years between surveys. An annual survey may be a good place to start if you are unsure of where your company falls. If you have any questions, please reach out to your consultant or Renee at renee.grassi@inturvey.com to get more information on how we can support you and your company initiatives through survey implementation, data analysis, and recommended action items.