Best practices for employee surveys - Step 15: Take Action

Previous Steps
1. Determine Objectives
2. Select a data collection method
3. Get buy-in from managers
4. Develop the process
5. Create a schedule
6. Select a supplier
7. Develop the questionnaire
8. Get buy-in from stakeholders
9. Get buy-in from employees
10. Develop the invitation
11. Ensure a high response rate
12. Get candid responses
13. Create a positive experience for respondents
14. Analyze results

Step 15: Take action

In Step 14, I offered 10 some suggestions to help you effectively analyze your employee survey results. In this final installment, here are some strategies and tactics to ensure that your company takes appropriate actions with the survey results.

At this point, your company has invested valuable resources to conduct and analyze an employee survey, employees have provided honest responses, and you have a thorough report which includes:

1. Executive Summary: One or two pages/slides of high-level results
2. Implications: What these results mean for the company
3. Recommendations: What the company should do about the results and implications
4. Detailed Results: All of the findings including:
   - Data tables
   - Subgroup analysis
   - Analysis of Verbatim Comments

 

Now is the time to take action. Although every organization is unique, here is a process that tends to work well in most.

Meet with the senior leadership team. In my experience, it is considerably more effective to meet with the team as a whole rather than holding a separate meeting with each individual member. One two-hour meeting with the entire team should accomplish each of the following objectives.

1. Present the results. Spend one hour focusing on the Executive Summary, Implications, and a brief run-through of the Detailed Results (don’t get bogged down in the minutae – you can always spend more time with a manager who wants to drill down, but avoid the pressure to do it in this meeting).
2. Do a “gut check.” Ask the team what, if any, of the results took them by surprise. Next, ask if there is anything they saw that they don’t believe.
3. Discuss the recommendations. See if there is agreement about what the company should do about the results. Ask if there is anything that should be added to the list.
4. Determine next steps.
   - Who will receive the results of the survey?
   - What level of detail is appropriate for each audience?
   - Who is responsible for implementing each recommendation?
   - What is the goal?
   - How will results be measured?
5. Plan the next survey. Before the meeting adjourns, ask for feedback about the perceived value of the employee survey. What, if anything, should be done differently next time? When should the next employee survey take place?

 

Bottom Line

Taking effective action on the employee survey results generally involves the senior management team. Following these suggestions will ensure a successful outcome and increase the effectiveness of future employee surveys.