According to research from Gallup, as much as 85% of the worldwide workforce reports disengagement, amounting to $7 trillion dollars of lost productivity. While the dangers of low workplace engagement are evident, efficient solutions remain more elusive.
Pulse surveys are fast becoming an indispensable method for helping decision-makers glean essential information. With pulse survey techniques to hand, executives can now measure the efficacy of in-flight engagement initiatives at any given moment.
Many enterprises believe they understand how employees feel about new initiatives, but far fewer have the data to back up their assumptions. Pulse surveys are a powerful tool to glimpse worker experience in real-time, without disrupting workflows and productivity. In this guide, we break down how to get maximum value from your pulse survey efforts and drive employee engagement gains from the results.
Your organization’s 2-minute health check
In defining pulse surveys, Gartner likens the activity to a younger cousin of the annual survey. While annual surveys are distributed to the entire company and include comprehensive questions on all aspects of employee experience, pulse surveys focus in on specific workplace components. Frequently, they are only disseminated to certain segments of the workforce, such as new hires or mid-level executives. By specializing like this, pulse surveys “...allow for a more frequent measurement than annual surveys and take less time from a smaller set of employees,” according to Gartner.
As this definition illustrates, pulse surveys are not an entirely distinct phenomenon but rather a new tool that can be utilized to gain a real-time picture of employee engagement on the fly. Just as a doctor takes a patient’s pulse to quickly check vital signs, pulse surveys are a fast glance at how healthy engagement levels are within a team, department or enterprise as a whole. These surveys usually consist of ten questions or less and should take employees mere minutes to complete. The queries can be distributed virtually and analyzed in order to help stakeholders pinpoint what is working and what isn’t.
To better understand the value of pulse surveys, it can be useful to trace the evolution of employee engagement measures at large.
The evolution of engagement measures
Although the pulse survey itself is a relatively new concept, enterprises have been attempting to map out the mood of the workplace for decades. The earliest form of engagement survey surfaced in the 1920s at successful industrial companies and were often referred to as “employee attitude surveys.”
It wasn’t until the World War II era that employee surveys began to gain traction as an effective tool. During this time, many enterprises started conducting research and observation in order to measure morale and replicate environments with superior employee engagement.
The 1940s were an era of great economic instability, leaving many leaders desperate for new advantages that would guarantee success during uncertain times. The findings of the Hawthorne Study in decades prior revealed that employee satisfaction had a direct impact on earnings, which in turn motivated many stakeholders to prioritize workplace sentiment.
In the years that followed, annual surveys became the method of choice for many leaders looking for feedback. Traditional surveys could include as many as fifty questions and often took upwards of an hour to work through. While annual surveys provided employees with a comprehensive opportunity to share thoughts and feedback, they were often plagued with low participation rates because working through every question proved time-consuming.
Within the past decade, pulse surveys have emerged as an effective tool to measure employee sentiment in real time. Typically, these streamlined enquiries boast higher participation rates and, when implemented regularly, can help leaders measure employee reactions efficiently.
Pulse surveys have not eclipsed annual surveys, at least not yet. According to Gartner, nearly three-quarters of organizations polled still use formal, large-scale surveys like annual reviews to glimpse employee experience. However, that number has dropped nearly 15 percentage points from 2015, during which time other engagement measures have become more prevalent. Gartner estimates that 59% of organizations use engagement data from sources other than annual surveys, and many of these enterprises turn to pulse surveys as a leading metric.
5 essential building blocks for pulse surveys
Pulse surveys have a host of advantages, including higher participation rates and the ability to measure sentiment in real time. However, employers will only reap these benefits if surveys are well-designed and implemented strategically. Below, we break down some of the key components all leaders must consider when designing pulse surveys.
1. Scale
A variety of response scales can be utilized. Some popular choices include a star rating, yes/no options, a number choice, or a Likert scale (very unhappy, unhappy, neutral, happy, very happy).
2. Timing
Pulse surveys need to be sent out frequently enough to track progress without overwhelming employees and causing survey fatigue. A good rule of thumb is to wait until a significant change has been made before sending another survey so that input corresponds to specific initiatives.
3. Subset
Frequently, pulse surveys are distributed to a selection of employees, such as the sales team or new hires. Leaders should pinpoint whom they are trying to target and ensure they have compiled a balanced group before distributing surveys.
4. Medium
Most pulse surveys are disseminated virtually, often online or through a customized platform. Digital surveys ensure that team members can receive the questions at the same time, regardless of geographic location, and provide real-time access to insights. A centralized digital workplace is an ideal platform for disseminating surveys and collecting data using native form builders and in-built analytics features.
5. Questions
Perhaps the most pivotal component of pulse surveys, questions need to be formulated strategically. Queries should not be leading in any direction and need to be easy to understand and relevant to the subset of employees who are completing the survey. In the next section, we highlight some optimal sample questions and explain what makes them work.
Essential questions to include
Below are some example pulse survey questions that stakeholders can include in order to gain insight into employee experience.
1. How happy are you at work?
This query is straightforward and relevant to pretty much any worker. A Likert scale gives users a variety of options to choose from, which can help convey a more accurate image of employee sentiment. Ideally, this question can be recycled several times as new developments are made so leaders can measure the success of various engagement efforts.
2. I have access to everything I need to perform to the best of my abilities
Statements can also be used to measure how true or false an employee believes a specific sentiment is. For this example, recipients could be asked to rate how strongly they agree with the phrase on a scale of 1-10 or alternatively respond with either yes or no. Employers need to ensure workers are set up for success, and queries like this can measure how much a company can improve in this regard.
3. I receive meaningful recognition for doing good work
Employees who believe their hard work will be recognized are more likely to feel connected with their employer. Given how critical employee engagement is, all stakeholders should ensure that workers are receiving the recognition they deserve. A number rating or yes/no option are two answer scales that may be effective for this question.
4. How would you rate your work- life balance?
Burnout can prevent employees from maximizing their performance capabilities and can also lead to an uptick in job turnover. Asking a question like the above can help leaders gauge how susceptible workers are to job fatigue.
5. Do you feel like the management team here is transparent?
Miscommunication can lead to frustration and consequently cause workers to disengage. If leaders are eager to improve management techniques throughout their enterprise, a pulse survey with this question may be useful in measuring current communication trends.
6. I am given opportunities to learn and develop my skills
In order to stay engaged with their work, every employee should encounter new challenges. By pairing this question with a numerical scale or a yes/no option, leaders can gauge how much growth potential employees foresee at their organization.
7. How likely are you to recommend your organization’s products or services to a friend?
Ideally, every employee should believe in the product or service their organization offers. Leaders can pose this question to get a sense of how connected workers feel to the brand at large. A Likert scale or numbered rating system can offer more detailed information about the likelihood of an employee recommendation.
How to maximize your results
Simply choosing to implement pulse surveys will not improve employee engagement levels at your enterprise. Instead, stakeholders should keep several pointers in mind when sending out pulse surveys in order to maximize both the quality and quantity of responses.
Announce surveys ahead of time
Giving employees a heads-up can help boost participation rates. Before sending out your first survey, take time to introduce the queries and explain their purpose. Emphasize that the questions are short and to the point in order to encourage even your busiest employees to participate.
Go mobile
If your survey can’t be accessed by mobile devices, you are automatically reducing the number of responses you will receive. This is particularly true for enterprises who employ a large proportion of frontline staffers, such as employees who work in retail or manufacturing. A mobile option ensures that everyone can weigh in.
Allow for anonymity
In an ideal world, all employees should feel comfortable signing their name on every survey. However, giving feedback can be challenging, and workers may feel more empowered to share their honest opinions if they have the option to protect their identity. Frequently, as enterprises continue utilizing pulse surveys, workers become more comfortable sharing their thoughts and move away from answering anonymously.
Include an open feedback section
Including an open feedback section within your survey can be an easy way to procure more in-depth information from your sources. A simple comments box at the end of your questions can help encourage workers to expand on their thoughts and offer additional input on related topics.
Analyze the responses
Pulse surveys are only valuable when stakeholders come together to analyze responses and devise a plan of action. After receiving responses to your query, reflect on any underlying trends or commonly held sentiments. Use these insights to inform new initiatives within your organization and then send out a follow-up survey to gain real-time feedback on these changes.
Real-time pay-offs you can expect
Employers who take full advantage of pulse surveys to glimpse employee engagement and respond accordingly will reap a multitude of rewards. Some of the benefits of successful pulse survey use are as follows.
Get everyone on the same page
Pulse surveys on a specific topic can help employees focus in. If you are launching a new initiative, reoccurring questions on this subject can encourage employees to further explore it. For example, an enterprise launching a health and wellness plan may choose to send several pulse surveys out that inspire workers to evaluate their own habits.
Create a feedback culture
Every organization can benefit from constructive feedback. Implementing pulse surveys as part of your enterprise’s engagement strategy can help encourage workers to share their insights throughout the day. Surveys also indicate that management is eager to improve and evolve, establishing a growth culture that can transcend throughout your enterprise.
Measure satisfaction in real-time
One of the biggest downfalls of annual surveys is their inability to measure how employee sentiment changes throughout the year. In contrast, pulse surveys provide stakeholders with near-instantaneous insights that they can use to make informed decisions about best practices and efficient policies. On the user side, pulse surveys give employees the chance to address a problem as soon as it arises, thus preventing the issue from escalating and causing resentment.
Drive home your enterprise’s values
Employees are likely to feel more connected to organizations with a palpable company culture. Pulse surveys give stakeholders an opportunity to mold their employer identity and ensure it resonates with their team. Asking questions about company culture and how brand values align with personal beliefs can give leaders the information they need to take company culture to the next level.
Boost engagement
Pulse surveys are one of the most effective means to measure and improve employee engagement rates. Workers who feel more connected to their job and their employer are likely to work more efficiently, perform better, and even provide higher-quality customer service. Many studies have indicated a positive correlation between employee engagement levels and revenue, demonstrating how fundamentally important this sentiment is for your enterprise.
How to maximize your results
Pulse surveys can reveal where an organization’s problems lie, but what can stakeholders do to effectively bridge these gaps? Below we pinpoint several key strategies for tackling workplace engagement issues with digital solutions.
Provide users with best-in-class tools
According to research from Deloitte, only 38% of employees are satisfied with workplace tools and technology. If workers do not feel supported by their organization and instead believe they lack the resources needed to perform tasks efficiently, they are likely to disengage. Digital workplaces can arm employees with advanced capabilities tailored to their role, including feature-rich content management systems and enhanced search options. Stakeholders can use pulse surveys to ensure workers have the resources needed to perform effectively and turn to digital workplaces to take technological solutions to the next level.
Create content that resonates
We are all living in the age of information overload, and as a result, many workers tune out office-wide email updates and newsletters. In order to create inner-office messaging that is truly engaging, digital solutions can be tapped to ensure content is high-quality and personalized. Top-of-the-line digital workplaces enable leaders to formulate newsletters directly in an intuitive CMS and personalize messaging by role or region. These platforms also host analytics so stakeholders can continue to glean information about best-practices for maximum impact.
Encourage knowledge sharing
In addition to optimizing performance and efficiency, collaboration can also have a positive impact on employee engagement. As referenced by Forbes, a major publishing company reported a 90% increase in employee engagement when the enterprise moved to a more collaborative internal process. Digital workplaces can maximize knowledge-sharing practices by streamlining communications pathways. Employees can look for in-house experts by referencing high-tough user profile directories, post questions in specialized portals, and search for internal resources on related topics.
Spotlight top performers
Enterprises who go the extra mile to recognize hard-working employees are likely to reap the benefits associated with an engaged workforce, including improved consumer satisfaction levels and better earnings. A LinkedIn study found that nearly 70% of employees believe they would work harder if their efforts were more thoroughly acknowledged. Digital workplaces offer meaningful pathways for employee recognition, such as customizable badges that can be rewarded to deserving workers and shout-outs on social media.
Bring everyone together
As workforces continue to become more geographically dispersed and employees are no longer tethered to their desks, engagement strategies must evolve. Every member of a workforce should feel connected to colleagues throughout the organization, including frontline staffers and employees who work remotely. Digital workplaces can bring everyone together virtually through a host of communications capabilities. Advanced social networking functionalities drive authentic conversations and reactions, while sophisticated blog content allows every user to stay looped in on inner-office happenings.
Pulse surveys keep your digital workplace in fighting shape
Digital workplaces have the power to revolutionize employee engagement efforts, but in order to deliver, these platforms must be user-centric from the start. Pulse surveys can help stakeholders optimize their employees’ digital experience by pinpointing problem points and highlighting the tools workers need most.
Modern intranets have a multitude of capabilities that stakeholders can utilize to measure employee engagement. Feedback forms can play a particularly crucial role here and serve as an efficient medium for disseminating regular pulse surveys.
This functionality allows leaders to flexibly design multi-page forms as well as adapting the layout as necessary in order to engage users and reduce complexity. These forms can then be easily accessed across all devices, in turn leading to improved participation rates. Built-in analytics capabilities ensure that stakeholders can track conversion rates efficiently and monitor engagement levels and trends throughout the enterprise.
Once stakeholders receive feedback from forms, digital workplaces can also be adapted to suit the needs articulated by employees through their pulse surveys. For example, if forms reveal a need for improved collaboration pathways, features such as user-profile directories, badges, and embedded social networking can help inspire improved co-working habits. Additionally, the changes and improvements made as a result of pulse surveys can be announced on an intranet for maximal visibility.
The symbiotic relationship between digital workplaces and pulse surveys can serve to optimize employee engagement throughout an enterprise. Digital workplaces enable stakeholders to efficiently disseminate and analyze pulse surveys. Leaders can then utilize this feedback to improve every employee’s digital experience, in turn maximizing employee engagement by arming workers with high-touch performance tools.
If you are interested in implementing pulse surveys in order to build or improve your employees’ virtual experience, our digital workplace experts can help you upgrade your organization.