Business managers are always hungry for different types of information in order to advance in their jobs. They may be seeking ways to improve their executive resume or to learn more about their staffs’ opinions.
Making a survey for your employees is a great way to assess what they think of their job, the company, and their benefits. It can also be used to measure employee satisfaction and track any changes that may have occurred over time. If this is something that you’re interested in, read this article because it explains how you can make a survey for your employees.
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Let The Internet Help You
If you go online you can find many helpful blogs and specialist websites that offer survey templates and questionnaires (many of them are free). It may be that you’re planning on bringing your team back to the office after the Covid lockdown. If so, you can find a survey template online asking employees for their work-from-home experiences. It will allow your staff to discuss their preferences about returning, and what they want as regards post Covid19 health and safety practices.
Some examples of specialist survey websites include Survey Monkey, Poll Daddy, Zoomerang and Qualtrics (a paid service). Each website will have its own unique features, so it’s important to do your research before settling on one. Be sure to also read the reviews from previous clients, so you can get an idea of what they thought about the service.
Define The Purpose Of Your Survey
It’s essential that you do this before you start writing the questions. Otherwise, you might end up with data that is difficult to interpret. Ask yourself: What do you want to learn from your employees? What questions will help you gather the information you need?
Be sure to keep your goals in mind as you design each individual question. Whether you’re measuring employee satisfaction or tracking a specific goal, your survey should have one central focus. This will help to keep the questionnaire on track and make analysis easier later on.
Draft The Questions
Once the purpose is clarified, it’s time to start writing the questions. Be sure to think about all aspects of what you want to measure – from general attitudes to specifics about job duties. Avoid leading questions and use unbiased language whenever possible.
Some examples you could use include:
- How satisfied are you with your job?
- What do you like most about your job?
- Are there any aspects of your job that you don’t enjoy?
- Do you feel like your workload is manageable?
- Do you feel adequately trained for your current role?
- What could we do to make your work experience even better?
If possible, try to test the survey out on a small group of employees before sending it out more broadly. This will help to ensure that the questions are clear and relevant. Once the questions have been refined, it will be time to finalize the survey and send it out.
Create A Distribution Plan
You now need to decide who will receive the survey and how it will be delivered. The best way to distribute a survey is through email. You can also post it on your company website or send it out in an employee newsletter. However, make sure that the survey is easy to fill out and doesn’t require too much time. The more people who respond, the better, so remember that they are all busy people.
Be sure to identify the target audience for your survey. For example, if you are asking employees about their pensions package, you wouldn’t want to target your temporary staff or subcontractors. You may also want to consider creating separate surveys for different groups of employees. For example, you could survey managers separately from non-managers, so you can get feedback that is specific to each group.
Collect, Analyze And Distribute The Results
By analyzing the survey results it will help you to understand how your employees feel about their job and the company. Whilst it’s easy to jump to conclusions based on the data alone, remember that there may be other factors influencing how they feel.
If your staff take the time and trouble to answer your questions and never hear another word, they’ll feel the survey was pointless. For this reason, you should be sure to distribute the survey results to all the participants. This way they’ll see what the general opinions and trends are, and what specific improvement issues have been identified.
Take Action Based On The Results
If your staff complete surveys and say what they’re unhappy about, they’ll be frustrated if nothing is done to resolve anything. In effect, they’ll feel the entire survey process was a waste of time and money – and that their concerns have not been valued or listened to.
If you find that there are areas in which your employees need improvement, put together a plan of action and implement it. Don’t forget to communicate with your team so they can understand what you are doing and why.
Plan Your Next Survey!
Once your initial survey has been fully studied and action has been taken, it’s important to monitor these changes. One way to check how things have been going is to issue a follow-up survey. Another survey may be necessary if there are still areas of concern that need more research – perhaps the initial one posed more questions than answers! Surveys offer a great way to gain an in-depth understanding of employee attitudes and opinions on various topics, so it’s important not to rely on just one survey. After all, they should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the workplace.
Hopefully, you now feel clearer about the whole survey creation process. Whilst we’ve spent a lot of time on what to do with it afterward, this part of the process can’t be ignored if your survey is to have any true value or purpose. By taking a survey and acting on its results, you can maximize communication within your company and make your staff feel valued.