Interpreting Employee Insights: Employee Engagement Surveys Tips

You’ve wisely arrived at the conclusion that you really do need to conduct employee engagement surveys so you can understand how your people...

You’ve wisely arrived at the conclusion that you really do need to conduct employee engagement surveys so you can understand how your people feel about their employer and their work and make needed changes. That’s especially important during a tight labor market when the ability to recruit and retain talent is paramount.

But there’s the thing: those surveys are for naught if you don’t know what to make of results. You need to know how to analyze the data and conduct action planning. With that said, here’s what you should know about interpreting employee insights.

What are Employee Engagement Surveys?

Essentially, these employment engagement surveys seek to gauge how connected employees feel to their work and employer. If they’re put together thoughtfully, such surveys can offer important insights that can have a profound effect on the organization.

Why are Such Surveys Valuable?

They’re simply the best way to measure engagement drivers such as values, wellbeing, satisfaction, motivation, and connection.

Further, this anonymous feedback can help organizations remedy business challenges including high turnover, diminished productivity, and worker burnout. A bonus is that, through such surveys, employees feel valued and heard. This breeds confidence and trust in the company, which in turn fosters engagement.

Do note, though, that it’s best not to conduct surveys if you don’t plan to act on employee insights. Employees will notice that nothing changed, and you’ll lose credibility and trust, which can cause disengagement.

Common Problems with Deciphering Survey Results

• Neglecting to maintain anonymity

• Asking questions that are bad or flat-out wrong

• Sizing up survey intelligence to incorrect benchmarks

• Employing a survey unsupported by trustworthy research

• No actionable insights are gained

How to Make the Most of Employee Engagement Surveys?

• Begin with a solid survey design: This is where you determine the survey’s format, length, themes, and construction.

• Establish goals: Asking essential questions can inform what questions you ask your people. For instance, “What happened with previous surveys?” “Can this survey be more efficient?” and “How do we know whether we’re successful?”

• Be certain you can act on and quantify results: Surveys are moot unless you gain specific, measurable data. Otherwise, you’re not getting a true picture of your organization’s culture.

• Segment the data: It’s easier to decipher survey results if you classify questions and data. Categories can include age, gender, role, tenure, and department.

• Pinpoint patterns: Look for trends and patterns in survey results. But because they don’t reveal the whole story, don’t rely on them alone.

• Allow open-ended feedback: This way you’ll get honest input that offers deeper insight.

• Use reference points: To better understand where your organization stands, you’ll need to compare your data against year-over-year data and benchmarks such as geographic differences in responses.

• See how employee engagement compares with organizational performance: When mulling how to interpret survey results, line up engagement and business objectives to get your people to provide quality feedback. Also, explain to employees that the survey process is crucial.

• Use art: Graphs, charts, colors, etc., help to enliven survey data and improve interpretation. Such visuals can also help leaders, managers and other leaders understand results.

• Avoid survey bias: This way, you’ll gain the most valuable and dependable results. To accomplish this, put together a diverse survey team, think about what biases can color survey interpretation, and employ an independent entity to help with survey analysis.

• Identify areas of improvement: Home in on a couple of areas at a time, concentrating on where the impact can be most significant.

As you can see, interpreting employee insights is more than a notion, and begins with a well-considered survey design. If you need assistance with any part of the process, the global HR consultant Mercer can help.