Employee Engagement Survey

p.s. Nunzia I don't have any commercial ties to companies in the market. I am a specialist who's done a lot of work in this area and keeps abreast of the market. The key is to go back to the some of the basics of what's needed in your context, make sure it has validity and also a lot of the market looks at more regular and focussed feedback designed to promote a more listening organisation approach rather than annual or pulse surveys although every business has to start from where they are at. Good luck regardless of the route you and your company chooses. 

Thank you, Sharon. Unfortunately, we’re a small/medium-sized company and don’t have the budget to bring in an external company to help us, so this will need to be managed in-house.

I didn’t think you were trying to sell me anything, lol!  However, I really appreciate your valuable advice.

I wasn’t aware of the shift from annual surveys towards a more frequent feedback and listening culture. You’ve given me some really useful insight, and it’s definitely something I’m going to look into in more depth. 

Thanks a lot!

Thanks Nunzia and phew, relieved my post didn't land like a sales pitch. :-)

If you are handling it in house then do your research on the best, evidence based questions to ask (the ones with the most psychological validity) and or make it obvious it's tailored to the company needs. Outlining who gets to see the raw data and rolling up results, so managers and leaders can't identify individuals easily, will also be important. You can still learn from external specialist companies as they will do lots of free webinars and share research on their websites because they need to do that for brand building and to add value to their customers so don't be afraid to approach them even if you can't buy currently. Good luck. 

Hi Nunzia, we run employee engagement surveys twice a year, mid-year is a pulse survey consisting of 6 questions, and end of year is a full survey consisting of 10 to 12 questions.  I run our surveys through our HR system (Sage HR), since starting the surveys a couple of years back I can see the team have progressively added more meat to the bones of their answers, using a combo of multi choice together with a comments option per question, with the last question being comment only, the feedback we receive is constructive, and honest.  I then share the results and verbatim anonymous comments with the team in our monthly magazine which I produce, to ensure transparency, and to encourage conversation - together with an action plan to address any areas of concern, where applicable.  Maxine   

Hey Nunzia, this CIPD Good Work Index | CIPD report may give you some insight into shaping questions in your engagement survey    The CIPD Good Work Index highlights why understanding job quality is important not just for employees but for organisations that are seeking to improve their performance and productivity