"11 Practices to Increase Employee Engagement Survey Participation Rates"

A company that had been in contact with us for a long time finally decided to conduct an "Employee Engagement Survey". The company's goal was to measure employee engagement levels to better understand the reasons for increasing attrition rates.

After an inspiring meeting with the Vice President of Human Resources (let's call her Suna), the HR team threw its full weight behind the survey project. The HR team was excited about this new opportunity to use employee feedback to improve the company.

Download the Employee Engagement Survey.

In the following weeks, Ms. Suna led the project team to design and implement the survey. The survey was administered over 2 weeks. Employees were given an optimum amount of time to respond. The survey process was completed, and when Ms. Suna received the survey results 1 week before her meeting with the management team, she was devastated because only 37% of employees had responded.

What went wrong?

Why did most of the employees not want to answer the survey? Ms. Suna's story represents a common problem we hear from our clients, especially when they are trying to implement an employee engagement survey for the first time.

Our work over the years has shown us that low survey participation rates are due to a lack of one or more of the following 10 best practices.

On a global average, 70% of employees and 40% of managers do not know exactly what employee engagement is. Employee Engagement is often confused with satisfaction factors and more importantly, they think that the responsibility for employee engagement lies with the company. After all, how can you get people to talk about how engaged they are in their work if they don't even understand the concept? Therefore, if your resources allow, make sure that your employees receive an employee engagement training before the survey.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT TRAINING CATALOG

Yes, the support of the executive team is very important, but it is most effective when that support is communicated throughout the organization. Have your CEO communicate the importance of the survey in more than one way: a few well-written emails, a teleconference from the CEO, a company-wide Webinar, an article in the company newsletter, or announcements at meetings will all go a long way.

3- COMMUNICATE EXPECTATIONS AND NEXT STEPS TO MANAGERS. All leaders in the organization should understand the purpose of the survey and what it means for them. Tell them that they will get the results of the teams and will need to develop an action plan. Managers who know they will get data are more likely to encourage their teams to participate.

Our database of more than 20 million employee survey responses highlights a range of workplace issues that need to be addressed. One of the most shocking issues is that a significant proportion of employees are afraid to speak up at work. If employees fear that candid feedback will be viewed negatively (probably around 1/3 of your employees feel this way) then they need to be assured that survey responses will be kept completely confidential. Outsourcing the survey, rather than administering it internally, can give employees the confidence to speak their minds. Don't let your employees' fears that they will be penalized reduce your response rate.

5- LIMIT DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS. When employees see a long list of questions asking them to state their age, gender and tenure, they will be afraid of being identified and give up. The better way is to link demographic information to each response based on a unique code, rather than asking for it in the survey. The less employees fear that they will be identified based on their answers, the better.

6- KEEP THE SURVEY SHORT. Sometimes it is difficult to limit the number of questions because there are so many things leaders want to know. We recommend using about 50 questions in total.

7- LIMIT OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS. While open-ended questions are excellent tools for capturing employees' true thoughts and feelings, a survey with too many open-ended questions is not well received by employees. Limit yourself to 2 or 3 open-ended questions that invite open and candid reflection on company strengths and areas of opportunity across the organization.

8- TARGET SURVEY MOMENTATORS. A 2-week administration optimizes the timeframe of the survey and also captures those who are traveling, on vacation or on sick leave. Only send a few survey reminders during the process to those who have not taken the survey. When using an online tool, track participation at the location or department level so that you can send notifications targeting groups with lower response rates.

9- PROVIDE TIME TO TAKE THE SURVEY. For shift workers, make sure to schedule time for them to take the survey during working hours. Divide those who will do the survey on paper into groups and schedule sessions where the survey will be distributed and the results collected.

10- INCENTIVIZE. Consider running a company-wide competition and reward system. One effective method is to organize a competition between the different locations of the company, rewarding the highest participation rates. Companies without multiple locations can instead compete at the department level. Incentives: make the employee survey process more memorable and engaging.

11- PROMISE TO SHARE THE RESULTS. When employees know that the results will be shared with the entire company, they are more invested in the process and more likely to participate.

What are the ways your company has implemented to increase employee survey participation? What successes have you witnessed? Share your stories with us.

Bahar Sen