Best Practices for Employee Engagement Surveys That Drive Real Change

Communication

The key to a highly engaged workforce is open communication. When managers clearly define company goals to employees, they feel more connected and have a broader map of what they are hoping to achieve. Open communication is more than just sending emails and conducting monthly meetings. It involves open dialogues, active listening, and creating an environment where everyone can share their opinions freely at any time.

Strong leadership

Strong leadership means leading by example. Employees look up to their managers. A workplace where managers do not connect with employees, give straight orders, and never acknowledge employees' efforts results in high turnover rates and low productivity. In contrast, a workplace where managers have created a transparent and open communication environment, recognize employees and encourage professional growth see a highly engaged workforce and more productivity.

Inclusive & Positive Work Culture

An inclusive and positive work culture ensures employees are treated fairly and have equal growth opportunities regardless of their background, cultural differences, or experience. A workplace where employees feel psychologically safe is a happier and more productive workforce. The trick is companies should celebrate different cultural days and conduct mental health programs to enforce an inclusive and positive work culture.

Autonomy & Empowerment

Autonomy &  Empowerment in the workplace refers to giving employees the space and decision-making power to do their best work. A workforce culture where every small decision has to pass through layers for approval is demotivating and frustrating. On the other hand, giving employees the authority to make decisions by saying I trust your judgment boosts confidence and does wonders in terms of creativity.

Read - 50+ Employee Engagement Survey Questions to Strengthen Your Team

Define Clear Objectives

Defining your goals is stating a direction that you are hoping to follow. Before creating employee engagement surveys, always set a goal. For example,  if your goal is to increase employee engagement by 15% at the end of this year, then break that goal into actionable items and include survey questions related to work-life balance, work culture, employee motivation, salary, and compensation. Setting clear goals can help you create a focused strategy to boost employee engagement. 

Decide on Key Metrics to Measure

Before conducting an employee engagement survey, deciding on the key metrics you want to measure is important. Regularly measuring these KPIs will help you track employee engagement levels.

Some essential engagement KPIs include:

• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
• Job satisfaction score
• Work-life balance rating
• Retention intent
• Manager Effectiveness

Create a proper plan

Before launching the employee engagement survey, create a well-structured plan that includes measurable, specific goals and strategies to achieve them. Assign roles and responsibilities, create a timeline to conduct the engagement survey,  determine when to communicate the results with employees, monitor performance, and make necessary changes to increase employee engagement. 

Choose the Right Tool

With so many options these days, it’s important to choose the right tool. Traditional tools create surveys shallow and low-engagement surveys. AI-powered tools such as Theysaid boost employee engagement by automatically generating survey questions according to your goals; the AI conversational feature determines the Why behind responses and analyzes qualitative data to uncover trends and action items.

Other best features are: 

• Ease of Participation
• Anonymity and Confidentiality
• Data Analysis and Reporting Features
• Easy integration with other systems 

Use the Right Question Types

Using the right question types is important to get meaningful and actionable data. The best practice is using qualitative and quantitative questions for balanced insights. Additionally, make your surveys fun and interactive by using sliders, gamified features, videos, and more.

Here are some employee engagement survey question examples you can use: 

I feel very supported by my team.

Options: (Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree)

What aspect of your job do you find most rewarding?

Options:( Recognition, incentives, Growth opportunities, others)

What changes would you suggest to improve the workplace environment? 

Option: [ Open text field]

Ensure Anonymity for Honest Responses

Once employees know their responses are confidential, they are likely to give honest responses, including negative aspects of the workplace, without the fear of being judged. They are more likely to complete the survey as their privacy is protected. One of the best practices to ensure anonymity is to use a third-party tool such as Theysaid to ensure responses remain anonymous and can’t be backtracked. 

Time It Right

Conducting the employee engagement survey at the right time increases the response rates automatically. The Best practice for timing engagement surveys is to avoid busy periods such as under high workloads or during holidays. Surveys should be conducted at regular intervals, annually or quarterly, to track engagement metrics. Businesses experiencing seasoning fluctuations should conduct surveys when they are stable. 

Use AI to Improve Response Rates and Analysis

AI-powered tools like TheySaid can revolutionize your employee engagement surveys. AI helps by:

• Crafting questions based on your company’s needs
• Engaging employees with interactive responses
• Analyzing qualitative data to detect trends and action items automatically

Communicate Findings to Employees

The worst thing you can do is get employee feedback and do nothing. Sharing survey results with employees builds trust and connection with them and ensures employees are being heard and valued. Summarize the key findings in bullets, graphs, and charts, celebrate what’s working, and highlight areas of improvement. Create open forums where employees can give suggestions based on survey results. 

Foster continuous feedback

When used frequently, employee engagement surveys help you identify problems before they escalate and track employee performance and trends. The Trick is to send a 5-question short pulse survey every month to gauge employee morale and satisfaction. Set up weekly or bi-weekly check-ins with managers to discuss how everything is going. Announce the changes you make based on employee feedback. 

Read - 6 Sample Employee Engagement Survey Templates For Free

Identify patterns in collected Data

Look for response trends or patterns across teams or departments and identify areas with low engagement scores. Let’s say you find out multiple teams are unhappy with the workplace culture. Then, it’s time to make refined strategies to improve the workplace experience for employees.

Follow Up on Unclear Trends

Sometimes, results are ambiguous, and you cannot reach a decision. In that case, conduct focus groups or follow us for more specific responses. For example, if you see low engagement rates and no real reason emerges, you can ask an open-ended question: What’s the biggest challenge affecting engagement at the Workplace? 

Set Benchmarks for Future Comparisons

Compare current survey results with past surveys to track progress. Benchmark against industry standards to see how your company stacks up. Let’s say employee engagement increased by 15% until the last survey; look for reasons for this success.

What is an employee engagement survey?

An employee engagement survey is a questionnaire designed to measure how motivated, committed, and satisfied employees are with their company.

What are the best practices for employee engagement surveys?

Some of the best practices for employee engagement surveys are: 

• Align survey questions with objectives 
• Keep the survey short and sharp
• Use a robust survey tool such as Theysaid 
• Include a mix of question types 
• Ensure anonymity and confidentiality 
• Implement the feedback changes effectively 

How can I improve employee engagement?

Listen to your employees, act on their feedback, recognize their efforts, and create a culture where they feel valued and connected.

What are some employee engagement survey questions?

Some effective employee engagement survey questions are: 

• Do you feel excited to come to work? 
• Do you think your contributions are rewarded?
• How does your manager support your goals? 
• Are you able to manage your work life and personal life effectively? 
• Would you recommend us to your friends?