What is the purpose of an employee engagement survey?
Many companies conduct employee engagement surveys simply because it's a tradition. However, this approach often yields limited results. By establishing clear objectives for your surveys, you can not only see their value more clearly but also achieve more meaningful outcomes.
Download reportWhat is the purpose of an employee engagement survey?
When organisations lack a defined purpose for their employee engagement surveys, they rarely drive change. Responses are collected, numbers are crunched, and insights are gathered, but no tangible actions or initiatives are implemented. This cycle repeats annually, becoming an outdated and inefficient process that can negatively affect recruitment, company culture, and employee retention.
But the purpose of an employee engagement survey can serve a more positive role! When conducted correctly, such as through shorter, more frequent pulse surveys, their goals become much more apparent. To help you understand the potential of an effective employee engagement survey, we've outlined four key objectives your surveys could achieve.
The Purpose of Your Employee Engagement Survey
1. Be proactive
A key purpose of an employee engagement survey is to be proactive. Many companies fail to address issues until they escalate, making it difficult to pinpoint and solve the root cause of problems. This often occurs because organisations are unaware of their employees' underlying frustrations. By the time they become aware, the issue has already morphed into a significant challenge.
2. Give your employees a voice
Another important purpose of an employee engagement survey is to give employees a voice. Employees who feel unheard are more likely to leave a company. They desire the opportunity to make an impact and contribute their opinions and perspectives. When these needs aren't met, they can feel trapped and stagnated in their growth. Providing employees with a platform to express themselves can make them happier and more productive, ultimately benefiting the company's overall performance.
3. Foster a modern company culture
A modern company in 2023 actively involves its employees. Leaders understand that their people are the key to growth and take their opinions seriously. This is achieved by frequently requesting employee feedback and demonstrating that their input is valued. Modern organisations often replace annual surveys with pulse surveys to proactively gather real-time data, making this a core purpose of an employee engagement survey.
Adopting these practices makes your company more attractive to top talent who want to work in an organisation that reflects the core values of 2023.
4. Save time
Lastly, the purpose of an employee engagement survey is to save time. While annual surveys may seem less time-consuming, they often have hidden administrative costs. Collating responses, generating insights, and addressing negative outcomes can be labor-intensive. By adopting efficient processes and technologies for employee surveys, you can save time and resources.
Why to build up employee engagement with surveys?
An employee engagement survey is so much more than an annual effort to check that everything looks okay. The most forward-thinking companies understand the power of measuring the well-being of their employees and ensuring everyone has the tools they need to perform at their best.
The question is not whether to survey employees, but how. What is the best way to collect employee insights and feedback? Read more on Annual vs Pulse Surveys here
By asking the right questions at the right frequency, you can increase well-being, engagement and productivity of your staff. You can achieve this by creating an overview of the answers and build an action plan based on the insights from your survey, and present it to your employees. They will feel listened to, and they will realise that they are part of the company, which will make them work harder to help the company succeed.
Read more on why to conduct engagement surveys here.
