What surveys usually lack are questions that link the communications you manage to the effect they have on employee behaviors, which result in improvements in the bottom line.
Surveys
Unraveling the mysteries of sampling
Some of the most common questions about surveys are: “How many surveys do I need to distribute?” “What’s the right sample size?” “What’s a good response rate?” Find the answers in this article.
Focus research on your most valuable “capital”
Don’t just do research to see what your entire employee population wants or needs in terms of overall satisfaction, communication or benefits and compensation. Find ways to isolate your top performers as a demographic category and make sure your new recommendations are geared to meeting the top performers’ needs and wants wherever they might differ from the average employee.
Focus groups or survey?
This month’s column is a quiz. I’ll set up some scenarios, you choose which research approach you think is best. At the end, I’ll defend why I think my own answers are right!
Getting the most use out of research results, part 2: Tips for Getting Management to Pay Attention to Your Data
All too often companies conduct a survey and do nothing with the results. This problem can be avoided by making sure that management is committed to acting on the findings before you even conduct the research.
Getting the most use out of research results, part 1: Tips for developing an actionable survey
All too often companies conduct a survey and do nothing with the results. This problem can be minimized through developing a highly actionable survey in the first place.
The linear connection between employee and customer satisfaction
Identifying and isolating the role employee communication plays in customer satisfaction and other business results
Read The linear connection between employee and customer satisfaction »
How often should you measure: a) the effectiveness of individual media? b) staff opinions/culture?
Typically, surveys are conducted no more than once every 12 to 24 months. However, if there are aspects of your culture or a publication you are actively trying to change, you may want to supplement the large surveys with mini-surveys.