Conducting an employee engagement survey is one of the most important things you can do for your company, but only if you actually get responses back from your employees. In this article, we’ll walk you through 10 steps you can take to increase your employee engagement survey response rate. 

Surveys enhance Employee Engagement and Retention Strategies

One way to improve employee engagement with your surveys is to have them participate, which can be challenging. Employees may not want to take the time to fill out an engagement survey because they have other work they need to get done. They might not know that engagement surveys are the best way to increase employee satisfaction or believe it will happen in your workplace. To raise survey response rates, you must communicate the importance of the survey by proving that you value engagement surveys as a positive tool for your organization. Following our ten steps will help you improve employee engagement in the workplace and develop your employee engagement and retention strategies. 

1. Define your goal 

The first step to increasing your survey response rate is clearly defining your goals. What do you want to learn from the survey? What kind of information will be most valuable to your business? Be specific in your goals so that you can target your questions accordingly.  

2. Figure out who to survey 

You’ll want to target employees who will likely be engaged with the survey process and will provide helpful feedback. You can send out a pre-survey questionnaire to gauge interest and identify potential survey participants. Once you’ve figured out who to survey, keep in mind the following: 

• Keep it direct and short: No one wants to spend much time filling out a long, tedious survey. So, make sure your survey questions are clear and concise and that the overall survey takes only a few minutes to complete. 
• Follow up: Don’t forget to follow up with employees after they’ve completed the survey. Thank them for their time and let them know the purpose of their contribution and how it will lead to taking action.  

3. Design your survey 

Design a survey that is clear and concise. Make sure that the questions are relevant to your employees and that they will be able to understand them. Once you have designed your survey, the next step is to send it out to your employees. Make sure to give them enough time to complete the survey and return it to you. If you don’t receive a high response rate, follow up with employees who have not yet completed the survey. It will show them that you are interested in their feedback and that you value their opinion. Finally, thank all of your employees for their feedback, regardless of the response rate. It will show your appreciation for their input and let them know you are taking their feedback seriously. 

4. Choose your survey platform 

Many different survey platforms are available, so choosing one that will work well for your company is essential. You will need to consider the size of your company and the needs of your employees. Some survey platforms are better for small companies, and others are better for larger companies. 

When you create a custom survey, you can include questions that are specific to your company. It will help you get more accurate results. You can also add branding to your survey to make it more recognizable to your employees. 

5. Send out the survey 

Once you have developed your survey, you will need to send it to your employees. You can do this via email or through an online portal. Give your employees enough time to fill out the survey. After you have collected your survey results, you will need to analyze them. Look for trends and see what areas need improvement. You can then create a plan of action based on your survey results. 

Ensuring that the employee engagement survey is distributed to as many employees as possible would be a good start. Keeping the questions short and straightforward will improve your response rate. The survey should be sent along with clear instructions on how to submit the survey. 

6. Incentivize respondents 

Offering a prize for completing the survey is a great way to increase response rates. But it is imperative that the incentive is not seen as a bribe! Moreover, since the survey is anonymous, the incentive should be team-based. Include a link to the survey in the initial email or communication. If someone doesn’t respond to the initial request, follow up with a reminder email or phone call. Sometimes all it takes is a gentle nudge to get someone to take action. 

7. Be creative and make it anonymous 

Employees will not respond to surveys if they see the same questions repeated every time. You won’t get new information, and employees will lose interest in the surveys. Also, employees are likely to fill out the survey if they know their responses will be anonymous. This way, they can feel free to give honest feedback without fear of retribution. 

8. Analyze your results 

After conducting your employee engagement survey, it is vital to analyze the results to determine what areas need improvement. Look at the overall response rate first. If it is low, consider ways to increase participation in future surveys. Once you have a good understanding of the overall results, take a closer look at individual responses. Are there any patterns or trends? Use the information you gathered from the survey to create a plan of action. What are some specific things you can do to improve employee engagement? Implement your plan and track the results over time. Make adjustments as needed to ensure that employees are engaged and happy in their work. 

9. Take action on your findings 

Review your employee engagement survey results and identify areas that need improvement. Communicate the survey results to your employees and let them know what action you will take in response to the findings. Take action on the identified areas of improvement. It could involve implementing new policies or initiatives, providing training or development opportunities, or taking other steps to address the issues raised in the survey. Follow up with your employees after you have taken action to see how they are feeling and if the changes you have made have positively impacted their engagement levels. 

10. Repeat at regularly scheduled intervals 

Follow these steps from beginning to end periodically so that you are constantly in tune with your employees and their opinions. Employees who witness action taken on their survey contributions will be more willing to participate in subsequent surveys. 

Conclusion 

Responses to surveys play a significant role in employee engagement in the workplace. Therefore, ensuring that survey response rates remain high is a sound strategy to ensure employee retention. Your key takeaways from the above ten steps include: 

• Creating a short and straightforward survey 
• Making sure the survey reaches all employees. 
• Giving employees a deadline to respond. 
• Following up with employees who haven’t responded. 
• Using the survey responses to take action 

You will be pleased to know that all of the ten steps can be handled through the right software tool, taking the pressure from HR teams. For instance, HR can create employee surveys in minutes and deploy them to reach every employee. Furthermore, they can also ensure better participation through automatic alerts and reminders. Learning your employees’ thoughts about the organization or their work has never been easier.

Also Read:

Employee Engagement Survey Best Practices