How Do You Take Action on Employee Survey Results?

You may wonder, ‘Are employee surveys still effective?’ especially when you see an overwhelming number of employee surveys without leading to meaningful change. However, the truth is that these employee surveys can be effective, but only if there is a commitment to act on the findings and follow through after their completion. We know it can be challenging to poll your employees and understand how to utilize the results to make impactful changes. It can be difficult to know how to poll your employees and what to do with the results once you’ve received them. Here at Yourco, we’re passionate about all things employee! We’ve put together this brief guide to help you through the entire process from the initial employee survey distribution to following up on your action plan. At a high level view, you’ll go through these steps:

• Step One: Build and distribute your survey
• Step Two: Analyze results
• Step Three: Create an action plan
• Step Four: Present results and action plan
• Step Five: Follow up

Don’t stop reading right here. Do you know that when employees feel heard at work, they are nearly 5x more likely to give their best effort? Let’s explore each step in more detail! 

What’s the Best Way To Build and Distribute an Employee Survey?

The best way to build and distribute an employee survey is whatever way will reach the most employees and garner the most responses. Let’s talk about building the survey first. According to SurveyMonkey research, the best way to do this is to construct a short survey with specific types of question formats. Aim for 5 to 12 questions and select formats like multiple choice or a rating scale. Keep in mind that open ended questions or matrix formats can require a lot of mental work or be difficult to navigate on the screen if there’s a lot of scrolling involved. For example, if you are considering surveying your employees on workplace safety and environment, questions could include “How would you rate the safety of your workplace on a scale from 1 to 10?” “Have you received adequate training to perform your job safely on a scale from 1 to 10?” and “What improvements would you suggest to enhance safety at your workplace?”After you’ve constructed your survey, be sure to take one last look at your design. Check for clear and unbiased questions and appropriate response scales. Remember that qualitative data does have a place—although open-ended questions can be difficult for people filling out a survey, consider having a discussion with your team after results have been collected.   

Now it’s time to send! When it comes to distribution, it’s important to make sure that all workers have access to the survey. Be sure to consider employees who don’t work at a desk or regularly check their email. With Yourco, you can easily text surveys to all employees, regardless of whether they have access to email.

Once distributed, the responses will come rolling in and it’s on to the next step: analyzing the results.

How Do You Analyze Engagement Survey Results?

When analyzing engagement survey results, especially for a diverse workforce that includes blue-collar workers, your HR teams can follow these pro tips to ensure they derive meaningful and actionable insights:

• Clean and prepare the data—The first step in interpreting employee engagement survey results is to make sure your data is usable. Check for errors and missing values. Prepare the data for analysis by organizing it into your preferred format—often a simple spreadsheet is the easiest way to slice and dice the information. 
• Look at basic statistics—You can learn a lot through simple statistics like mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and response distributions for each question. 
• Look for patterns—Identify any trends that you see in the data. Are certain questions consistently receiving high or low scores? Are there any notable shifts from previous surveys? You may also try segmenting the results by department, job roles, shifts, or demographics. Compare answers among these segments to identify more patterns and discrepancies. 
• Benchmarking—Do your research and compare the results to industry benchmarks or past survey results. This will help you understand if your company’s engagement levels are above or below average .You may also correlate engagement survey results with employee turnover data that can give you insight into how to not just engage employees but also retain them. For example, if the benchmark shows that 40% of workers who express dissatisfaction with the working environment and safety training leave within a year, you have an opportunity to intervene to keep more of those employees on board in the future.

How Do You Respond To Negative Employee Survey Results?

The best way to respond to negative employee survey results is to take them seriously, but not personally. Although it may sting at first, it’s important not to discard these insights as they can provide valuable information and ignoring them may further alienate employees. Be sure to dig into the data to understand what the issues are and identify the common themes in responses. Prioritize the negative feedback that needs the most immediate attention and develop an action plan to address and rectify the situation. 

Once you’ve completed your analysis of the data, the next step is to create an action plan. 

How Do I Create an Action Plan for Employee Survey Results?

You can translate the data into actionable insights by answering questions like: 

• What areas need improvement? 
• What areas positively impact engagement? 
• What specific factors are contributing to low scores? 
• What initiatives could support employee engagement and success?

Remember that the best action plans involve S.M.A.R.T. goals—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. For each piece of feedback that you’ve determined needs an action, create a plan that meets those criteria. Be sure to assign responsibilities and establish a timeline to ensure that the plan is actually carried out. 

Once you’ve developed your action plan, the next step is to share the results—and the resulting action plan—with employees.

How Do You Present Employee Survey Results?

Before presenting results, it’s important to start with an acknowledgement of participation, thanking employees for their time and effort. This will help ensure participation in the future, as well as make employees feel valued. When presenting, be sure to use clear visuals and concise summaries, highlighting both positive findings and areas that need improvement. Follow up the presentation of results with your action plan, making sure to communicate who is responsible for each action and what the timeline is. 

Why Is It Important To Share Survey Results With Employees?

Sharing survey results with employees demonstrates transparency and open communication, which is why it’s so important to include negative feedback—and not ignore it! You want to make sure your employees are heard and valued, because this will enhance trust, collaboration, and future engagement. 

While presenting survey results during an all-company meeting is a popular option, another way to make sure you are reaching your internal stakeholders is to use Yourco. You can easily make announcements, sharing key findings and high level action items via text message so that all employees can access the information. 

After sharing results, now it’s time to start on your action plan and follow up periodically. 

How Do I Follow Up on Employee Survey Results?

Following up on survey results is simple with Yourco! With our easy-to-use technology, you can solicit feedback from employees as you carry out your action plan. You can even schedule text messages to send at certain intervals to make sure that employees are notified and up-to-date on all the initiatives you’re carrying out. 

If you’re interested in seeing how Yourco can transform your employee survey distribution,  try it out for free or schedule a demo today!