What Are the Different Methods of Survey Distribution?

Surveys can be sent out in a variety of ways, most of which are digital. Many survey distribution tools, such as SurveyMonkey, provide options to create well-designed surveys…but what about getting the survey to people? Choosing the right distribution method can be especially challenging in work environments where not everyone has access to the same information or tools, particularly in industries like construction or manufacturing that have a high number of non-desk employees. Employee survey distribution often leaves employers scratching their heads, trying to find a solution that’s both simple and accessible. 

How many types of survey methods are there, and what survey distribution methods are best for the workplace? That’s what we hope to address with this article, along with why a platform like Yourco may be the answer you’re looking for—whether your employees are office workers, non-desk employees, or third-shift workers.

What Are the 5 Types of Survey Distribution?

The following five methods are common ways workplace surveys get sent out: 

• In-person
• Email
• Chat platforms
• QR codes
• Text messages

Let’s look at each of these, along with some of the advantages and disadvantages they all carry.

What Is the Best Way To Send a Questionnaire?

• In-Person 
  Some companies opt to distribute their surveys as physical forms. But as technology advances, this method is becoming more and more outdated for several reasons. In addition to how easy it is to lose physical copies of survey responses, transferring the data over for analysis adds an entire step for the leadership team—a significant barrier to cross before producing results that everyone can see.
• Email
  There are several reasons email works for surveys: it’s quick, efficient, and lets you distribute messages across a wide range of employees. However, email has two disadvantages: its lack of reach and its frequency of use for other work purposes. First, not every employee at a company will have access to email—namely, non-desk employees or those who work on jobsites. Secondly, even office-based employees who have access to email are often overrun with a slew of messages. According to Templafy, the average office employee receives 121 emails every single day. Needless to say, making your survey into email #122 may not be the best way to ensure it gets taken.
• Chat Platforms
  Another alternative for communicating digitally is chat apps, such as Slack or Google Chat. Through these platforms, staff can communicate quickly and effectively, without having to wade through a mess of emails. Sending a survey out here, then, would probably be better than an email in most cases. But again, these platforms are limited to who has access to them, and not everyone has a smartphone that’s capable of using these platforms to begin with. And if you have any groups of staff that aren’t able to access these threads regularly—or at all—then they will never see your survey.
• QR Codes
  These handy portals have simplified a lot of things in society, from food menus to sharing information at a trade show. For surveys, QR codes provide a way for anyone with a phone to scan and access your survey. While this does add another barrier for entry to the survey itself, it’s usually a pretty easy one to cross. That said, the true downside to QR codes is that if they’re printed out on a physical item, they can be tampered with. Unfortunately, hackers have made use of this, finding a whole host of ways to make people miserable that unwittingly scan an altered QR code.
• Text Messages
  While text messaging is not commonly thought of as a means of workplace communication or a way to distribute surveys, it can be particularly effective for a number of reasons. For one, it gives everyone with a phone equal access to the survey; whether your employees work in an office or on a construction site, they’ll be able to take the survey in the same way. Additionally, platforms such as Yourco provide full integration into common tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms, and a built-in poll functionality, making it easier to create the survey and compile the data—all while keeping the experience equal for each participant.

What Is the Most Effective Survey Method?

The best survey tools and methods make it easy to send, respond to, and collect data from your survey—all through a platform that everyone can use. At Yourco, we would argue that text messaging is far more effective than any other form of survey distribution, for a couple of reasons:

Platforms that work through texting are far more accessible for non-desk employees nationwide, 83% of which don’t have access to a company email.

Two-way communication platforms like Yourco provide ways to schedule text messages ahead of time and send them to specific groups of people, meaning that everyone gets work comms when they’re working—not just when the leadership team is working.

Yourco is not only one of the best survey distribution tools out there, but it also provides ways to improve communication across your whole organization. Schedule alerts for certain shifts, smoothly onboard new employees, share company-wide announcements and ask employees questions directly using built-in poll functionality —all from the palm of your employees’ hands.

Schedule a demo with our team or try it out for free today to see how Yourco makes survey distribution—and workplaces—flow a whole lot smoother.