By Bhavika Sharma
Annual employee engagement surveys are important. They give you a holistic view of what your employees think about their work and the organization. You may include different types of questions in a survey to help you gauge employee engagement, but you need to wait for a year to get that feedback.
If an issue requires immediate action, it is not recommended to wait that long. You can get instant feedback through employee pulse surveys.
The biggest advantage of employee pulse surveys is that they can be done frequently and at regular intervals (weekly or monthly). They are comparatively shorter (5 to 15 questions) than annual employee engagement surveys.
Employee pulse surveys can be rolled out to address specific objectives, which can be any of the following:
- To determine if the change implemented based on an annual engagement survey is working.
- To see how employees’ feelings or reactions about a project or their work changes over time.
- To follow up on a project before it reaches its deadline.
- To get quick feedback on a recent event or the current hot topic.
Your employee pulse survey should address these five areas (with survey question examples).
Type 1. Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is vital. It represents the emotional connection an employee feels towards their place of work. Your questions should effectively measure the level of employee engagement. These two employee engagement survey questions should help:
Would you recommend this organization to your friends as a great place to work?
This question has a high correlation with employee engagement. It’s a direct measure of customer loyalty. It not only gauges employee’s satisfaction level, but it also gauges the employee’s connection with the organization; whether it is high enough to recommend it to their family or friends.
Do you find your work engaging?
Be direct, and as transparent as possible. If this is a number question or just “yes” or “No”, follow it up with another question that delves deeper.
Type 2. Growth and Development
Your employees need to have opportunities to learn and grow. Growth may mean different things to different employees. Some may want growth in their salary, while others may seek career growth. Here are examples of two employee pulse survey questions:
Do you have career growth and development opportunities in the organization?
Employees need clarity around where they are headed in their career path. They are looking for opportunities and if you can’t give them, they’ll look for them somewhere else. This question can help you understand what type of opportunities your employees are looking for.
Do you think your opinions count at work?
Everybody wants to be heard. This survey question can help you understand how receptive your organization is to your employee’s feedback or ideas.
Type 3. Equipment and Resources
For your employees to perform efficiently, they need the tools, resources, and information at their disposal. Without them, their work is going to be impacted. Use questions like these:
Do you have the materials and equipment to do your job?
This question quickly brings to light what resources your employees need to be productive and efficient. You can then quickly work towards making necessary improvements or amendments.
Do you have the information you need to do your job?
This question is a quick win. It also uncovers loopholes in the process or training. You can quickly make amends to provide information if it isn’t available and if it’s affecting the employee’s work.
Type 4. Recognition and Work-Life Balance
Work recognition and work-life balance are two of the basic needs of the employees. If these needs are not met, they are less likely to be engaged. Ask these questions in your pulse employee survey:
Is your contribution to the organization’s success recognized?
This question can clearly help you understand whether the employee feels valued or not.
Does your job give you the flexibility you need to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
This is a direct question. The answer is a clear indication of how your employees feel. Are they overburdened with work? Do they compromise on family time because of work? It is a known fact that an employee with a better work-life balance is more likely to be engaged.
Type 5. Manager Effectiveness
The old adage is: Employees leave managers, not companies. Although managers are not the only reason that makes employees leave the organization, the fact remains that managers play a crucial role in employee engagement. Include these questions to measure manager effectiveness:
Do you receive constructive feedback from your manager regularly?
Constructive feedback is critical to employee growth. This question can help you measure employee-manager relationship and the ability of a manager to drive performance.
Are the responsibilities, expectations, and goals clear to everyone on your team?
Clear communication is critical to the team’s success. The goals and responsibilities need to be clearly communicated to the team. This question can help clarify whether employees have a clear understanding of who’s accountable for what in a team.
Featured photo credit: Depositphotos