What are your action plans for Employee Engagement Survey data?

After an engagement survey closes: (1) Top-level analysis and reports created for the org and departments with at least 5 respondents (2) Read out to leadership team, discuss, align on key focus areas (3) Leaders cascade discussion to teams and discuss org focus areas as well as what their team can take action on. (4) Follow up in 2, 4, and 6 months.

First, categorize the data to identify common themes, such as communication, work-life balance, or management style. For instance, if a significant number of employees express concerns about workload, this indicates a need for better work distribution or additional resources. Next, use statistical tools to identify patterns and correlations. Low engagement scores in a department might correlate with high turnover rates, signaling deeper issues in management or team dynamics. It's also important to compare the data against industry benchmarks or past survey results to gauge progress or regression in specific areas. Analyzing the data helps pinpoint areas needing improvement and informs targeted strategies to enhance employee engagement.

Be sure to disaggregate your data so that you can see the differences between employee groups, as your workforce is not a monolith and you can have different strategies depending on the group.

Analyze Employee Engagement Survey data comprehensively. Look at the overall global results but also pay specific attention to variances among different demographics to ensure diversity and inclusion are addressed. Develop targeted action plans based on identified trends, which may imply a specific action points for different groups and subgroups (depending on the size of your respondents pool, size of the organization, etc.). Survey responses often represent a sample of your population (unless you have a very high response rate) so be sure that you fostering an inclusive workplace culture where every voice matters and counts. Use survey results to address specific needs across diverse employee groups to the extent possible.

It's important to understand your data by demographics within your organization. Your business is not one singular unit and it's important to understand what demographics within your organization may be more or less engaged. How does engagement vary between your newer employees vs. employees that have been there longer? Is one department or job title pulling down the results and having a bigger impact on your scores than another? If you are conducting new hire and exit surveys they can provide insights into engagement across the employee journey. Another benefit of layering these surveys is that they provide small amounts of data over a short period of time while an engagement survey is a large amount of data over a short time.

Analysis of data can be really tough, the most important thing is to set yourself up for success ahead of time and being clear on your goals and objectives; what areas do we need to understand? What indices should you be measuring against? What types of responses should each question have? Remember, If you put garbage in, you only get garbage out.

Quite a simple bit of advice but absolutely correct - I'd only add: 1. try not to get 'analysis paralysis' and 2. focus more on actionable data

The tendency often with survey results is to zero-in on the highest or lowest-scoring questions, or those that have seen the biggest rise or fall. But, while these shouldn't necessarily be ignored, they may not be the highest priority themes. Context is all-important in this analysis and prioritisation phase. The average engagement surveys yields a huge amount of data so you - and your local managers - need to be able to cut through that to identify the key 'signals'. At an organisation level, link survey data back to your big picture goals, to answer the question, "where are our blockers to delivering our strategy?" For managers, make analysis intuitive, and ensure they can record and track actions locally.

It's important to communicate results to all colleagues as soon as possible (within 1-2 weeks) to ensure transparency and maximum impact. You may not be sure what action you're going to take at that stage, but communicate which topics you want to focus on and your colleagues may have good ideas on how to tackle those topics and will feel more ownership in tackling those issues. If you wait until you have all the answers, the momentum will be lost and colleagues may assume that nothing is happening.

Transparency demonstrates respect for employees' feedback and reinforces their value to the organization. Start by sharing a summary of key findings with all employees, ensuring the communication is clear, concise, and accessible. For example, if the survey reveals a need for improved work-life balance, openly acknowledge this finding. Explain how the feedback will be used to inform changes, thereby building trust and showing commitment to improvement. It’s also beneficial to break down the results by department or team, where applicable, to address specific concerns more effectively. This approach not only acknowledges their input but also involves them in the journey towards a more engaging and fulfilling work environment.

Sharing employee engagement survey findings demonstrates leadership's recognition of employee perspectives. How the findings are shared, is more important than the action of sharing. I suggest sharing a high-level overview of overall organizational results in a town hall format. And, department-level results in team or department settings. This approach fosters transparency and encourages focused growth discussions. Additionally, when presenting, be honest about the improvement initiatives. Leadership may need to say “We see the results and we’re not sure what to do to improve the employee experience, but we’ll figure it out.” Avoid overpromising and under-delivering, just as you would with an external customer.

Ok, this is a huge one for me and one of the biggest drivers of a successful engagement survey. Communication needs to begin well before you even get results, let alone sending a survey to complete. Communicating to your team, why you were doing a survey, how it will help them, how you will be using the data to make work better for them, communicate confidentiality, and how you will share the data after the survey will be a driver of participation, which, of course we all know equals better data, and didn't say.

Communicating the results is essential, and there's a few ways to do it that will drive different outcomes. A main report attached to an email will go so far, but if you want more accountability and responsibility for results you might want to share a detailed dashboard with team managers or department heads that shows their employees results only. Understanding your goals and audience will inform you of the best way to communicate what your survey results are telling you and what you should do with them.

Transparency is key, although keep the feedback concise! Focus on key highlights and your plans - whether that's to do nothing or take action!

A more targeted way to involve your employees is to bring your people managers into the discussion early. They’re on the frontline and can help influence change, but they need to be provided with the tools and resources to have these conversations with their teams.

After sharing your findings, create focus groups or committees involving employees from various levels and departments to discuss the findings and brainstorm solutions. This inclusive approach ensures diverse perspectives are considered, leading to more effective and well-rounded action plans. Encourage employees to propose ideas and improvements directly related to their day-to-day experiences. For example, if work-life balance is a concern, employees could suggest flexible working arrangements or wellness programs. Actively involving employees in creating and implementing solutions not only leads to more effective outcomes but also boosts morale, as staff feel heard and valued in the process of enhancing their work environment.

One pitfall to be aware of is rewarding individual employees for completing a survey as this can skew their answers, their intent, and the data you seek to take action on. You might reword a department that has the most participation stay away from individual rewards relating to survey participation.

Here's a simple rule I have seen lots of organisations use in order to help prioritise actions. (I'm not sure who came up with it or I would acknowledge them). As a manager: Identify ONE focus area; Plan TWO actions; Communicate about them THREE times. In some workplaces, this can be a useful guide for busy managers.

As a manager, it is critical to continue to involve your team in the prioritisation of action, because you can only make improvements by acting on things that they really care about. In order to figure this out, it is not always as straight forward as discussing it as a team. Given the highly individualised nature of people's experiences at work, you may need to have both team and individual conversations to really understand what matters most to the people in your team. Then take action on the things that are going to make the biggest meaningful difference for your people. I would say do one thing at a time, but do it well.

It’s important to develop leaders in an integrative way to give them the intra and interpersonal qualities to engage people: mind, heart and soul.

Use a regression model to determine which engagement drivers will have the most impact, and prioritize focus on those areas. Create your action plan using an impact/effort matrix to most effectively apply your resources.

If you cannot tell what is influencial to the desired outcome then you will struggle to take action Actions should be prioritised not just on what is low scoring AND influencial, but also on celebrating success and protecting what you do well Remember that actions are likely to be focused on environmental factors, as these are the areas you have control over rather than felt experiences which you do not

If you have the right tool in place to help build deploy, analyze and understand your employee feedback data it's a lot easier to know where to take action. Sometimes too much data and reporting makes finding what's important a needle in a haystack. Having somebody either within your organization or outside of your organization that is experienced and understanding employee feedback results can be a key maker in making sure you're taking action in the right place. All employee feedback is important, but not all of it is actionable or should be. I will also note here That leaders should not be scared to collect employee feedback because they think they need to respond or take action on all the results.

Understanding the things you can (and cannot) influence are key to designing great action plans. You can't tell people how to feel, or really how to act, but you can make changes in peoples environment that influence both how they feel and how they act. By making changes employees perceived environment and measuring the differences will lead you to actions that actually make a difference to engagement (or any other outcome you're looking to drive).

This is absolutely right although I'd suggest probably better to think of before communications go out. People don't need to know the full detail but a guideline for completion and SMART approach can be hugely beneficial.

Prioritising post survey actions is imperative as, with so many insights, it is easy to get drawn into trying to address too much and affecting little to no change. We describe this process to our clients as "separating the signal from the noise", in terms of digging into the data, and linking findings back to their strategy and goals. This process helps to sharpen the focus on those few things to prioritise for actions - typically between 1-4 areas - that are having the greatest impact on employee experience and delivery of business goals.

I don't have a lot to add here. I think this is pretty on point. What I would say is that it is important to have an executive sponsor and not just make this an HR or line level process. Make sure there is buy in at all levels across the organization and not just one group talking about this or it will fall on deaf ears.

Implement the 'easy wins' actions as quickly as possible and communicate them in a way that clearly ties back to the survey feedback. Where changes are not possible / feasible or will take longer, do not avoid communicating this. Avoidance creates the potential for sub conversations based on assumptions.

Start by prioritizing the identified issues based on their impact and feasibility. Clearly define the steps, assign responsibilities to specific team members or departments, and set realistic timelines for each action. For instance, if enhancing work-life balance is a priority, you could implement flexible working hours within a set period. It's important to communicate these action plans to all employees, explaining how they address the survey findings and the expected outcomes. Regular updates on the progress of these actions demonstrates the company's commitment to addressing employee concerns. This not only helps resolve issues but boosts morale and trust, as employees see efforts being made in response to their feedback.

Once you implement your plan, don't be afraid to adjust based on results. A continuous improvement mindset is the best way to move forward to see results.

I'm a big fan of 'you said we did'. Yes, implement the actions to the deadlines you set and deliver on survey feedback, but often what's forgotten is the follow up communication - a simple reminder that 'you asked in this survey, we told you what we were going to do, and we did it' - it will give you more credibility and more buy-in with future surveys!

Set specific metrics for each action to measure progress. If you aimed to improve communication, track changes in team meeting frequencies or survey employees about their satisfaction with new communication channels. Regularly collect feedback through quick follow-up surveys or meetings, assessing employees' perceptions of the changes. Compare these findings with initial survey results to gauge improvements in engagement levels. This ongoing evaluation helps identify areas needing further adjustment and reinforces the commitment to addressing employee needs. Effectively evaluating and adjusting your actions based on employee feedback demonstrates a dedication to continuous improvement and fosters a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

With engagement surveys, it is good to be clear that the design and running of the survey itself is only the first 5-10% of the task. What maters is what comes next. Think of action planning in two ways - A) at an organisational level and B) at a local level. For the former, review data and link results back to your strategy and business goals. Through this lens, what are the priorities to address? Keep this list manageable by pinpointing just 1-3 things to focus on, and then cascade actions down as needed. At a local level, equip and support managers to identify possible action areas that may differ and be specific to them. Encourage them to involve their teams to better understand these things, and agree actions to address them.

Use both process and outcome measures to gauge progress. Turnover might take a while to reduce (outcome measure), but is the length of time folks stay with the organization, the number of referrals from existing staff, and the percentage of people who complete their probationary period on the rise? If you wait until the following survey to gauge success a year or two from now, there are lost opportunities and likely lost faith that anything happens from completing them.

Engagement surveys aren't employee engagement in-and-of themselves - engagement is an outcome, much like retention or trust, so when you're thinking about a survey be clear about the outcomes you're looking to drive beyond engagement, this will inform the questions you ask, which in turn informs the indices you measure against, how your analytics works, and ultimately the actions that can be driven from the data you've collected.