Conducting An Employee Engagement Survey The Complete Guide

Conducting an Employee Engagement Survey 1
CONDUCTING AN
EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
SURVEY
THE COMPLETE GUIDE
WHO TO SURVEY, WHAT TO ASK, WHEN TO INITIATE
Make work awesome.

quantumworkplace.com | info@quantumworkplace.com | 1.888.415.8302
Quantum Workplace’s
engagement survey and action
planning software and services
Survey your staff and take action in three easy steps:
1. Measure engagement
Leverage America’s most widely-used
managers
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CONTENTS
05 WHO DO I SURVEY FOR THE MOST
EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK?
09 HOW DO I SET UP EMPLOYEE DATA?
12 WHAT QUESTIONS ACCURATELY MEASURE

ENGAGEMENT?
16 WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SURVEY?
19 WHO SHOULD CONDUCT MY SURVEY?
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INTRODUCTION
Why Employee Engagement?
Top-performing organizations know that engagement drives business outcomes.
focused, and more likely to stay. Highly engaged workplaces grow faster,
employee engagement; it depends on it.
Highly Engaged Organizations See Results
• 87% show an increase in revenue in the following three years

• 86% report an increase in market share
• 57% report lower employee turnover
• 90% of the publicly traded clients report higher stock prices
Where Do You Start?

Achieving and maintaining a culture of engagement begins
71% of HR leaders with checking the pulse. Understanding your employees’
report engagement as engagement level, their perceptions of the organization,
a key metric to include and what drives their engagement is critical to creating an
on an HR scorecard engaged culture and driving business results.
for executives.
It starts with collecting feedback. This guide will walk
you through steps and best practices for conducting an
employee engagement survey.
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WHO Do I Survey
for the Most
Effective Feedback?
It’s time to measure your organization’s employee

engagement. Who do you survey? Which employees will
most accurately measure what you want to know? Which
won’t?
You’re not the only one asking these questions. When

it comes to measuring employee engagement, many
organizations wonder how to determine which of their
employees to include.
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CONSIDER WHO
TO INCLUDE
Full-Time Employees
Full-time employees are often prioritized as prime survey candidates; after all,
they put in the most hours for your organization. If you want to gather cruicial
feedback regarding workplace culture, full-time employees are worth including.
Part-Time Employees
Part-time employees are often overlooked when it comes to measuring
employee engagement. But the fact of the matter is, their engagement level is
Different Locations
If your organization conducts business in multiple locations, including different
districts, cities, states, or countries, consider measuring employee engagement
may have unique opinions of their location’s culture, as well as the organization’s
overall culture.
Different Brands or Products

If your organization has different employee groups dedicated to separate brands
or products, consider including those employees in your survey assessment
process as well. Much like location, the opinions of employees within different
brands of your organization may vary from one another. For example, Yum!
depending if they work at Taco Bell, KFC, or Pizza Hut.
Different Types of Employees

example, faculty and staff at a university may have unique opinions of the
disagree on workplace culture. Surveying different employee types can provide

you with detailed organizational intelligence that you may not have known
otherwise.
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5
BENEFITS ALL EMPLOYEES,

ONE INITIATIVE
Now that you’ve thought about your different types of employees, it’s time
to decide which of them to include. Some organizations choose to conduct
while other choose to implement multiple survey initiatives.
Quantum Workplace recommends surveying all employees, no matter their

position, department, or region with one survey. Here’s why: When you survey
all employees under one initiative, you can:
Get a Holistic View of Engagement
1
Surveying all employees will give you a more accurate and comprehensive view
of your organization’s engagement level. Gathering feedback from all employee
opportunities, and threats throughout your organization.
Compare and Contrast Different Employee Groups

When you survey every employee, you have the ability to slice and dice the
2 employee groups. For example, you can divide the data up by location to
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Save Time and Resources

Conducting one survey initiative will prevent your organization from wasting
time and resources. Engaging in multiple survey projects requires organizational
3
leaders to explain the reasoning for multiple projects, conduct unique surveys
at different points in time, compile data for each different project, and analyze
and share each initiative’s results with the organization. With all the other
responsibilities on your plate, you can’t afford to spend unnecessary time and
time, as well as the rest of your employees’.
Build Trust With Employees
4
Consistently gathering feedback via one survey project will prove to your
employees that your organization is taking employee engagement seriously.
Different assessment projects may either leave employees wondering why they
weren’t included or doubting your intent to follow-up with the results.
Improve Employee Engagement

The goal of your organization-wide survey should be to gather feedback, analyze
5
results, and ultimately, improve your employee engagement. Consistently
measuring engagement under one initiative will allow you to develop and
implement effective action plans in order to raise your organization’s overall
engagement level.
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HOW Do I Set Up
Employee Data?
While analyzing your organization’s overall engagement

is useful, it can be overwhelming. Quantum Workplace
recommends breaking the data down into segments to
results.
For organizations that wish to improve overall employee

engagement, data segmentation will allow leaders to use
action plans.
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1
SELECT WHICH
DEMOGRAPHICS
TO TRACK
Standard Demographics
STEP Breaking your survey data down into general segments will help you
thoroughly analyze your results for greater insight and better understanding.
Choosing demographics often depends on the size of your employee groups.
sorting your data by gender would compromise the anonymity of the data.
Our clients tend to use these standard demographics:

• Gender
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Tenure
• Position level
• Department
Demographics Unique to Your Organization

Standard demographics are a great place to start. But, be sure to gather
Examples of unique demographics that our clients have used:

• Full Time/Part Time
• In-store/Corporate
• Brand
• Location
• Immediate Supervisor
• Planned Tenure
• Individual Performance Rating
supply your leaders with more detailed information and the ability to develop
more effective actions plans, which often contribute to higher levels of
engagement.
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2
DECIDE HOW TO
GATHER DATA FOR
OPTIMAL RESULTS
Now that you’ve determined which demographics you want to include in your
survey assessment process, it’s time to decide how to gather that information.
STEP
Self-Reporting
Organizations that administer internal surveys might request that employees
self-report their own demographics. While this saves employers time, the
report their own demographics risk:
• Inaccurate information, whether intentionally or inadvertently
• Loss of employee interest due to an increased number of items
Pre-Loaded
Quantum Workplace recommends loading your employees’ demographics
behind the scenes. How? With the help of an external vendor, you can link your
employees’ demographics to their unique survey. Pre-loaded demographics
will give you more accurate results, while assuring anonymity and an error-free
assessment process.
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WHAT Questions
Accurately Measure
Engagement?
This process shouldn’t be taken lightly. In fact, irrelevant

or ineffective survey items can have damaging effects.
Organizations that choose to select survey items themselves
without consulting an expert often risk adding items that ask
more than one question, are easily misinterpreted, or don’t
help leaders discover what they really want to know. An
unsuccessful survey causes employee confusion, which could
result in decreased interest, trust, and engagement.
How do you know what items to include?

Follow these guidelines.
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1
CREATE A SURVEY
FOUNDATION
Each survey should contain a standard set of items, a survey foundation. A
your organization. This consistency will allow you to examine year-over-year

results, gauge organizational improvements or setbacks, and with the help of
STEP a survey partner, benchmark your organization against others in your industry
and size category. Your standard items should be included on every survey,
administered to every employee, at every annual survey assessment.
Based on extensive research Quantum Workplace recommends your survey

cover the 10 core areas that most accurately measure employee engagement.
10 Core Areas of Engagement

1. Teamwork
2. Manager Effectiveness
3. Trust in Senior Leaders
4. Trust with Coworkers
5. Retention
6. Alignment with Goals
7. Feeling Valued
8. Individual Contribution
9. Job Satisfaction
10.
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2
CUSTOMIZE YOUR
SURVEY
Similar to choosing demographics, when it comes to survey items, a standard
foundation is a great place to start. To accurately measure engagement, you
should include survey items that address our 10 core areas; however, your survey
STEP customize your survey:
Add Items Unique to Your Organization

Custom items allow leaders to gather feedback that sheds light on employee
views of the organization’s mission or direction.
Add Items Unique to Your Organization at This Point in Time

How do your employees feel about the current events that are happening in the
organization? Are certain changes causing a decrease in motivation? Find out.
initiatives, etc.
Add Items Unique to Certain Segments of Your Organization

Your organization might have unique survey items that pertain only to certain
employee groups. Leveraging a survey partner and pre-loaded data will allow
you to ask certain groups different questions than others.
5 R AT I O
85/1 Great surveys combine a core set of survey items intermixed with brand,
Workplace recommends that at least 85 percent of the survey items be

administered to every employee, leaving 15 percent open for employee
uniqueness.
Make work awesome.

3
ASK ABOUT SURVEY
FOLLOW-UP
Have you implemented any initiatives to help boost your organization’s
engagement level? Is it working? Ask!
Additional Items
STEP As you continue to measure employee engagement, be sure to include items
organization-wide survey, Quantum Workplace encourages adding two to three

questions to your annual standard survey to gather employee opinions on survey
follow-up.
Additional Surveys
Don’t want to wait until your next survey? Add three- to four-question mini
surveys throughout the year in order to gain prompt feedback on implemented
action plans. Give your employees the opportunity to say what’s working or
what’s not.
4
DETERMINE NUMBER
OF ITEMS
Keep in mind, your employees are busy…working for you! The number of items
you choose to include on your organization’s employee engagement survey
directly affects how much time it takes your employees to complete it. So, be
considerate.
STEP
Our research has found that having more than 60 objective questions may
decrease your employees’ motivation to complete the survey. And remember,
open-ended items take more time and consideration than most objective items.
So, be careful not to overwhelm your employees with too many items.
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WHEN Is the Best

Time to Survey?
As organizations gear up to launch an organization-wide
process, surveys should be administered at a time that’s

convenient for leadership and employees.
Strategically schedule your survey to ensure consistency,

gather timely feedback, and improve overall engagement.
Make work awesome.

1
DETERMINE SURVEY
FREQUENCY
Employee opinions change, so it’s important to ask for feedback frequently. It’s
often suggested that each organization survey at a frequency that works best
for its employees, management, and the organization as a whole.
STEP According to Quantum Workplace data, the two most common survey
frequencies are annually and every other year. Organizations that choose to
survey their employees every other year often do so to save time and money;
gather valuable data. In addition, comparing year-over-year results that are

more that 12-18 months old can tarnish the quality of comprable data.
Survey Annually to Increase Engagement

Our research proves that organizations surveying annually experience greater
year-over-year increases in engagement than those surveying less frequently.
On average, organizations that surveyed annually saw a .67 increase in
their overall engagement score, while those that surveyed less frequently
experienced a mere .13 increase.
times higher increase in their overall composite score than those that don’t.
The math speaks for itself.
“Organizations that survey annually see a

5X higher increase in their score than
organizations surveying less frequently.”
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2
SET A SURVEY DATE
Determing when you will administer your organzation-wide survey is just as
important as determing how often. For many organizations, this can be a
organization? Before you set a survey date, consider the Quantum Workplace
recommendations below.
STEP
Popular Times
As more organizations are opting to measure employee engagement, trends
have begun to surface. Many organizations choose to administer surveys during
many organizations to avoid certain seasons.
Best Time for You

When’s the best time to conduct an organization-wide employee engagement
survey? Unfortunately, there is no right answer. The best time to survey varies for
each organization. Quantum Workplace encourages you to check the calendar
and set a date that is the most convenient for your organization as a whole.
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WHO Should
Conduct My
Survey?
We’ve answered your who, what, and when survey

assessment questions, now it’s time to put it into action.
But how?
Your organization’s employee engagement level can be

measured by either one of two processes: using an internal
survey or investing in an outside vendor.
experts.
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7
BENEFITS HIRING A
SURVEY PARTNER
You don’t have to be an engagement expert to know that the opportunity cost
of spending more time on survey administration is less time available for actually
increasing engagement. But you absolutely need the data as a starting point.
This is why, at Quantum Workplace, we recommend partnering with an outside

vendor to alleviate your survey assessment concerns and uncertainties. Skilled
experts can help ensure that your survey assessment does exactly what it’s
supposed to do — measure employee engagement.
1 Save Time and Resources

employee engagement survey
2 Increase Employee Participation

Receive daily updates on your survey completion rate to track and achieve goals
3
Promise Employee Anonymity
Ensure Data Integrity

4 Professionally written survey items will guarantee that your organization is
accurately measuring employee engagement
5
Simplify Survey Customization
organization and deliver unique survey items to segmented employee groups
6 Receive Dynamic Reports and Benchmarking

Gain quick access to easy-to-use reports that allow you to slice’n’dice the data
anyway you choose
7 Develop More Effective Action Plans

Utilize your comprehensive feedback and detailed reports
to determine the next steps to improving engagement
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CONCLUSION
Congratulations
You’ve made it to through our guide on how to conduct an employee
engagement survey. You now know who to survey, what to ask, and when to
initiate...but maybe you don’t have the time, resources, or staff to manage an
organization-wide assessment.
You’re not expected to.
If you’re overwhelmed by the idea of gathering comprehensive employee

feedback, the helpful hints and Quantum Workplace recommendations in this
Ready, Set, Go
Your organization’s engagement won’t improve if you don’t do something about
it. It’s time to take action. Gather employee feedback, analyze in-depth results,
and make work awesome!
Make work awesome.

LET US HELP YOU

CONDUCT YOUR
EMPLOYEE SURVEY
In order to effectively measure employee engagement, you need
employee data to ensure in-depth results? Are you asking the right
questions? Is your survey date optimal for employee participation?
Talk to one of our engagement specialists today to
receive a free consultation on your survey strategy.
e
KarygeSmeent Associate
Enga
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Conducting an Employee Engagement Survey 1

Make work awesome.

Make work awesome.

09 HOW DO I SET UP EMPLOYEE DATA?

12 WHAT QUESTIONS ACCURATELY MEASURE

16 WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SURVEY?

19 WHO SHOULD CONDUCT MY SURVEY?

Make work awesome.

employee engagement; it depends on it.

Highly Engaged Organizations See Results

• 87% show an increase in revenue in the following three years

Where Do You Start?

Make work awesome.

It’s time to measure your organization’s employee

You’re not the only one asking these questions. When

Make work awesome.

Different Brands or Products

depending if they work at Taco Bell, KFC, or Pizza Hut.

Different Types of Employees

disagree on workplace culture. Surveying different employee types can provide

Make work awesome.

BENEFITS ALL EMPLOYEES,

while other choose to implement multiple survey initiatives.

Quantum Workplace recommends surveying all employees, no matter their

Get a Holistic View of Engagement

opportunities, and threats throughout your organization.

Compare and Contrast Different Employee Groups

Make work awesome.

Save Time and Resources

time, as well as the rest of your employees’.

Build Trust With Employees

Improve Employee Engagement

Make work awesome.

While analyzing your organization’s overall engagement

For organizations that wish to improve overall employee

Make work awesome.

Our clients tend to use these standard demographics:

Demographics Unique to Your Organization

Examples of unique demographics that our clients have used:

Make work awesome.

report their own demographics risk:

• Inaccurate information, whether intentionally or inadvertently

• Loss of employee interest due to an increased number of items

Make work awesome.

This process shouldn’t be taken lightly. In fact, irrelevant

How do you know what items to include?

Make work awesome.

your organization. This consistency will allow you to examine year-over-year

Based on extensive research Quantum Workplace recommends your survey

10 Core Areas of Engagement

Make work awesome.

STEP customize your survey:

Add Items Unique to Your Organization

Add Items Unique to Your Organization at This Point in Time

Add Items Unique to Certain Segments of Your Organization

Workplace recommends that at least 85 percent of the survey items be

Make work awesome.

organization-wide survey, Quantum Workplace encourages adding two to three

Make work awesome.

WHEN Is the Best

As organizations gear up to launch an organization-wide

process, surveys should be administered at a time that’s

Strategically schedule your survey to ensure consistency,