In customer and market research this is a no-brainer. You really have no choice given the size of your target population – thousands, millions.

In employee research the same applies. However, when you are conducting an employee survey for one organization the game changes. As a general rule, I do not recommend sampling. Now, if you have a large organization (10,000+ employees) and you are only looking for an overall general answer then sampling is the way to go. But this is typically not the situation. Most organizations that conduct an employee survey want to know details. They want (need) to be able to break down the results into meaningful chunks in a statistically reliable manner.

Why would you sample in the first place? Sampling saves time and money. These are both good reasons and if you can meet your objectives only using a sample then it is an excellent approach.

Why not sample? There are two types of reasons not to sample – statistical and political. Ironically, the better job you do statistically the bigger political problem you may create. When organizations decide to sample, they usually look at the total number of employees that they have (say, 10,000) and figure that they only need 566 respondents. Now, this is true if you are only going to look at the overall results. But what they end up doing is cutting the data by several different demographics and they fail to include this in their sampling equation. Some of their data cuts are based on only a handful of respondents.

For example, if you have 10 departments of 1,000 each a comparable sample would be 375 for each department or 3,750 overall. If you want to split each of those 10 departments in male/female splits (assuming equal numbers) you would now need 273 for each gender within each department or 5,460 overall.

Another issue concerns response rate. If you need 5460 respondents (your “net” sample) and you only get a 75% response rate then you need to invite 7,280 employees (your “gross” sample). Well, now you are inviting nearly three-quarters of your organization anyway.

So, what’s the political problem? “How come you didn’t choose me? Most of my buddies got surveyed. Isn’t my opinion important?” Now you have to explain why you chose so many but not them. If you had stayed with the original sample size of 566 employees, most wouldn’t even know what was going on until you reported the results.

Since most of my clients want to be able to cut their data, sometimes all the way down to the work group level, I recommend surveying everyone. Sure, you never get a 100% response rate but you are inviting all to participate. That, in and of itself, is worth some positive political capital.

About the author: Ray Seghers is an organizational improvement consultant specializing in employee engagement and customer loyalty surveys as well as employee commitment research.
Blog URL: http://rayseghers.wordpress.com
Business URL: http://www.segherssurveyconsulting.com

Employee satisfaction surveys can be an eye-opening source of information for managers and business owners. Employees have a unique perspective on how a business works. In a sense, they are the ones who are closest to the action. They perform the day-to-day tasks and often have more contact with customers than anyone in management. They can offer valuable insights into what’s working well, what isn’t, and what can be done to make a business more efficient and profitable. All you have to do is ask.

First Things First
Before you decide to conduct an employee survey, you need to be prepared to do two things.
First, you need to be willing to accept criticism. It is inevitable that some employees will make negative comments about the business. It’s easy to dismiss their statements as sour grapes and focus instead on the nice things people say. But negative comments are an excellent source of information about potential problems. Even if you believe these comments represent unjustified criticism, you can learn a lot from them about employee satisfaction.

Second, you need to be prepared to act on the results of the survey. You shouldn’t ask for employees’ opinions about an issue if you don’t intend to do anything about it. One of the main reasons that employees are reluctant to take part in surveys is that they feel their opinions have been ignored in the past.

How Important Is Confidentiality?
Should your survey be confidential? It depends on what you hope to accomplish. Employers sometimes conduct focus groups to get a general sense of what employees think about a particular issue. Employees have no expectation of confidentiality in these sessions, so they are most appropriate if you are dealing with an issue that people are comfortable discussing. On the other hand, if you really want to know how employees feel about sensitive issues that are close to their hearts, your survey must be confidential.

If you decide to take this route, make sure that employees know the survey is confidential. Then stick to your promise and make no attempt to discover who said what on the survey. Be careful not to include questions that can indirectly identify respondents, such as, “How long have you been in your present position?”

The Online Advantage
There are several advantages to conducting an employee survey online. It’s easier and less expensive to prepare and distribute the survey. Many employees find it faster and more efficient to complete a survey online. And the results of an online survey are easier to compile and analyze. Companies such as Mineful offer templates and sample questions that make online surveys even easier.

What to Ask
Employee satisfaction surveys typically focus on these areas:

Savvy managers realize that employees are a vital source of information about what’s working well in the business and what needs to be improved. A growing number of businesses are using employee satisfaction surveys to identify both problems and opportunities. Surveys can also give managers useful ideas about how to improve the job satisfaction of employees and boost employee morale.

Human resource surveys can be valuable any time, but they are especially worthwhile when:

• A business is growing rapidly and job responsibilities are frequently changing.
• A business is experiencing a high employee turnover rate, which may be a sign of employee dissatisfaction.
• A business is plagued by excessive rumors, which may signal a lack of trust among employees or poor communications from management.
• A business is planning a major reorganization or other change that may create anxiety among employees.

Here are 5 tips to help you make the most of employee surveys.

1. Incorporate surveys into your planning cycle
   You can learn a lot from employee surveys, but you need to make sure the information is available when you need it. For example, if you make budget decisions in April, you might want to conduct a survey in January so that you will have time to analyze the results before you make decisions on how to allocate resources. In scheduling surveys, work backwards from the time when you will need to use the results.
2. Use existing templates to develop survey questions
   Developing survey questions does not need to be a difficult or time-consuming task. You can use Mineful’s Employee Satisfaction Survey Templates to sample questions on common employee concerns, including such things as:
   • Compensation
   • Health benefits
   • Having adequate resources to work efficiently
   • Retirement benefits
   • Opportunities for professional growth
   • Communication with management

It’s easy to customize these questions to meet your specific situation.

3. Keep survey responses anonymous
   Employees need to feel confident that their responses to a survey will remain anonymous. If they fear their responses may be used against them, they will not respond candidly. Avoid asking too many demographic questions, such as, “How long have you been in your present position?” Employees may fear that their responses to these questions will enable you to identify them.
4. Use online survey software to boost value and efficiency
   Online survey software offers a convenient, efficient way to conduct employee surveys. Online programs such as Mineful’s make it easy to try out questions on a representative sample group. That will enable you to fine tune your questions and determine how to analyze the data you collect. These programs also make it easy to create charts and graphs to clarify your findings.
5. Always respond to survey results
   Employees will be more willing to take part in a survey if they feel that you are prepared to act on the results. David Chaudron, an expert on human resource management, makes this point simply and clearly: “Never survey without acting”. Many businesses distribute a summary of survey results and an indication of how they plan to respond to employee concerns. Of course, sometimes you may not be able to give employees the response they were hoping for. Still it is important to let all employees know that you take their opinions seriously and that they are making an important contribution to the decision-making process.