Best Practices for Conducting Employee Surveys

Stop calling it Survey Fatigue. It’s probably “Nothing Changes Anyway” Fatigue. If you want people to keep sharing what they think and feel, you have to earn it. Show them you’re listening and that it matters. Here’s how to do it right… 1. “Where are the Receipts???” Before launching a new survey, show what you did with the last one. Remind employees what they shared and how it led to real change. Even small wins matter here. This is where trust begins. 2. Respect Their Time Run the survey with clear communication and thoughtful outreach. Give people a reason to care while acknowledging the time it takes. Celebrate your early responders and follow up with the rest respectfully, even those last-minute stragglers… 3. Don’t Sit on the Results Your people already know what’s working and what isn’t because they told you. Give a high-level overview of what came up. They don’t need every detail, but enough to know you’re paying attention. 4. Time for Action Pick a few key areas and plan what you’ll do… then actually do it. Planning is part of action, but it can’t be where it stops. Keep people updated on what’s happening and what’s next. Show progress, even if it’s just the first steps. “Nothing Changes Anyway” Fatigue is REAL If your survey process ends with “thanks for your feedback,” you’re doing it wrong. A good survey cycle proves you’re listening and acting. That’s how you earn trust, every time.

💬 When Listening Isn’t Enough: Designing Teams That Act on Employee Feedback We’ve all seen it: ✔️ The survey goes out ✔️ The insights come in ❌ And then… crickets. Listening without action is like watching the director’s cut without ever releasing the film. Great feedback loops don’t just collect opinions, they shape how organizations operate. Companies like Medallia are proving this: Employee Experience (EX) is no longer just about sentiment. It’s about designing teams, workflows, and leadership models that respond in real time. Here's an example: Schneider Electric wanted to boost employee engagement and retention, especially among frontline and distributed workers who often felt disconnected from corporate decision-making. What Medallia Did: Using Medallia’s Employee Experience (EX) platform, Schneider Electric implemented a real-time listening strategy that went beyond annual surveys. They deployed: - Pulse surveys tied to key employee lifecycle moments (e.g., onboarding, team transitions) - Text analytics and sentiment analysis to uncover patterns in open-ended feedback - Customized dashboards for local leaders and HRBPs to take targeted action The Outcome: Managers received tailored insights along with "action nudges"—specific, behavior-based suggestions to improve engagement on their teams. Leadership teams reorganized internal mobility pathways after identifying a common blocker in feedback around career progression. Engagement scores improved, especially among underrepresented groups and early-career employees. 🎯 The real competitive edge? Org design that closes the loop: -Leaders trained to recognize signal from noise -Team structures flexible enough to act on input -Feedback tied directly to decision rights and resourcing Systems in place to show employees: we heard you, and here’s what we did Because trust isn’t built in surveys—it’s built in what happens next. 📊 I’m curious—what’s one way your org has acted on employee feedback in the past year? #EmployeeExperience #OrganizationalDesign #LeadershipDevelopment #Medallia #PeopleStrategy #TrustBuilding #EXtoAction #HRInnovation

Like many companies, we conduct periodic employee surveys at Circle Beverage. We have been doing this for years and have developed a few best practices. Firstly, it’s anonymous. We embrace the good and the hard feedback and encourage people to share their mind without any risk of repercussion. Secondly, we have a Talent & Culture committee that reviews the responses in detail and discerns “what we heard”. The numerical data (ie satisfaction scores) are easy. The written responses require thought and discussion. Thirdly, we agree on a few concrete actions that the company will take in response to each survey. Examples from past years include: enhancing family medical benefits, increasing company 401k contributions, and how we structure our team building events. Finally, I send a written email to the company outlining “what we heard” and “what we are doing about it”. This, over time, has shown our team that their feedback is truly heard and acted upon and has led to increasingly better survey participation results. People are always willing to do a survey when they know that their opinion is heard and acted upon! This is a critical culture-building tool that I take seriously. If anyone has recommendations or enhancements to consider, please share.

❓Are your employee engagement survey completion rates dropping? Or worse, are your employees holding back their honest feedback? From my lived experience and research, here are some common reasons why both of those things could be happening: 1️⃣ Misaligned questions and initiatives: The survey asks about things like collaboration, psychological safety, compensation, etc., but the company’s engagement efforts are focused on t-shirts, parties, and food. There’s a disconnect. 2️⃣ Belief that Nothing Will Change: Many employees feel like their feedback goes into a black hole. They give their honest thoughts but see no follow-up or tangible results, making them question if it’s worth the effort. 3️⃣ Fear of Consequences for Honesty: On the flip side, some employees believe their candid feedback could lead to backlash or negative consequences, especially if the survey doesn’t seem anonymous or secure. 💡 Some possible solutions: 1️⃣ Align Initiatives with Feedback: If employees rank pay as a concern, evaluate if your compensation is competitive. If leadership is rated poorly, it’s time to invest in leadership development. Ensure that what you ask about directly relates to the initiatives you plan to improve. 2️⃣ Show the Impact: Be transparent with employees about the survey results and communicate specific actions you’re taking based on their feedback. They need to see progress to regain trust. 3️⃣ Ensure Anonymity and Safety: Reassure employees that their feedback is confidential and safe from repercussions. Build a culture where honesty is encouraged and valued, not punished. Surveys should be a tool for real engagement, not a formality. When done right, they can drive the very changes employees want to see and that your organization needs. What would you add to the list? #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeFeedback #HRStrategy #OrganizationalDevelopment #EmployeeTrust #SurveyResults #EngagementInitiatives #PeopleFirst #EmployeeExperience #HRTransformation