Top 5 Problems with Employee Engagement Surveys

Employee engagement surveys can be a helpful tool for organizations to measure employee satisfaction and understand how the workforce feels. However, there are common problems with these surveys that can limit their ability to provide meaningful insights. In this article, we'll explore the top five issues with these surveys and highlight how a continuous engagement platform can solve these challenges. 

Participation Rates 

Low participation rates are extremely common in employee engagement surveys. Unfortunately, this can lead to sample bias, lack of representation, and incomplete data. When only a small percentage of employees respond to the survey, the responses are less likely to be representative of the overall population, which can make it challenging to draw accurate insights of engagement.  

Point-in-time Bias 

Point in time bias can affect the accuracy of surveys as respondents may base their answers on their current feelings, rather than their overall experiences. Companies can make the mistake of sending surveys after perception altering events, such as promotion and bonus cycles. This can result in survey responses that don’t accurately reflect the true levels of holistic engagement. 

Qualitative Heavy 

Surveys often rely on employee feedback and qualitative responses. This can be problematic because those subjective responses are difficult to analyze systematically, may not capture the full range of employee experiences and feelings, and can be time-consuming to analyze.  

False Claims of Anonymity 

Many times, engagement surveys are claimed to be anonymous to encourage employees to answer honestly. However, there is usually personally identifiable information or a small enough sample size for it to be easily connected to the “anonymous” employee. That false sense of anonymity can lead to employees providing dishonest or insincere responses, which can result in inaccurate data. Additionally, they may be reluctant to provide honest feedback, which will also lead to incomplete or biased data.  

Surveys as Detractors  

In a worst-case scenario, surveys can become a detractor to the employee’s experience. If they are not administered thoughtfully or the results aren’t acted upon or communicated effectively, it can lead to feelings that the organization doesn’t care about employee feedback or that negative feedback will result in retaliation. 

Continuous Engagement Management Platforms 

By using a continuous engagement management platform, you can avoid the issues above. These platforms baseline engagement levels by connecting to the work tools being used every day. By utilizing this data, you can receive automatic, unbiased, continuous, and objective insights into the promoters and detractors of the employee experience. 

In conclusion, employee engagement surveys can be a valuable tool for organizations to improve their performance and engagement levels, but they also have their pitfalls when done incorrectly. Automatic employee engagement platforms like Peoplelogic can provide an effective solution to the pain points associated with traditional engagement surveys. Contact us below to learn more about the new world of engagement management.