Why Companies Fear Anonymous Surveys

Many companies do not find value in conducting traditional employee surveys. These are often surveys designed to measure employee engagement and more. There are businesses that find them a lot of trouble. They may believe they offer little information of any value and don't provide results that contain anything important. These companies don't realize how using these surveys can help their business.

Survey Questions

Many traditional surveys will ask questions that provide a vague idea about the satisfaction of their employees. The goal is often to gather information that is actionable. Much of the information obtained doesn't provide management with a good idea of actions that should be taken for improvement of the company culture. Questions often provide results that are difficult to understand. In many cases, companies aren't prepared to change based on traditional survey results.

Surveys Ignored

Most employees who are disengaged will not take the time to complete a survey. These employees will often try and get others not to respond to the survey. Many times, these employees do not believe completing an annual survey will change anything within the company. This means the survey results are not able to provide accurate information about employees level of engagement. A company's level of engagement and employee happiness could be much worse than a survey's results indicate.

Results Ignored

Some companies provide annual surveys only because it is part of their routine. When companies ask employees to spend time on a survey, they need to show they listened. The company needs to take actions. It needs to show employee happiness is important and listen to what is uncovered by the surveys. A survey loses value when the results are ignored. This results in employees refusing to spend time taking an annual survey.

Bad Timing

It may be a mistake for a company not to provide a survey for their employees until its part of an exit interview. This is the second most common survey method companies use for employee engagement. The main issue with doing this is how its too late for change at that point. Most employees don't like to be asked questions about the company's treatment on their way out the door.

Fear Of Anonymous Feedback

Many members of management do not like anonymous surveys. They believe this type of feedback leads to dishonest results as well as bias. Management feels these things would make the results useless. Others in management feel anonymous feedback encourages a lack of trust. Some believe this is a way small groups of employees can influence the results on a large scale. Using anonymous surveys for feedback has been shown to significantly increase survey participation.

Response Rate

It's important companies not measure the performance of their managers based on survey response rates from a manager's team. When at least half of a company's employees respond to a survey, it will have enough information to determine actions that need to be taken.

Pulse Surveys And Employee Survey History

Employee surveys have been used as tools in business for decades. During the 1920s, employee surveys were used and referred to as employee attitude surveys. They were considered a success in a number of industrial companies. Tools for measuring employees' attitude became more popular during World War II. The goal at this time was to gauge morale and create environments with high morale. Pulse surveys are considered relatively new in the world of business. They are demonstrating a high level of accuracy with providing important data on a company's culture.

Employee Pulse Surveys

An employee pulse survey is designed to be completed on a weekly basis or every few weeks. This is a survey system that is fast and frequent. They are able to quickly provide a company with insight into its employee's attitudes. Because of advancements in technology, these types of surveys can be completed over the Internet and done securely. This is more popular than using survey software that has been customized or paper.

Pulse Survey Benefits

It has been shown the proper use of employee pulse surveys will increase employee engagement. This has also resulted in an improvement in a company's business culture. This is a tool that provides management with real-time measurement of employee satisfaction as well as engagement. Being able to have access to so much data this quickly means managers are able to more accurately determine employee morale and more. This has proven more effective than reviewing data that was collected weeks or months earlier.

Take surveys to the next level with Clarity Wave

Clarity Wave is a software that was developed to deliver employee survey characteristics not provided in any other way. It enables companies to have weekly gamified surveys that are fun to use and more. New questions can be provided weekly and designed to meet specific goals. It is safe, anonymous, interesting and something employees enjoy doing. Employee turnover rates go down and levels of job satisfaction increase. Learn more about Clarity Wave software/ or schedule a demo to see how Clarity Wave can help you have more engaged employees and improve your company's culture.