Common objections - GVFHRA...Exit interviews, pulse surveys, stay interviews • Low morale? Engagement surveys, pulse surveys • Poor leader performance? 360 surveys, pulse surveys.

• Common objections

• Survey types

• Options to consider

• Leveraging partnerships

• Interpreting & presenting results

• Building an action plan

• Questions

• Assess strengths and opportunities throughout the

employment lifecycle

• Provide targeted solutions to maximize retention and

engagement

• Surveys, Training, and Consulting

• Joe McDonald, Interview Leader

• Iulia Milman, Proofing Leader

• Jeff Cilea, Reports Leader

• We tried to survey – it didn’t work.

• The timing isn’t right.

• People won’t participate.

• Surveys are too expensive.

• We already know what’s going on.

Communicate before the survey.

Communicate during the survey.

Communicate after the survey.

• Not sure of overall sentiment

• Low morale

• Big changes in the last year

(merger, acquisition,

downsizing)

• Large population

• Same questions for everyone

• Cut data by position, location,

department, tenure, etc.

• Can be a significant

investment of money and time

• New openings

• Underperforming locations or

departments

• Spike in turnover

• Changes in business unit

leadership

• One location or department

• Targeted questions (including

specific questions about

management)

• Quick to administer

• Very affordable

• Leadership gap

• Need to improve bench

strength

• Underperforming leaders

• High turnover in specific

segment

• Assess leadership competencies

from a variety of perspectives

• Provide helpful feedback to

leaders

• Clarify differences in perception

• Developmental, not punitive

• Need to improve bench

strength

• Turnover concerns

• Poised to grow

• Shrinking labor market

• Proactive approach to retain

top performers

• Focus on strengths and

opportunities

• Get feedback on variety of

criteria/initiatives

What makes

this a great

place to work?

I love our culture,

but I’m worried

about growth.

• High turnover

• Shrinking labor market

• Mixed opinions about why

people leave

• Growing amount of litigation

• Identify the REAL reasons

people are leaving

• Gather feedback on initiatives

• Improve retention

• Identify operational & HR issues

• Become aware of litigation

• High turnover? Exit interviews, pulse

surveys, stay interviews

• Low morale? Engagement surveys, pulse

surveys

• Poor leader performance? 360 surveys,

pulse surveys

Don’t survey just for the sake of surveying!

Tie your surveys to business objectives!

• Never a “perfect time”

• Don’t overburden team during

peak periods

• Not immediately after really

good or bad news –

perception of skewed data

• Let people know survey is

coming in advance

Be cognizant of survey length – and communicate the

anticipated time to complete in advance!

Closed-ended

• Agree/Disagree

• Yes/No

• Multiple choice

• Likert scale

• Net promoter

• Can report as rating scale or

top box/top 2 box

Begin with the end in mind. Consider results format and what

your action plan will look like when designing surveys!

Open-ended

• Keep it action-oriented

• Anonymity/confidentiality

• Limit to 1-2 questions on

large-scale surveys

• Review responses

Ask one question at a time!

Don’t ask something you don’t want to know

or can’t do anything about.

Universal link

• True anonymity

• Self-reported demographics

• Possible duplicate responses

• Relying on leadership to drive

participation

• Harder to finish

• Unnecessary repeated reminders

Email/Text invitations

• Targeted reminders

• One response per person

• Can come back to finish

• Accurate demographics

• Only with third party

Anonymity

• No identifying characteristics

Confidentiality

• Identity kept secret or private

Consider your population!

Be truthful!

Choose which demographic information you collect very carefully!

Consider minimum response #s for reporting.

• Can increase participation

• This impacts anonymity

• Separate incentives from

survey responses themselves

• Can’t just be an HR initiative

• Get C-Suite buy-in and support

• Show a unified mission

• Increase completion rates

• Ensure questions are actionable

from the start

Surveys do best when internal communication

comes from the C-Suite!

• Check on customization

• Be clear on what output looks like

• Incorporate a presentation of results

• Understand timing

• Get a realistic expectation of completion rates

• Don’t make assumptions

• Identify strengths and

opportunities

• Slice and dice by different

demographic categories

• Evaluate both qualitative and

quantitative data

• Identify additional questions to

be explored

Celebrate wins!

Highlight opportunities!

• Involve a non-biased third party

• Be prepared for excuses with

facts

• Identify goals in relation to

results

• Share key outcomes with survey

takers

Share survey results early and often!

Mention them repeatedly to keep them top of mind!

• Focus on 1-2 initiatives at a time, starting with low-hanging

• Involve all stakeholders

• Relate all actions and initiatives back to the survey

• Clearly identify metrics

• Seek additional feedback

• Determine the timing for the next survey

Remember why you did the survey!

Tie action plans back to the original purpose of the survey.

Morreen Rukin Bayles, CEO

[email protected]

610-594-2065

Christin Smith Myers, COO

[email protected]

610-594-2065

Are you experiencing survey pain?

Contact Christin to schedule a no-

obligation survey therapy session!

TEXT “Therapy” to 610-540-7789

Christin Smith Myers, COO

[email protected]

610-594-2065 office