We all know that employee engagement is a key factor when it comes to workplace performance. We also know that organisations that regularly monitor their workforce’s sentiment and morale often outperform those that do not. That’s why we provide employee surveys to businesses across the world — we’re on a mission to improve the employee experience and create better workplaces.
While we’re a big fan of annual engagement surveys, and while they can certainly have a drastic and meaningful impact on organisations, we’re equally passionate about the lesser-known employee pulse survey. An employee pulse survey provides a more dynamic and frequent way to measure the mood and engagement levels of staff — and with all that data, you’re better able to bring about meaningful organisational change.
Let’s take a look at the employee pulse survey — what are the business benefits? How can a pulse survey go wrong and how can you go about implementing a pulse survey in the best possible way? But first, let’s look at what a pulse survey is and why they’re so important.
If you’d like a quick overview, here’s Kate Pritchard, our Head of Consultancy here at People Insight, discussing the value of pulse surveys:
A pulse survey is a short, focused survey designed to gather regular feedback from employees on specific aspects of their experience at work. Unlike more traditional staff surveys, which aim to be more comprehensive, pulse surveys are quick and typically consist of just a handful of questions. These surveys are usually sent out at regular intervals, such as monthly or quarterly, and focus on particular areas like employee wellbeing, work-life balance or leadership effectiveness.
The purpose of a pulse survey is to take the “pulse” of your workforce, providing real-time insights into their feelings and experiences. This allows companies to act quickly on feedback, addressing any issues before they become larger problems. By keeping pulse surveys brief and frequent, businesses can maintain an ongoing conversation with their employees and create an environment where their voices are regularly heard.
First things first — let’s explore the real benefits a pulse survey could offer your business, your people and your processes.
With employee pulse surveys, organisations can really keep a finger on the pulse (so to speak) of employee wellbeing. By conducting surveys more frequently, employers can quickly identify trends and emerging issues that might be impacting engagement, stress levels or productivity. This level of insight allows businesses to make timely interventions to address problems before they affect overall performance.
Pulse surveys can work as part of your employee voice strategy to create a culture of continuous feedback, where employees feel heard and valued. Regularly seeking feedback through pulse surveys demonstrates to employees that their opinions matter, which in turn increases engagement and loyalty. As employees see their concerns being addressed, they are more likely to feel invested in the organisation’s success.
Check out our Brewin Dolphin case study and how they built an involving and inclusive culture through surveys
Leadership teams benefit from employee pulse surveys by having access to data that is current and relevant. This helps leaders make informed decisions about people management, policy changes and resource allocation. For example, if a pulse survey reveals dissatisfaction with a particular policy, leaders can adapt and respond more swiftly, avoiding potential negative impacts on morale.
Annual surveys are great to measure employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, culture or employee wellbeing in depth. However, you may have an ad hoc need for specific feedback. During lockdown organisations like London South Bank University used regular pulses to measure how effective the transition to working from home had been, and what tools and wellbeing support people needed.
You can use a pulse survey to assess, the impact of new programmes. For example, the introduction of new vision and values. It will help you track how quickly your people understand and adopt your values and behaviours, and what impact this has on how people feel about their role, their manager and their loyalty to the organisation. As you tweak the vision and values programme, and it becomes more embedded, you can track the impact of your actions with pulse surveys at frequent intervals. This data is fantastic for keeping your programmes on track, and providing evidence to leadership teams.
An employee pulse survey is also a brilliant way to report on pilot programmes tested in one business division, giving you evidence to roll it out elsewhere. See how Fuller’s did this here.
Implementing pulse surveys is a great way to gather meaningful feedback from employees, but to maximise their effectiveness, you need to approach them with a clear strategy.
Here are some best practices to keep in mind when rolling out pulse surveys in your organisation:
Employees are more likely to engage with short surveys. Aim for 5-10 targeted questions that focus on specific aspects of employee experience. This will ensure you get meaningful data without overwhelming your staff.
Make sure the questions you ask are clear and straightforward. Ambiguity can lead to confusion and wholly inaccurate responses — in a later section, we’ll cover some good questions to use in your next pulse.
It’s important to maintain consistency in your survey cadence. Monthly or quarterly surveys are common for pulse surveys. Too frequent surveys may lead to survey fatigue, while too few can mean missed opportunities for feedback. Find a balance that works for your team.
For pulse surveys to be effective, employees need to feel comfortable giving honest feedback. Anonymity is crucial to encourage openness and transparency in responses.
Let your employees know why you’re conducting the survey. Create a survey communication strategy. Make it clear that the goal is to improve the workplace and that their feedback will be used to make tangible changes. This helps them understand the importance of their responses and encourages participation.
The most important aspect of pulse surveys is what you do with the feedback. After gathering the data, create a post-survey action plan and take concrete actions to address the issues raised by employees. Follow up with employees to share what changes are being made based on their feedback. This will demonstrate that their opinions matter.
If you ask for lengthy feedback too frequently or people will get fed up and either not respond at all or give poor quality feedback.
People won’t participate if nothing happens as a result of their feedback. You’ll erode trust. Act on feedback and communicate the changes being made so people see the value of taking part in the survey process.
Lloyds Banking Group changed up their pulse survey approach after realising that managers were left with little time to take any action between surveys:
“…the problem with conducting such frequent surveys “was that [the firm’s approximately 8,000] line managers weren’t gaining any new insights and didn’t have time to digest that much data and take action” on what the latest employee polls told them.”
David Littlechild, previously Head of Culture and Engagement at Lloyds
Pulse surveys are great for diving into specific topics, while annual surveys can cover more depth. Keep your pulses short to gather focused insights you can do something about.
Quantitative responses are great for analysis and benchmarking. However, including a couple of open-text questions in your pulse survey will provide additional insight into employee sentiment and suggestions for change. Leave these optional so the survey doesn’t feel strenuous.
While annual engagement surveys provide a comprehensive view of employee sentiment over a longer period, employee pulse surveys offer more frequent insights, allowing for real-time feedback. Here are the key differences:
Annual engagement surveys, though valuable for long-term planning, have their limitations. They can quickly become outdated as employee sentiment changes over the year. By the time results are collected and analysed, organisations may have already missed opportunities to address pressing concerns. What’s more, the length of these surveys can lead to survey fatigue, inevitably worsening participation rates and creating less accurate reflections of how employees truly feel.
Employee needs and concerns can shift pretty quickly, depending on various environmental, financial and political factors. An employee pulse survey provides a more agile solution, allowing employers to track shifts in sentiment in real time. This proactive approach helps organisations stay ahead of issues, preventing dissatisfaction from taking root. Pulse surveys are more suited for the modern workplace, where continuous improvement is necessary to maintain engagement and productivity.
To design an effective pulse survey, it’s important to ask questions that provide meaningful insights into the employee experience. Some examples of effective pulse survey questions include:
These questions focus on key areas of employee engagement and provide valuable data that can help businesses improve their workplace culture and increase employee engagement.
Choosing the right pulse survey platform is just as important as designing the survey itself. The platform you use should make it easy to distribute surveys, analyse results and track employee engagement over time. Here are a few key features to consider when selecting an employee pulse survey tool:
The survey tool should be intuitive and easy for both employees and managers to use. A simple, straightforward interface will encourage participation and ensure that you get accurate data. Employees shouldn’t feel burdened by the process.
Your pulse survey tool should allow for customisation so you can tailor the questions to suit your organisation’s specific needs. Whether it’s adjusting the survey’s appearance, modifying question types, or targeting specific departments, the flexibility to customise is important.
A good pulse survey tool will offer real-time analytics that help you quickly interpret the data. The ability to view results as they come in allows managers to act fast and address any immediate concerns. Look for tools that provide actionable insights, rather than just raw data — as an example, our generative AI Prism instantaneously analyses an incredible amount of data to offer actions to be taken. Not to mention, our HR consultants are always at the ready to provide assistance.
It’s important to choose a tool that employees can easily access from any device — whether it’s a desktop, tablet or mobile phone. You want to make sure pulse surveys are convenient for employees to complete, regardless of where they are working from.
As mentioned, anonymity is key to getting honest feedback. Make sure the survey tool has built-in features to protect the identity of respondents. Look for a platform that assures confidentiality and security, so employees can feel comfortable being open and honest in their responses.
If your organisation uses other HR software for tracking employee performance or engagement, consider a survey tool that integrates safely and seamlessly with these platforms. Integration can help streamline the data analysis process and provide a more comprehensive view of employee sentiment.
Employee pulse surveys are a powerful tool for understanding and improving employee engagement. They provide real-time insights into employee sentiment, allowing for quicker and more effective responses to emerging issues. By facilitating a culture of continuous feedback and leveraging the right technology, organisations can create a more engaged, motivated and productive workforce. Regular pulse surveys not only help track engagement but also serve as an essential resource for decision-making and shaping a positive workplace environment.
To carry out an employee engagement survey and really understand what is motivating and inspiring your team, get in touch today to organise a demo of our survey platform.
