Maximise survey responses from hard-to-reach teams

Survey responses are top of mind when running an employee survey. Your survey response rate measures the percentage of people who complete your survey out of the number of potential participants. A high level of survey participation is important because it equips you with robust data, which represents views from across your organisation.  

What employee survey response rate should you aim for? A good response rate is 70-80%. Response rates above 80% are considered great, and anything above 90% is outstanding. Of course, rates may vary by organisation size and sector so use employee survey benchmarking to see how participation rates compare to your peers.  

For organisations with largely desk-based workforces, tactics like team competitions, survey incentives and employee survey champions are effective at increasing survey responses.  

However, it can be harder to know how to reach deskless workers – who may work across sites, without regular access to IT or email. For organisations with high numbers of these groups, survey response rates can take a hit.

Paper based surveys used to be a popular way to encourage survey responses from these groups. But our experience shows that paper is no longer the only, or the best, solution.  

The benefits of increasing survey responses 

Whether you are running an employee engagement survey, diversity & inclusion survey, or digging into another topic, a good survey response rate is essential because:  

1. Your survey results will represent views from across your organisation, so your action planning will reflect these too.  
2. It shows your people trust the survey process, which is a great indicator of organisational culture.  
3. You can act with confidence that you are targeting the survey action areas that matter most.
4. Survey data can be analysed by team or demographic, to provide line managers with more relevant insights.  
5. A lot of time and effort goes into creating and running your survey. A good response rate is a great measure of success.   
6. Your survey response rate is a helpful benchmark to track progress year-on-year.  

Survey solutions for harder-to-reach colleagues  

Above, we looked at why increasing survey participation is important. However, even with the best intentions it can be hard to reach colleagues who are non desk-based, or don’t have regular access to IT or email.  

Previously, paper surveys were seen as the solution. They seemed a more inclusive way of encouraging survey responses from groups without IT access. Yet paper surveys are not as effective as they seem.  

What’s wrong with using paper surveys?  

With so many options for accessible online surveys, paper is no longer the only solution for hard-to-reach colleagues. In fact, there are various reasons not to use paper surveys including:  

• Environmental impact – We’re all looking for more sustainable ways to operate however with paper surveys there’s the impact of the paper, as well as of the printing, distribution & secure disposal required.  

• Cost to your project – Paper surveys add considerable cost to your project for printing, courier/distribution, scanning & data sorting. 
• Additional time – It adds extra time before and after the survey to cover printing, distribution and processing. This has a knock-on effect for how swiftly you can follow up your survey results.  
• Ineffectiveness – Paper surveys don’t always lead to more survey responses. We’ve seen cases where out of hundreds of paper surveys, less than 2% are returned.  
• Perceptions – Paper surveys might actually put people off taking part. We’re all used to accessing online content, leaving feedback and completing tasks online. Colleagues may feel offended by the suggestion that they can’t use an online survey.  

Proven ways to increase survey responses 

Below, we share proven ways to maximise survey response rates amongst harder to reach or deskless employees.

1) Move to a modern online survey platform 

Slow and clunky tech can hugely affect survey participation. Resolve this by using a smart employee survey platform like People Insight’s, which make surveys fast and easy to complete.  

• Survey questions are easy to understand, with translations into multiple languages.  
• Quick to complete, with pre-loaded demographic data such as locations or line managers.  
• Compatible with most common screen-readers. 
• Mobile-friendly so it can be completed anywhere.  
• Available 24/7.  

2) Add QR Codes to take colleagues straight to your survey

QR codes are a favourite tactic for PI clients looking to maximise survey response rates. Below, we share how MJ Gleeson used these to increase participation by 31 percentage points.  

• Place QR codes on posters, postcards and even payslips to promote your survey. 
• Colleagues can scan on a phone to complete their unique survey.  
• They’re mobile-friendly & quick to set up. 

More ideas to maximise survey responses for hard- to-reach colleagues 

 3) Set aside time to take part

Often, the main barrier to completing online employee surveys isn’t IT literacy but having access to the right tech and having time to take part. Setting aside time – during paid working hours – for colleagues to complete your survey says volumes about its value to your organisation and has a massive impact on participation.

1. Encourage colleagues to complete the survey in paid work time, perhaps at the start or end of a shift.  
2. Create a break-out room with shared tablets or laptops (refreshments help too), or place kiosks in shared spaces. 
3. Ask survey champions to be on-hand during sessions to offer support.  

 4) Focus on these colleagues in your comms

Ensure that all your comms reflect the message that colleague feedback from across the organisation is encouraged and valued. Some ideas are: 

• Hold an all-staff event where senior leaders promote the survey.  
• Use your comms to reassure colleagues about what happens to their survey responses. Confidentiality is often a barrier to participation.
• Share what you plan to do with the results so people know their feedback will be taken seriously. 

The University of Surrey: Moving online to boost survey responses  

The University of Surrey had previously used paper surveys as an inclusive option for staff. However, these were slowing down the process and were at odds with Surrey’s strategy for digitalisation and sustainability. As such, in 2021, Surrey moved to a 100% digital survey programme.  

Several groups such as the Estates team didn’t have daily access to IT and were apprehensive about the change. 

To ensure these colleagues felt heard the University made available laptops, kiosks & QR codes and worked closely with these teams. Survey ‘Ambassadors’ were on hand to offer support, and the University incentivised participation by promising to plant a tree via Eden Reforestation Projects for every response. 

Surrey were delighted by the results. They achieved an online survey response rate of 71%, with an 11% increase amongst the Estates team. Since the move to online surveys, Surrey have also introduced pulse surveys; they can run, collate and act on employee feedback much more swiftly.  

Their ‘tree planting’ survey incentive also resulted in Surrey planting over 4000 trees – a brilliant achievement.  

Read the full story of the University of Surrey’s Colleague Voice programme   

MJ Gleeson: Encouraging survey responses via QR codes

Gleeson are a property development company who focus on building low-cost homes in the North of England & land promotion in the South.  

Gleeson’s ‘Build’ department make up almost half of Gleeson’s workforce and are an important group to represent. However, they don’t often access their Gleeson email addresses which makes them notoriously hard to involve in employee surveys.  

In 2022, Gleeson introduced QR codes as a simpler way to direct people to their employee survey, with no email address needed. The codes were placed on postcards and postcards to help colleagues access the survey.  

As a result, the response rate for their ‘Build’ department jumped from 44% to 62% – a sizeable increase!  

Struggling with how to increase employee survey responses? Contact us for advice and support from our team of employee engagement experts.