When the rumor mill is brewing and turnover increases, an anonymous employee survey provides honest feedback about your corporate culture. By carrying out a survey correctly, employee satisfaction can be measured, commitment strengthened, risks identified early on and targeted countermeasures can be taken with specific measures.
As an expert in employee surveys for over 25 years, we clarify what is needed to successfully conduct an employee survey and what you should avoid.
contents
Why are employee surveys so important?
The most important steps before an employee survey.
A comparison: internal vs. external solutions
The phases of an effective employee survey
The 10 best tips for implementation
The most important things again at a glance
“Human resources are like natural resources; they're often buried deep. You have to look for them, they're not just lying around and aren't superficial. You have to create the circumstances in which they show themselves.” — Ken Robinson
What British education researcher and bestselling author Ken Robinson described for the school system also applies to companies:
Potential doesn't develop by itself — it needs clear goals, security, good leadership and reliable feedback loops — i.e. the right framework conditions. And only if you, as HR, create the right conditions in your company can you support your employees, identify optimization potential early on, promote an open corporate culture and increase employee retention and engagement in the long term.
A strategic employee survey can create exactly these conditions. It makes strengths and obstacles visible, and is the right measure to promote a culture in which people can get involved.
Why are employee surveys so important?
Employee surveys are much more than just a selective recording of a company's mood. Properly planned and implemented, they provide reliable data on satisfaction, retention, leadership, culture and collaboration — and thus become an early warning system and management tool for strategy, communication and HR measures.
Studies emphasize: Surveys help to objectively identify strengths and areas of action, to make progress measurable and to evaluate the effectiveness of programs (e.g. on health, safety or leadership). It is crucial that employees have a voice and are able to express their needs and wishes.
However, the benefits of employee surveys are not only on the side of employees; companies also benefit directly from collecting employee feedback:
The following factors are usually of interest to companies:
- Measurement of overall satisfaction among employees
- Early warning system for critical results
- Comparing the different parts of an organization
- Measuring the strengths and potential for action of various parts of the organization
- A reliable basis for decision-making for future improvements
- Insights in the areas of leadership/leadership
- Strategic decisions can be made faster based on the findings
- Systematically identify and use optimization potential
- Measuring the effectiveness of measures already implemented
- Measuring employee retention
- Increasing engagement and productivity
Overall, employee surveys are therefore of considerable value not only for employees themselves, but also for the company in which they work. The findings make it possible to implement targeted improvements in various areas of an organization. Whether it's a working environment, training and continuing education opportunities, workload or collaboration between different teams or between areas.
With an employee survey, all these company-relevant factors can be identified and the knowledge gained can be used to improve the individual areas in a targeted manner.
The most important steps for an employee survey
1. Set goals and create a plan:
- What do you want to achieve (e.g. increase engagement, improve leadership, develop culture)?
- Which key figures (indices, KPIs) and demographics should be evaluated?
Every company is different, and while an improved management culture could lead to the expected results, another company may focus more on working together between different areas. - Which channels can be used to participate in the survey?
Would you like to collect feedback online or might a classic pen & paper survey be of greater benefit to your company? - Which departments and responsible persons do you need to talk to successfully complete the survey?
- Which legal aspects must be considered when implementing a survey?
- Should the survey be carried out internally or accompanied by external partners?
- Is an employee survey even the right choice for you — or would a management or 360° survey be the more appropriate format?
2. Define scope & schedule:
Who should be interviewed? Complete company or just a subdivision? Is your company possibly part of a larger organization that should also be surveyed? Time frame for the survey? When should employees be interviewed and in which cycle should the survey be repeated? (annual/semi-annual?). All of these factors decisively determine whether your employee survey also has the effect you hope for.
3. Anonymity & data protection:
What about anonymity? Anonymity limits should be clearly communicated in advance so as not to create uncertainties
(e.g. minimum number of cases per evaluation). Once concerns about anonymity arise, they are difficult to get rid of and in most cases the feedback is not answered honestly and the feedback is distorted by lack of transparency and dishonesty. Only when it is clear that tracing back to individual people is ruled out can employees express their needs and wishes without concern and receive a valuable voice.
4. Define methodology & questionnaire:
Scale logic, free texts, demographic questions or information. How should employees be interviewed? Choose a uniform scale (e.g. 6 levels to avoid a pull effect towards the middle) and keep the questionnaire completed for approximately 10-15 minutes.
Use precise aspects and dimensions, a few free text questions and only minimal demographics that do not violate your defined anonymity limits.
Structure your questions in clear topic blocks and avoid leading or too similar questions.
Think about how you can achieve returns that enable a clear evaluation. Would you like to collect feedback online or would a classic pen & paper survey be of greater benefit to your company?
5. Plan roles & resources:
Secure a budget for the survey and appoint a project manager with clear responsibilities. Involve communication, IT support (tool, dispatch, help desk) and — where necessary — works council at an early stage.
In larger organizations, a network of site coordinators who support invitations and reminders locally has proven effective. Also plan people to translate questionnaires into “corporate language” (terminology, tonality, examples), coordinate multilingualism if necessary and ensure barrier-free wording. This creates acceptance, and the survey is seen as an added value and credible change factor.
Prepare communication: Prepare information in advance to clearly communicate purpose, privacy, invitation period, and reminder. Just as early on, think about communicating results and measures. Only when it is clear in advance what will happen with the collected data and which measures will be implemented will all employees understand that the employee survey not only takes time, but also creates real added value — and that their opinion is taken seriously.
Now that you know everything you need to successfully implement an employee survey, there is a crucial question to answer. Who should implement the survey? Is an internal or an external solution required? The decision depends on resources, complexity, data protection, desired speed, trust among employees and the need for benchmarks, special reporting formats and implementation support. The next step is to compare both solutions for you.
Comparison: Internal vs. External Solutions
Internal solution
If you, as the responsible person, meet the technical requirements and have enough resources (especially time) available, (almost) nothing stands in the way of your internal solution.
advantages:
- Full control: Content, planning and process are entirely up to you.
- Your knowledge base: You know your organization best and know how branding and other company-specific features can be integrated into your survey.
- Low costs: Depending on the implementation, there are only a few additional costs.
Risks:
- A lot of time spent: Planning, communication, analysis and evaluation require more time, often requiring a longer planning and implementation phase.
- Doubts about anonymity: With internal solutions, employees often do not know the state of their anonymity. Early communication to address these concerns is essential here.
- Follow-up effort: The processes following the survey also require additional resources and can result in increased effort. Only if measures are consistently implemented and communicated transparently after the survey will the survey be fully effective — otherwise acceptance and willingness to participate in future surveys will decrease.
External solution
When speed, scalability and professional support are required, external implementation is recommended.
advantages:
- Anonymity & Trust: External providers ensure that traceability and anonymity limits are met. Concerns about anonymity and trust can thus be resolved at an early stage.
- Low internal effort: The planning and execution of the field phase, analysis and reporting are carried out professionally, and you have time to concentrate on more important things.
- Speed & scale: Professional providers use proven processes and tools that can significantly reduce the time required to gain knowledge.
- Expertise & Benchmarks: Well-founded questionnaire designs, best practices, professional support and external comparison databases to compare yourself within the industry ensure a smooth process and additional information gain.
- Follow-up: Results and action workshops benefit from independent support and neutral moderation and perspective.
Risks:
- External costs: Project and license costs must be budgeted. Here, it is advisable to obtain a rough cost estimate from providers in advance.
- Communication and coordination: AV contracts, data flows (especially of email addresses and personal data) and data governance must be coordinated with external partners.
- Tool dependency: With online tools, the range of functions, timings and adjustments usually follow the provider's options.
Practice rule of thumb: From medium-sized companies or on sensitive issues (e.g. leadership, cultural change, health, safety,...), external support often pays off. Even with complex corporate structures or international projects, the time required for an internal survey solution is usually increased due to complex communication. Questionnaire design, field phase, evaluation and action workshops are often offered by external companies as a complete package — without the hassle of planning.
Regardless of whether you have your employee survey carried out internally or externally, there are often similarities in the process. The most common phases of implementing a survey project can be found in the following paragraph:
The phases of an employee survey
1. Objective & planning phase:
Define purpose, target groups and KPIs/indices (e.g. engagement, leadership, trust), set anonymity limits (e.g. 5—7), determine roles (sponsor, HR project management, IT, communication, works council/DPO) and create a realistic time and resource plan including budget and success criteria.
2. Communication & Preparation
Create preliminary information (purpose, data protection, process), write invitation and reminder texts, create FAQ/support channels and clarify whether multilingualism could be an issue. A short test/pilot can also be carried out in this phase. Finalize questionnaires, scales, and evaluation logic.
3rd field phase (data collection)
Start of the survey within the agreed time frame. Monitoring returns and managing reminders. Secure support delivery (helpdesk/FAQ) and participation channels. Document any faults and measures.
4. Evaluation and analysis
Collection of questionnaires and structuring of collected data.
Calculation of key figures and indices, driver analyses on the impact of key factors, segment comparisons, heat maps and thematic clustering of free texts. Verification of data quality, as well as time series and benchmarks to classify the results. The end result is clearly structured and easy-to-collect data and initial hypotheses for measures. Preparation for communication and distribution of results.
5. Communication and distribution of results
Preparation tailored to the target group for management, divisions and teams.
Executive summary, division reports, team-related presentations with clear key messages and understandable visualizations. It is made transparent what can be interpreted — and what is not (anonymity limits, limitations). A timeline for next steps and Q&A formats ensure that results are received and understood.
6. Measures & Implementation
Findings are used to create concrete projects: define 3-5 prioritized measures for each area, name responsible persons, define milestones and success criteria. Short-term “quick wins” can be separated from structural issues.
Progress should be recorded and made visible.
Employees only see the survey as added value if measures are also implemented after the survey. Change communication accompanies implementation and anchors new practices in everyday life.
7. Follow-up & repeat
After the employee survey and the implementation of measures, it is clear what has worked. Progress, open points and new questions form the basis for the next round of questions. Regular measurement points — such as annual surveys and short pulse checks — ensure comparability and keep the change process moving.
The 10 best tips for a successful employee survey
1. “Less is more” in the questionnaire
Focus on clear goals and a clean structure; aim for a turnaround time of 10-15 minutes.
2. Transparent communication
Inform everyone involved about the meaning, purpose, process and data protection at an early stage — this creates understanding and willingness to participate.
3. Ensure anonymity
Communicate anonymity thresholds (e.g. 5—7), make data flows transparent and, if necessary, highlight external support. Only when anonymity is credible can useful results be achieved.
4. Visibly integrate management
Involve management and executives early on and agree on a clear commitment to results — this creates credibility.
5. Real-time response monitoring:
Observe responses during the field phase, identify underrepresented areas, and follow up specifically — without pressure.
6. Prepare results in an understandable way
Prepare indexes, heat maps, driver analyses, and free text topics so that they can be easily captured and used.
7. Distribution suitable for the addressee
Make sure that all relevant levels (management, divisions, teams) receive the appropriate evaluations — this is the only way to make an impact noticeable.
8. Define measures
Derive 3-5 prioritized measures for each area, name responsible persons, deadlines and success criteria — and differentiate quick wins from structural topics.
9. Communicate “You said — we did”
Show visibly what has been implemented. Transparent feedback is the basis for trust and future participation.
10. Regular repetition
Conduct the survey annually or every six months (supplemented with short pulses, if necessary) to identify trends and reliably manage progress.
The most important things again at a glance
Estimation of expenses: Plan realistic resources (time, analysis, communication, moderation) — internally or with external support.
anonymity: Clearly regulate minimum case numbers & data security and communicate openly — this increases the openness of answers.
Early involvement of all participants: Actively inform and involve management, managers, works council/Worker Council and employees.
Regular repetition: Trends can only be identified and measures effectively managed with recurring surveys.
Act on feedback: Without implementing measures, perception changes — A survey is a promise of change that must also be implemented.
Bonus: mini checklist for starting your project
- Objectives & key figures clearly defined?
- Questionnaire draft + anonymity limits agreed?
- Stakeholders involved (management, HR, IT, communication, works council)?
- Communication prepared (advance information, invitation, reminder, presentation of results)?
- Action workshops scheduled? — Preferably before the field starts.
