The art of employee pulse surveys to boost engagement

Pulse surveys seem to be everywhere these days; think of how many times you’ve been asked to take a short survey online. They have become an integral part of the employee experience and an organizational must-have. Most HR professionals agree that pulse surveys are an increasingly valuable tool for gathering timely, relevant feedback and tracking employee engagement. This is especially crucial given that 86% of employees feel people at their organization are not heard fairly or equally, and nearly half (47%) say that underrepresented voices remain undervalued by employers.

This article defines employee pulse surveys, explores the importance of engaging employees, and provides directions on how to use them most effectively in your organization.

What is an employee pulse survey?

A pulse survey is a short series of questions conducted frequently, usually online, to track responses over time, leading to higher participation, reliable results, and timely feedback analysis.

Employee pulse surveys supplement annual engagement surveys, providing frequent feedback throughout the year. They allow for quick design and implementation, monitoring progress, and timely reactions to issues and can be tailored to specific groups and track progress on critical goals consistently.

Features of employee pulse surveys

Frequent feedback: Collect feedback regularly throughout the year.
Quick design and implementation: Create and deploy surveys quickly, customized for specific groups or divisions.
Monitor progress: Follow up on issues from annual surveys and track ongoing progress.
Timely response: React swiftly to emerging issues and feedback.
Customization: Tailor questions to align with organizational objectives and priorities.
Consistent tracking: Use consistent questions to track progress on topics weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

Why is it called a pulse survey?

It’s called a pulse survey because it functions like taking the “pulse” of an organization, providing a quick and frequent measure of employee sentiment and feedback. Just as checking a pulse gives immediate information about a person’s health, these surveys offer timely insights into the current state of the workplace. They are designed to be short, easy to complete, and conducted regularly, allowing organizations to continuously monitor and respond to issues, ensuring a responsive and dynamic approach to employee engagement and satisfaction.

Why are pulse surveys important?

Pulse surveys are important because they provide timely insights, allowing organizations to address employee concerns, foster open communication, and build a culture of trust and engagement, ultimately boosting employee satisfaction and retention. They also:

Enhance engagement: They measure and improve employee engagement by providing real-time feedback.
Quick issue resolution: They allow for rapid identification and resolution of employee issues.
Build trust: They foster communication between leadership and employees, creating a culture of listening and transparency.
Combat disengagement: They address the high levels of worker disengagement often linked to poor company culture.
Empower employees: They ensure employees feel heard and valued, encouraging them to share ideas.
Increase retention: Workers are more likely to stay at a company that asks for and acts on feedback.
Support leadership: They help leaders communicate frequently and transparently with employees.

How to get the most out of pulse surveys

Pulse surveys can be used to measure almost anything, which can make it hard to know where to begin. Start by focusing on questions that are most relevant to your business needs. Keep organizational goals and priorities in mind, but also consider the overall employee experience. What is good about your job and what could be better?

Things to keep in mind with your employee pulse surveys

Keep consistent formatting: Maintain a consistent question format over time to reliably track engagement trends and assess the impact of actions taken.
Make the purpose clear: Communicate transparently why the survey is being conducted, whether to gather feedback on recent changes or assess job satisfaction.
Make it easy to understand: Ensure questions are easily understood to prevent skipped or randomly answered items, which can skew results.
Take an action-oriented approach: Include questions that gauge employees’ perception of action taken based on previous survey feedback, such as asking about observed positive changes.
Keep it short: Limit the survey to 5-15 questions to keep it quick and straightforward, minimizing survey fatigue and maintaining response quality.
Consider chatbot integrations: Supplement pulse surveys with a workplace chatbot for ongoing engagement feedback. AI-powered chatbots provide a natural, confidential dialogue channel for employees, offering managers real-time, aggregate data insights.

Measuring the results of pulse surveys

After conducting and closing your employee pulse survey, set aside time to measure and analyze the results carefully. What are employees telling you? How do results compare to the last study? What trends are you seeing?

Consider the response rate: It’s unlikely that 100% of your employees will participate, but you need a reasonably good response rate for the survey data to be meaningful. If less than 10% of employees are responding, it’s time to change the survey. Consider different questions that are more relevant and will get employees excited about providing input.
Evaluate the data as well as the comments: Scaled responses — like the Likert scale that includes a 5-point continuum from “strongly disagree” and “strongly agree” — provide data that is easy to measure. But also, be sure to review the open-ended questions to see how employee comments support or explain the quantitative data. Analyzing the results of pulse surveys to identify the most important engagement drivers for employees in your organization lets you focus your resources on what matters most.
Review with managers and leaders: Discuss how the results align with organizational goals and priorities. Is employee engagement on track with expectations? Compare results with benchmarks to see how engagement scores compare with competitors.

After careful analysis of the results, determine your next steps. Draft an action plan for changes and consider the appropriate cadence for your pulse survey strategy.

Acting on pulse feedback

Acting on employee pulse surveys is crucial for fostering a positive workplace environment and enhancing organizational success. Addressing employee feedback demonstrates a commitment to listening and caring for your employees. Whether through small gestures of acknowledgment or transformative changes, responding to survey insights shows employees their voices are heard and valued.

Reasons to act on employee pulse surveys

Demonstrates listening and care: Addressing feedback shows responsiveness and empathy towards employees.
Range of actions: From small acknowledgments to significant changes like implementing recognition programs or improving culture.
Improves engagement and retention: Acting on feedback directly correlates with enhanced employee commitment.
Values employee input: Employees feel valued when their input leads to meaningful actions.
Encourages future participation: Communicating changes fosters a culture of feedback and continuous improvement.

Choose pulse survey software that suits your business needs

Once you’ve decided to implement an employee pulse survey strategy into your business, the next step is to decide on what vendor to use. There are various providers in the marketplace with different solutions and price points. Start by asking some key questions:

Is it mobile friendly? While some employees prefer to use their desktop, more employees choose to respond to pulse surveys on mobile devices.
Is the interface intuitive? The friendlier and more intuitive the survey, the higher the response rate. Take a test run and check it out yourself.
Can you customize for different audiences? Some survey providers only offer a one-size-fits-all solution. More flexibility for customization will make it easier to reach a diverse employee audience and ask more detailed, relevant questions.
What are the reporting features? Overly complicated, technical reports will be time-consuming to analyze. Reports should be comprehensive but easy to understand.
Is the survey software secure? Your provider should offer security certificates to protect your data. Find out what security features they offer.
What is the disaster discovery plan? Make sure your provider is capturing data on a dedicated, high-capacity server and running regular backups to ensure your information is safe.
What additional features or products does your vendor provide? This is crucial for ensuring comprehensive implementation and maximizing the effectiveness of employee feedback mechanisms.

Start improving employee engagement with pulse surveys

HR professionals understand how vital employee retention is to run a successful business, and most understand how critical workplace culture and employee engagement is to retaining key talent. But keeping a pulse on how satisfied employees are can be challenging and overwhelming.

Achievers Listen is a platform that allows employees to provide feedback daily via check-ins and pulse surveys. Manager alerts offer real-time data that makes it easy to identify and respond to issues quickly. Included with Achievers Listen is Allie, a chatbot and digital coach that interacts with employees and provides recommendations back to managers.

Achievers Listen gives managers and HR professionals unprecedented insight into what matters most to employees. Request a live demo to learn more about Achievers Listen and how you can take the pulse of employee engagement.

See our employee pulse surveys in action

Try the software demo