Institute of Internal Communication

So come on, be honest. How much value are you really getting from your internal surveys? Are you convinced that they’re making a positive contribution to the way your business works; that they’re helping to build a strong culture across your organisation; that they are highlighting key issues? Or are they simply another chore – compiled, collated, presented to the Board and then forgotten in favour of “more pressing” tasks? Cathy Augustine (see www.cchange.co.uk) takes a look at how to get the most from surveys.

It’s surprising how many organisations fall into the latter category. Not because they don’t value employee opinion but because objectives, feedback mechanisms and resulting action plans aren’t agreed in advance.

If internal research encourages employees to examine and voice their feelings about a wide range of issues from organisational effectiveness, culture, values and leadership to communication itself, then appropriate action in response to those opinions is a powerful weapon in the battle to involve, motivate and retain good staff.

Ownership and objectives

These must be very clear, and should be agreed in advance by senior management across all departments. If your organisation is sufficiently enlightened not only to take note of the research results but also to act on them, then the objectives will include the creation of action plans with directors taking responsibility for progress towards relevant and measurable targets.

Whatever happens to the results, this should be decided in advance and made known to the participants before they take part in the research.

Planning for the worst

The response rate itself is a measure of employees’ interest and motivation. The possibility of a low response rate or negative viewpoints should be borne in mind. All too often the results are a surprise to senior managers who respond by “burying” the results rather than openly addressing them as an opportunity for positive change.

Attempts to hide negative results will only increase cynicism among employees and dissuade them from participating in the future. It is also a waste of the considerable resources needed to undertake the research in the first place.

Feedback cycle

If employees’ opinions are of sufficient importance that you ask for them, they are surely of sufficient importance to the business to be acted upon.

Leaders will gain credibility through honest feedback of results. This is the single most relevant factor in the effectiveness of internal research. A well-planned survey with a high and positive response rate will still be perceived as a failure if the issues raised continue to be problematic 12 months later because senior management has failed to act on them.

The four "I"s

This simple paradigm acts as a useful aide-memoire for planning all communications strategy and tactics. It applies to internal research (questionnaires or focus groups) as follows:

Inform

• Let your colleagues know that the survey is going to happen, what it aims to achieve and what will happen to the results. If it sounds simple, that’s because it is! If they know it’s coming and what to expect from it, they’re more likely to respond.

Involve

• Demonstrate to people how their participation will contribute to the development of company strategy, vision and culture. Explain how individual involvement will have an impact on how changes are managed, policies are reviewed and business goals set.

Instruct

• Once employees have accepted the idea that they are involved and their opinion counts, they will be far more receptive to instructions and training regarding new working practices or organisational change.

Integrate

• Plan the advance notice, survey itself, results and follow-up into your communications calendar. Create a cycle of survey, results, actions and updates so that each time the research is repeated, employees can see improvements based on their input.

As with all communications issues, a meaningful cycle of feedback and follow-up can only occur with the support of senior management. If this is absent, half-hearted, or merely lip service, then the exercise will not only increase dissatisfaction among employees but will also be a waste of time, money and the opportunity for positive change.

Cathy Augustine (cathy@cchange.co.uk) has worked in employee communications for Shell UK, KPMG and as Head of Internal Communications for Mercury before establishing Cchange Communications in 2000. With clients including Pizza Hut, Yum! Restaurants International, Halfords, Britvic, Iceland, Linklaters, Alldays and Debenhams, Cchange works with organisations to develop realistic Vision, Values and communication strategies to attract, motivate and retain the right people for that organisation to succeed.