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A Business Research Lab Tip
Online Employee Satisfaction Surveys
Lessons From the Trenches
Since we've been conducting employee satisfaction
surveys online for several years now, I thought it was about time to publish some of
what we've learned about this methodology.
Superior Response Rates
Our average response rate for employee satisfaction surveys conducted online has been
approximately 75% compared to 65% for the traditional "paper and pencil" methodology.
It is not unusual for us to experience response rates in the 80% to 90% or higher range
(we've had 100% response rates on several occasions). High tech and small firms tend to
have the highest response rates.
Longer Comments
Comments made by online participants tend to be twice as long as those made by those
responding on paper for recent studies - 66 words on average for the online methodology
versus an average of 33 words for those responding on paper. Combined with the comment
analysis and categorization given sufficient sample size, this enables management to
gain more insight into employees' thoughts.
Reminders Are Still Needed
Three to four days after the initial invitation to participate in an online survey,
employee responses reduce to a trickle. A reminder after four days has an
immediate impact on boosting response rates, as does a
second or third reminder. Reminders always have been an important part of research;
online reminders have sped up the process considerably.
What Happened to Grade School Grammar?
One of the challenges we have with paper surveys is the ability to decipher handwriting.
When we began conducting many of our surveys online, we anticipated cost savings through
not having to transcribe and decipher respondent's handwriting. While we have experienced
some cost reductions, we did not anticipate that it would take longer to spell-check online
comments. Many of our online comments read something like this: "i think u shood . . ."
Easier Detection and Prevention of Multiple Responses
The use of "cookies" has prevented people from responding more than one time to an
online survey. Tech-savvy people know how to get around this. However, if they try to "stack the deck,"
their tendency
is to just "resubmit" most or all of their first responses. This usually occurs within
two minutes of the initial responses, and is much easier to detect and eliminate than
when people attempt to complete and mail multiple paper surveys.
Not Everyone Ready For "Primetime"---Yet!
Although many people are "Web savvy," there still are organizations
("Organisations" for our Canadian and UK readers) that need to
conduct paper surveys. When kiosks are set up (with "non-cookies" surveys) to
enable those without web access, we found some ethnic groups tend to be under-represented;
more people tend to "submit" multiple times, and a more than usual percentage of surveys
were submitted before being fully completed. One solution has been to offer web surveys
to employees with web access and paper surveys to all others.
Clients Still Need a "Personal Touch"
We know that some competitors offer "Build Your Own Surveys" on the Web
for next to nothing (or for nothing). The adage: "You get what you pay for" still
applies. You have to ask the right questions, in the right way, and properly interpret
the findings in order to have actionable results. The online survey process can seem daunting
to those who have never conducted one. We have established a smooth process of programming,
testing, respondent invitation, and response updates that takes the weight off the shoulders of
our clients.
Interested in learning more about The Business Research Lab's Employee Satisfaction Survey Packages? Check out our Gold and Silver Survey Packages.
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