If you’re planning to launch an employee experience program, you’ll have more to do than choose survey questions. Creating an effective–and doable– employee communications strategy is essential. Prior to the survey, you should plan to deploy communication that increases awareness and inspires employees to participate. During the survey, you should seek to motivate employees to action within the given time-frame. After the survey, you’ll want to share what you learned and what you plan to do about it. Here’s how to do it.

1. TALMETRIX.COM
10 Must-Dos to Support Your
Employee Engagement Survey
The Essential
Guide to Survey
Communication

2. Presented by

3. This guide is intended for
communication, employee
engagement and employee
experience professionals who
are considering an employee
engagement survey.

4. If you’re investing time and
resources in an employee
engagement survey, do NOT
overlook communication.

5. It's a mistake to assume that
employees will jump at the
chance to provide feedback on
their experience.
Do the legwork to
get employees invested in the
process.

6. Here are 10 communication
considerations to ensure a
successful survey project.
10

7. Goals1

8. What is the
purpose of the
survey?
Is there a specific
employee
experience you are
seeking to
improve?
How do you plan
to use the
feedback?
What does success
look like (i.e.,
metrics like a
participation goal)?
Confirm the goal of the
employee engagment survey

9. Audience2

10. Determine who will be
taking the survey
A SEGMENT OF
THE EMPLOYEE
POPULATION
THE WHOLE
POPULATION
Choose based on how you plan to take
action on the feedback.

11. If surveying a segment of your
population, how will you choose?
PERCENTAGE
OF THE
POPULATION
CERTAIN
DIVISION OR
LOCATION?
AMOUNT OF
TENURE
OTHER
SEGMENT?

12. What is the
profile of the
survey taker?
Language?
Literacy requirements?
Work schedule impact

13. PAPER ONLINE
How will participants take
the survey?
IN-PERSON

14. If electronic,
where can they
take it?
Only at work?
Mobile devices?
Personal (non-
company) devices?

15. If on paper...
How will you tabulate
results?
Will you need survey
events with proctors?
How will you ensure
confidentiality?
How will you ensure
duplicates aren't
submitted?
How does the paper
process impact
your overall timing?

16. Action
Plan3

17. What is the plan to take
action on the survey
results?
The answer will set the tone of your
messaging so you can set appropriate
expectations

18. What will the survey
influence?
How many business changes will
be undertaken as a result?
Is there a budget for these
changes?
Who will lead the change efforts?
How will you prioritize the
actionable feedback?
What happens to the other
feedback?

19. Survey
Questions4

20. Approve (or at least
influence) the survey
questions
As a employee experience professional, you
will be more familiar with how certain
questions will be perceived by employees and
can provide valuable input.

21. Request to review the survey
questions and try to
influence the team to:
Choose only items that are actionable
Use simple wording
Use as few questions as possible

22. Incentives5

23. Create an incentive to
increase participation
The communication will be more
engaging and the participation
rates will increase with an
appropriate incentive.
Whether it’s a chance prize or
bragging rights, It’s always
easier to get employees to
communicate if there are prizes.

24. Which incentive will be
effective for your
organization?
FOOD
TEAM INCENTIVE
CASH PRIZES
EVENTS
GIFT CARDS

25. Branding6

26. Works alongside
your company or
HR brand
Create a
theme/tagline
that aligns with
the survey's
purpose
Try to create a
brand that you can
use for several
years
Use common
elements to give a
branded look and
feel to your survey
effort
Create a brand for your survey
materials

27. Messaging7

28. Plan the messages
you'll communicate
Alleviate concerns around
confidentiality
Who’s sponsoring the survey
Why the survey is being
conducted
What will happen as a result of
the survey
How and when you’ll
communicate results

29. Leadership
Buy-in8

30. Get leadership onboard
PROJECT
APPROACH
SUMMARY
DESCRIBE
THEIR ROLE
REQUEST
FOR
SUPPORT
TALKING
POINTS

31. Keep leadership informed
MESSAGES TO
BE CASCADED
POST-SURVEY
RESULTS &
ACTION PLANS
DASHBOARDS
DURING THE
SURVEY
PERIOD

32. Communication9

33. Get creative and deploy a
number of communication
methods

34. PRINT ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATE!
SOCIAL
Posters
Banners
Flyers
Table Tents
Email
Intranet articles
web
banners
Employee
ambassadors
Affiliate groups
Enterprise social
media

35. GROUND GAME OTHER METHODS
COMMUNICATE!
MANAGER
COMMUNICATION
PEER-TO-PEER
COMMUNICATION
ONSITE EVENTS
PRESENTATIONS

36. Follow-Up10

37. Keep the effort going
Provide follow-up communication
immediately after the survey period
closes
Take action based on the feedback
you received -- and communicate it

38. Ready to get started?
Talmetrix is the convergence of two
words: Talent and Metrics.
We can help you gather employee
feedback and unique workforce insights
in order to drive business outcomes.
What's more, you're not on your own!
Our service model puts the heavy-lifting
on us and not on you!