Hero emoji smilingHero emoji heart eyes
Get Started!

Everything to Know About Employee Feedback Surveys in 2024

Alex
November 18, 2021
6 Min Read
Photo by
Alex Krugli

Table of Contents:

What are employee feedback surveys?

Don't you sometimes sit back and wish you had a failsafe source of actionable insight into the employee experience at your company?

Well, employee feedback surveys are one of the most undervalued tools out there.

If you don't know what employee feedback surveys are, they're pretty simple: you ask your employees questions about their experience at your company- what they like, don't like, and what needs to change.

Employee feedback surveys are integral to employee engagement, which means employee feedback surveys are vital to workplace culture. They increase job satisfaction and employee retention and tend to decrease job turnover (who doesn’t like being told their opinion matters?)

Employee survey feedback can also be super actionable: for instance, you might find out what some of your employees think about the hiring process, or whether they feel their salary is fair.

Why employee feedback surveys are important

Since employee feedback surveys can keep your company in check and make sure it's aligned to the employee needs, it's important you know how to give employee feedback surveys to your employees.

Not only is employee satisfaction strongly correlated with overall business performance-with businesses increasing employee engagement seeing an increase in customer ratings, productivity, and profitability, it also leads to higher quality work and lower absenteeism. In fact, Gallup research shows that companies with engaged employees have significantly higher earnings per share than companies without. 

While employee feedback survey software may seem like an unnecessary expense, companies who effectively implemented employee feedback survey software see a high return on investment. 

Employee feedback surveys are important because employee feedback surveys mean a healthier, more productive workplace.

Beyond employee satisfaction, employee feedback surveys can help you establish company culture and employee engagement- and even save you money!

How to give employee feedback surveys

If employee feedback surveys are so great, why aren't more companies using them? There's no simple answer, but here are some of the top reasons that employee feedback surveys fail:

  • Take too long to complete = employees stop caring about getting their voice heard. If you think employee feedback surveys are a breeze to take, try wading through ten pages of confusing yes/no questions and you’ll change your mind! 
  • Asking too many questions = employee feedback surveys are meant to gain insight into specific areas of the employee experience, so asking more than 4-5 questions about each area will lead to employee fatigue and low response rates.
  • Not enough action is taken on employee feedback = employees don't feel like their voice matters, so why should they bother taking employee feedback surveys?

With that in mind, what should you do to implement an employee feedback survey that really works?

  • Make employee feedback surveys short and to the point.
  • Send employee feedback survey reminders.
  • Keep employee feedback surveys consistent.
  • Track employee feedback survey data over time, using trends to make improvements.

Start your employee survey process by drafting appropriate questions. If you're using a ready-to-go survey, check to make sure the existing survey questions match your company culture and will elucidate the data you're going for.

Once your survey is ready to go, let your employees know what is happening and what it's for. Invite them to participate and let them know what to expect throughout the survey. This is the time to let them know if their responses are anonymous, so they can feel comfortable giving confidential answers without fear of reprises! This is especially important so all your disengaged employees and that one unhappy employee can give honest feedback.

On roll-out day, distribute the survey to all employees and collect responses.

The last step in an employee survey is analyzing the data. This is usually done by your survey software, and you might just get a one-page neatly analyzed report! Be aware that there's more to see, though: especially if you've included open-ended questions. Take the time to view the raw results and view any responses or comments. If human resources response to employee comments is appropriate, this would be the time to do it.

While employee feedback surveys are great for making improvements within your organization, they might also expose some problems that need solving. As you go through employee feedback survey responses, you might notice a common theme. This is a great time to start brainstorming solutions and making plans to take action. Consider a team meeting, either townhall style or with just the leadership team! It's time to change survey results from just employee opinion to actionable insights that can transform your workplace culture and make your business an even better place to work!

Employee feedback survey software

The days when you need to type out a survey, print it out, and collect paper copies are long over. Today, feedback surveys are run almost exclusively through feedback software. Some favorite employee feedback survey software providers include:

Employee feedback survey tools are easy to use, customizable, and can be used on any device. They can be used for many types of online survey, including:

Use employee feedback surveys throughout the year to keep tabs on employee satisfaction levels and make sure your workforce is engaged in their jobs.

You can also encourage your teams to use feedback software like the free Slack app Matter to help each other grow throughout the year. Sometimes, continuous peer-to-peer feedback is what you really need to create an inspiring company culture!

Final tips on employee feedback surveys

Employee feedback surveys are important because employee feedback surveys keep your employees happy- and the happier your employees are, the happier your customers are. It's a win-win! 

Employee feedback surveys are vital for employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business growth. Now that you know why employee feedback surveys are important, it's time to implement employee feedback survey software in your company!

In order to get the most out of employee feedback surveys, keep these three tips in mind:

  • Tailor your questions to what really matters
  • Be consistent
  • Make employee feedback surveys anonymous

Employee feedback surveys are an easy way to see how happy your employees are, and employee feedback survey software makes it easier than ever before. Knowing how to give employee feedback surveys is the key to optimizing employee happiness and increasing workplace productivity.

Well, there you have it! I hope you learned a little about employee feedback surveys and employee feedback survey software- and how employee feedback surveys can make your business better!

Start Employee Recognition, Rewards, & Surveys
Free Plan. Easy Setup. No Credit Card Required.
Awwards cat
Awwards cat paws
Awwards ball purple
Awwards ball blue
More in
Performance & Feedback