Organisational surveys are a critical tool for gathering employee feedback and driving meaningful change. But as we continue to rely on them, we often hear complaints of "survey fatigue". 

“Survey fatigue refers to a lack of motivation to participate in assessments—and has the potential to impact response behaviour”, McKinsey (2021)

A common myth is that survey fatigue is driven by the amount and length of surveys deployed. However, this is only a small part of the story. The number one driver of survey fatigue is actually employee perception that the organisation won’t act upon the results, and is therefore a waste of their time.

Employees are far more likely to actively participate in future surveys when they understand the purpose and process. If an organisation promotes their commitment to achieving systemic change, and the benefits of employee participation, they can expect a much higher uptake and engagement.

So how do we reduce survey fatigue and empower our employees to participate fully in the feedback process? We’ve put together some of our top tips for running a successful survey campaign below:

1. Communication is Key!

To maximise success, provide your team with educational resources to help them understand the purpose of the survey, and your commitment to taking meaningful change. Having senior leadership sponsorship and involvement in the communications is key.

2. Start the conversation

In the week leading up to the survey deployment date, encourage line managers, supervisors, and team leaders to discuss the upcoming survey, its purpose, and your overall business goal with their teams in their weekly meetings.

3. Monitor completion rates

Once your survey is live, monitor the response rates. Send reminders to prompt employees to complete the survey over the duration of the live period.  For departments with lower engagement rates, encourage your team leaders, managers, supervisors, and departmental heads to remind their teams to participate, and reiterate its relevance and importance.

So, the results are in! After your survey has been completed, this is where the journey toward change begins. If you’re completing a survey on the InCheq platform, you’ll receive your results report; which will allow you to easily analyse your results, and provide you with a detailed, department-specific action plan so you can start making changes based on the valuable employee feedback you’ve received. 

By following a more structured approach to an organisational survey campaign, survey fatigue can be significantly reduced and allow for organisational growth. 

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References

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1. "Survey fatigue? Blame the leader, not the question" by McKinsey - https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/survey-fatigue-blame-the-leader-not-the-question 

2. "The Importance of Employee Feedback: Making Surveys Work" by Harvard Business Review - https://hbr.org/2017/02/the-importance-of-employee-feedback-making-surveys-work

3. "5 Common Myths About Employee Engagement Surveys Debunked" by 15Five - https://www.15five.com/blog/employee-engagement-surveys-myths-debunked/

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