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Frequently Asked Questions about Employee Culture and Satisfaction Surveys
When should we survey employees?

Survey employees when you want to...

  • Understand the culture and its impact on employee moral — particularly during mergers, acquisitions and extensive reductions-in-force. Find out how your culture aligns with your vision, mission and values.
  • Learn what contributes most to employee satisfaction, loyalty and productivity in your organization. Satisfied employees are often the most productive.
  • Check the "pulse" of the organization, for example, to learn how employees feel about a pending initiative or recent change.
  • Understand how management practices or reward systems are affecting employee morale and satisfaction.
  • Uncover employees' ideas about how the organization could be more effective, systematically and efficiently.
  • Tap the collective organizational wisdom of your employees for any reason
Surveys give you quick access to the people who are responsible on a day-to-day basis for the success of your organization. New online technologies accelerate and simplify data collection so you can easily get timely, focused feedback from employees.

Developing a survey tailored to one’s own environment is consistent with information age workplace values such as employee participation, open communication, and collaboration.

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Should we use customized or off-the-shelf surveys?

"Off-the-shelf" or standardized surveys with standard categories and items can be useful and are less expensive than customized surveys, but they can miss crucial issues. Here is an example from a recent article in Harvard Business Review:

"In 1997,... UPS was hit by a costly strike just 10 months after receiving impressive marks on its regular annual survey on worker morale... [the survey] had failed to uncover bitter complaints about the proliferation of part-time jobs within the company, a central issue in the strike."*
We recommend that you conduct pre-survey research using interviews and focus groups to identify current hot-button issues, then build a survey that combines both standard building blocks and questions based on your unique issues.

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What type of survey will be most valuable for us?

A strategically focused, customized employee survey lets you mine the collective insight of your workforce for front-line understanding of challenges and potential solutions.

Employee/Job Satisfaction surveys tap employees’ feelings and attitudes about important aspects of their work roles, relationships, and organizational factors that affect morale, commitment and productivity.

Corporate Culture surveys provide an insightful look at what makes your organization tick, and how well the culture embodies your vision, mission and values.

Organizational Effectiveness surveys seek to understand ways the organization can improve results in all areas of your "balanced scorecard": Financial, Customer Satisfaction, Organizational Improvement and Innovation, and Internal Processes.

Online Focus Groups offer a way to obtain qualitative survey feedback from groups of employees interacting anonymously over a predetermined time period, usually 3-5 days. Focus group results can be summarized and reported, or used as the basis for designing a survey tailored to your situation.

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What are the most common reasons for conducting organizational surveys?

The table below lists some of more common purposes for organizational surveys, and the type of survey used to fulfill each purpose.

Typical Survey Purpose Type of Survey
  • Monitor and improve morale during difficult times
  • Attract and retain desirable employees
  • Build a committed workforce 
  • Reduce  costly attrition
Employee/Job Satisfaction Survey
  • Prepare for a change of strategic direction
  • Facilitate a merger, acquisition, or implementation of a new corporate vision
  • Assess progress toward achievement of cultural change
Corporate Culture Survey
  • Increase organizational ability to deliver  value for customers and shareholders
  • Identify internal factors that drive core business outcomes such as productivity, profitability, or customer satisfaction
  • Assess the organization's ability to achieve maximum employee performance
Organizational Effectiveness Survey
  • Determine whether compensation and benefits programs address changing employee needs
  • Assess perceived fairness and motivational value of compensation and benefits programs
  • Assess effectiveness of benefits communication
Benefits Surveys

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What is the process for developing a customized employee survey?

Our methodology identifies what really matters to employees so you can target resources to high-impact areas. Drawing on our experience and expertise in organizational development and culture, we probe managers' and employees' thinking, using interviews and online focus groups, to ensure the survey addresses the most relevant concerns. We conduct a thorough statistical analysis and present results in a concise, highly visual format to point out key strengths, potential strengths and vulnerabilities, and top priorities for improvement.

We also work with you to develop an effective survey communication plan to build employee participation and support for the process and to ensure that results are used to guide action planning and organizational improvement.

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How much does it cost?

Survey costs depend on a variety of factors such as the degree and method of customization, type and complexity of the survey, number of respondents, and type of reports required. Visit our Pricing section for a general idea of survey costs, then contact us for more information.

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To discuss your requirements with a project consultant, call us toll-free at 877-666-2486, send email to culture@surveycompany.com or fill out our information request form.

*"Getting the Truth into Workplace Surveys," by P. Morrel-Samuels. Harvard Business Review, February 2002, pp. 5-12.