Here is an example survey structure that we use at Happy and Effective. We want a mix of high-level long-term metrics and lower-level more targeted metrics. This mix helps avoid two common pitfalls:
- Pitfall 1: Not asking the same questions over time, to track trends. This loses some of the ability to see how initiatives actually change things over time.
- Pitfall 2: Not asking questions about what’s actually on employees’ minds. A survey that misses these is not only tone-deaf to employees, but it’s also missing critical information.
- Pitfall 3: Not listening to what is unsaid.
We often suggest a mix of these two, as out lined below. The “Engagement Questions” and “Effectiveness Questions” are high-level enough and short enough to ask on every survey to see trends. The Company-Tailored Questions are generated from interviews with employees, and can really get to the heart of the things the company should be focusing on.
Many surveys generate frustration with employees, and miss out on a ton of insight by ignoring what isn’t said in them — who doesn’t answer the survey, and sentiments where there aren’t questions about at all.
Beyond the survey, the interviews themselves provide a ton of context.
A lot of frustratio
(our Company-Tailored Questions).
(like our Engagement Questions and Effectiveness Questions),
Engagement Questions
These “engagement questions” are the most common/standard questions on an employee survey. These measure factors that correlate a lot with retention, and (somewhat less) with happiness. In most employee surveys, Happy and Effective uses a standard set of 5 questions for this, taken from CultureAmp's employee survey questions. Happy and Effective asks these questions of every team, as a baseline for engagement.
- “I am proud to work for [Company]”
- “I would recommend [Company] as a great place to work”
- “I rarely think about looking for a job at another company”
- “I see myself still working at [company] in two years’ time”
- “[Company] motivates me to go beyond what I would in a similar role elsewhere”
Effectiveness Questions
These five effectiveness questions are based on Google's "The five keys to a successful Google team" (from Project Aristotle) which have been found to correlate strongly with team effectiveness. If you aren't familiar with these, you might be interested in the NYTimes article about Project Aristotle). These questions have also been used beyond Google, like in the Accelarate State of DevOps Reports (check these out if you haven't!). This list has a lot in common with other frameworks, including the "Five Dysfunctions of a Team". Happy and Effective asks these questions of every team, as a baseline for the most common effectiveness issues.
Company-Tailored Questions
Questions in this last section are tailored for the, based on things that came up during interviews with team members. Many of these map roughly to the engagement and effectiveness questions from above, but these are a lot more targeted to the situation the company is in today. Just a few examples here, since these really vary by company:
- “I feel very supported, both personally and professionally.”
- “I regularly give and receive feedback from my peers.”
- “I understand the goals of my project, and how my work supports those.”
- “My main project team’s processes are clear and serve us well.”
- “I feel like I am on track with my professional/career goals.”