6 Reasons to Hire a Professional for Employee Surveys

6 Reasons to Hire a Professional for Employee Surveys

Thinking of sending out an employee survey to determine employee satisfaction and engagement? Or are you simply looking to get some employee opinions on day-to-day operations?

We think that’s a fantastic idea, and we’re here with 6 reasons to hire an outside firm to gather this data in a valid, actionable way!

1. Anonymity

For just a moment, let’s pretend you’re one of your employees. Are you more likely to share your honest opinions if your responses are anonymous? Most internally-composed survey responses are not anonymous, as there are usually ways to determine who the respondent was… even if you don’t ask for contact information on the survey itself. Allowing a third party to handle all of the deployment and responses allows an organization to truly provide anonymity to its employees.

2. Confidentiality

Do-it-yourself employee surveys can state confidentiality, but there’s no way to ensure and enforce that promise. Is leadership 100% trusted with confidentiality, especially on personal issues? If not, it will be hard to gather honest answers. With an outside survey firm, employees that know their responses won’t be shared with their co-workers, bosses, or leadership, and are much more apt to share their candid feedback.

3. Candidness

It’s much easier for employees to be honest and open when they believe their identity won’t be shared with their boss or co-workers.  For example, it’s much easier to share difficult feedback with a third party than it is to go straight to the source.

4. Trust

If even a small percentage of your employees don’t trust leadership — whether it’s management, their boss, or the person in charge of the survey — you won’t get the valuable information you seek. Trust is of the utmost importance when asking employees to share their thoughts. Hiring an outside firm for your data gathering not only encourages honesty, but displays integrity of leadership — a solid step in the direction of trust.

5. Bias

The cold, hard truth is that everyone has bias of some kind, and will surely interject that bias into their survey, whether they realize it or not. Having an employee survey tested for bias, comprehension, and —of course— technical issues, is key.

6. Time

No one has the time to do everything well. Why not focus your efforts on your strengths and invest in a professional to help you with the data gathering? You’ll save valuable time by having a survey expert lead you through the process and get you the actionable data you need to improve your organization.

When is it okay to conduct a DIY survey?

Is it ever okay to do in-house employee surveys?

Sure!

For company socials, picnics, and gatherings (What is the most popular dessert? Should we have BBQ or a nacho bar?), a short, in-house employee survey to get feedback on the event is great. Anytime you’re not asking about performance measures, co-workers, leadership, satisfaction, or engagement, in-house surveys are economical and smart.

Your small business needs the type of insights and actionable employee data that the professionals at Peak Surveys can help provide. With our in-depth experience in survey design and practices, we can help you take the next step toward an employee feedback system designed to revolutionize employee engagement and performance.

Contact us at Peak Surveys to learn more about how we can help achieve your goals and get actionable employee feedback, today!