Administering employee engagement surveys is half the battle — the other half is communicating the results well enough to keep the process going. Survey administrators must share insights with leaders in a way that inspires buy-in while also communicating with employees in a way that drives continued growth. These conversations are crucial because senior leaders and employees have a lot on the line.
While leadership teams support survey costs, employees are responsible for providing honest, sometimes vulnerable, feedback. Communicating well shows respect for those stakeholders and ensures higher survey efficiency. Below, we highlight five steps for sharing survey results to employees and some helpful tips to get the most out of your conversations and the overall survey process.
Steps for communicating survey results to employees
You have employee survey results in front of you. Now, it’s time to share. Survey administrators have complete control of the narrative, how much information is shared, and with whom it’s shared. With employee and leadership engagement on the line, it’s essential to be intentional. Follow these steps to get the most out of your insights and reinforce the benefits of employee engagement surveys. Your buy-in and engagement numbers will thank you.
Thank employees
Without employee participation, there would be no information to share. Genuinely thank employees for their contributions to the survey and the organization’s and their peers’ growth. Employee feedback can be personal, so creating an environment where all input and vulnerability are appreciated and valued is critical.
A heartfelt thank-you message can go a long way in building a positive and engaged workforce. Take your thank you message further by highlighting employees’ impact on company culture and growth. With their unique perspective, the organization can evolve and grow.
Learn more: What is Employee Appreciation
Explain themes
There will be negative and positive themes within your survey data. Experienced survey administrators take time to analyze and interpret survey results before sharing them with anyone else. They can highlight themes and tell a larger story about employee engagement and company culture.
When communicating employee engagement survey results, it’s best to be impartial and transparent with your team. Staying goal-oriented ensures that employees and leaders see opportunities for growth instead of weaknesses. Constructive conversations and guidance from administrators keep everyone on the same page, so get those ready before any big discussions.
Review results with leadership
After determining major themes, it’s time to get feedback from your managers and leadership team. Share a high-level view of the data, with specific comments and numbers to back it up. Key takeaways help leadership get a pulse on their culture without overwhelming them with too much data.
As always, keep growth and company goals in mind. Share recommendations and open the conversation up for discussion. People in leadership positions often have many years of experience, offering beneficial perspectives and suggestions for next steps. These conversations with leadership expose them to the benefits of employee surveys, ultimately earning their buy-in.
Learn more: How Leaders Impact Culture
Share a focused action plan with employees
To communicate effectively with employees, it’s essential to have a focused action plan. Use themes from survey data, leadership insights, and company goals to build an engagement roadmap. Precise data, actionable goals, and leadership support show employees how much the organization cares about its people and the feedback they provide.
Follow up
To employees, leadership follow-up means checking on progress, asking for new feedback, and having open lines of communication. Following up can come from survey administrators, team managers, or leaders. Whoever does it, though, needs to be consistent. Plus, the more meaningful your follow-ups are, the more honest your employee feedback becomes.
Communication tips
Employees expect efficiency. The process of surveying and sharing survey results is no exception. Effective communication and ease of use build employee trust and survey familiarity, strengthening everyone’s willingness to participate and be honest. Here are research-backed tips to improve communication within your organization.
Be transparent
The first tip for how to communicate survey results? Be as transparent as possible. Even if the results are negative, sharing them honestly with your team is crucial. Talking openly about the feedback sets the tone and helps everyone contribute more meaningful and productive improvement ideas. Higher levels of transparency help employees feel heard and help leaders streamline solutions.
Respect employee autonomy
Employee anonymity and data confidentiality are critical components of the survey process. Offering and respecting employee anonymity makes everyone feel safe and secure. This boosts participation and sentiment across seniority levels—asking “who said what” deteriorates employees and makes them less likely to provide helpful information. Share this tip with managers as well since they might get questions from their team about the survey process.
Don't get personal
Next tip for communicating survey results to employees? Try to remain as impartial and objective as possible. Communicating results without adding personal opinions improves data integrity, employee trust, decision-making, and workplace culture. Plus, objectivity shows employees that their organization values feedback and is committed to making improvements, not excuses.
Ask for feedback
Feedback is the key to success. To improve participation and work through action plans, asking for employee feedback about the survey process is essential. Ask people how they feel about the survey length, topics, format, and direction. Most employees want to clean up the process and find optimal communication methods. Give them the tools to share, making data-driven decisions and monitoring engagement much more manageable.
Improve survey insights with Energage
Employee engagement surveys are an excellent tool for productivity, recruitment, retention, and so much more. Energage’s Workplace Survey is the industry’s most credible employee survey, helping organizations across the country collect, understand, and amplify their employees’ voices.
Plus, using the Workplace Survey automatically qualifies you for Top Workplaces awards. Ready for better insights and recognition? Schedule a demo today!
