Before launching your staff questionnaire, you should have a plan and general timeline in place for the entire process from start to finish. Conducting the survey is only one part of this process.
Your implementation strategy should cover all phases of the process, as outlined below. Make sure you have the necessary resources lined up and that you communicate with contributors and other stakeholders at every stage of the process.
Phase 1:
Prepare for the Staff Survey
1-3 weeks
- HR initiates questionnaire, monitors participation, answers questions
- Functional leaders and other managers will need to devote at least 2-4 hours per month to communicate and support change initiatives.
- HR will need to spend 6-12 hours per month on communication and administration of the process
- In addition to the above, analysis of your results, setting priorities, and developing meaningful actions could take 1-2 days or more, depending on the size of your organization and how much time you are able to spend.
Note: Some or all of the steps for this phase have probably already been completed by now.
Phase 2:
Conduct the Engagement Survey
2-3 weeks
- Create implementation plan to determine roles and schedules during and after the staff questionnaire is administered
- HR sends reminder emails as needed
- If the response rate is low, it may be necessary to extend the end date
Phase 3:
Review Results and Debrief
1 month
- HR (and/or consultant) and the senior leader evaluate data and develop interventions with top managers; equal focus is placed on "centers of excellence" and "centers of opportunity"
- Senior leader and HR agree on implementation priorities, roles, and schedule
- HR (and/or consultant) debriefs top managers to explore employee engagement survey results within their areas
- HR (and/or consultant) works with top manager to cascade debriefings to middle managers and contributors
- If some people are not debriefed in targeted groups, they are provided with high-level results and management's plan to address any problems
Phase 4:
Act
Ongoing
- Action plan is defined, communicated, and implemented
- Ensure all contributors understand the action plan, how it benefits them, and the senior leader's commitment to it
- HR (and/or consultant) coaches leaders and their teams to enhance alignment, trust, straight-talk and healthy conflict; key leaders learn the fundamentals of engaging leadership
- Keep communicating as the plan is put into action and milestones are reached
- After enough time has elapsed, repeat the employee engagement survey to measure progress and understand how engagement and engagement-related issues have shifted since the initial process