Using Pulse Surveys to Engage Your Team: About Pulse Surveys (web version)
Team pulse surveys are short, easy-to-complete sets of questions sent electronically on a regular basis to do a "pulse check" of employees in areas such as engagement, satisfaction, relationships, and the work environment. They are useful for getting feedback from your team members, monitoring team effectiveness, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
This second job aid in the series presents the characteristics of pulse surveys and outlines their advantages, including for remote and hybrid work teams.
Characteristics
Brief
1 to 15 quick and easy questions
Regular
Sent to teams at regular time intervals (weekly, monthly)
Digital
Distributed and completed electronically using software that can do automatic results reporting
Frequent
Conducted on a regular basis
Repeated
Measure the same concepts to allow for benchmarking over time
Survey distribution methods
Embedded web links
Batch emails, electronic newsletters, blog entries, websites, intranet sites and social media posts can all provide a direct link (or QR code) to a web-based and mobile-friendly team pulse survey.
Text message (SMS)
Team pulse surveys can be conducted entirely via automatic text message or text messages that provide a web link.
Advantages of pulse surveys
Early risk warning
Proactive discovery of concerns and rapid responses to them can prevent irritants from escalating.
Honest input
With their anonymity assured and privacy protected, team members will be more open and candid, thus leading to more useful data and better insights than with other communication methods.
Tracking progress
Regular and repeated pulse surveys track progress on solutions and allow for adjustments along the way.
Listening long term
Surveys are a regular reminder to employees that their input is valued and that there is an openness to ideas and creativity.
Breaking the ice
Results can provide the context and vocabulary for later more in-depth conversations.
Real-time results
Pulse surveys measure what is happening as it happens, so team members can better understand the impacts of current factors.
Value for remote and hybrid teams
Closing the distance
Pulse surveys can reveal deficiencies in employee satisfaction, connection or enablement, which can be challenging to do within a distributed team.
Discovering unique needs
Pulse surveys provide insight into and address the individual challenges and needs of remote and hybrid team members (consider Gender-based Analysis Plus [GBA Plus]).
Supporting well-being
Pulse surveys help team leaders check in regularly on the psychological, physical and personal well-being of remote and hybrid team members.
Boosting communication
Pulse surveys are a reliable form of communication that support ongoing discussions about engagement and well-being.
Providing value
Pulse surveys are a way for organizations to demonstrate that remote and hybrid team members are top of mind and that their contributions and feedback continue to be highly valued.
This series of ten job aids explains how to design and administer pulse surveys to support team engagement, positivity, and productivity in the workplace. Each job aid offers background information and covers the key steps in the process of developing team pulse surveys.
