We have a rule at our place: Whoever is driving the car gets to pick the playlist. When I’m in the driver's seat, we listen to Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History. However, when Chris my husband is driving, he insists that we listen to country music.

I used to hate country music. But now I associate country music with some of the best road trips we took across Australia. Surprisingly, these days, I enjoy listening to Luke Combs and Kenny Chesney.

I did a complete backflip.

I’m here to share another backflip. In my internal OD consulting days, I’d recommend employee engagement surveys, as a way to build awareness of what was happening in a business. I’ve realised that these surveys, in some instances, lead to divorce because your employees feel so disillusioned, they break up with your business. In this article, I share what’s fuelled my backflip, and what I suggest you can do, instead.

We’ve Got Issues

More time is spent on gathering the data, than following through

As a netball goaler, I wonder why I’d miss some goals when I had perfect form— my knees bent at the right angle, elbow close to my shoulder. I realised it was because I forgot that crucial, final step: flicking my fingers towards the hoop.

I failed to follow-through. 

The same goes for your engagement surveys. In one company, a survey required an hour to complete. Yet, despite the earnest investment of effort, staff heard nothing but radio silence afterward. Some questioned whether their responses were even reviewed at all. Even if you take the data seriously and act on it, lack of visibility to staff is the same as having done nothing in response at all. How would that make you feel if it were you?

If only 20% of the energy was channeled into addressing the ideas, following up and acknowledging responses, you’d hit your shot. Follow-through requires you to consider these questions and communicate these directly, responding to these prompts:

• "We can do this..."

• "We can't do this and here's why..."

• "We don't understand these points. Can you clarify this statement.."

• We will respond to these suggestions after x..."

If you can’t commit to follow-through, stop the survey. 

But Leanne, we need anonymity to get to the truth!

Some clients tell me they prefer having anonymous surveys to reveal the truth. I hear you. As an employee, I may not want to be critical in surveys if I had to provide my name, and my employment future wasn’t at stake (side note: There's a perception in business that your anonymous surveys aren't actually anonymous at all).

However, if you’re waiting for an anonymous survey to uncover things within your business, we may have identified the problem already. Where is the psychological safety? Are your leaders not creating a culture where it feels safe to speak up, or have you not created an environment where people feel they have somewhere else to go to report (i.e. an ethics line).  

Having an anonymous survey, also makes it impossible to to address concerns head on, and create dialogue with those who are most impacted. It also reinforces a culture that requires anonymity to speak the truth (which flies in the face of company values about respect and integrity).  

Here's the magic wand, with my compliments

• Start with your intent. Ask, “What is it that we really want to learn from rolling out an engagement survey?” Then before proceeding, seek alternatives. A survey is not necessarily the number one choice.

• Use the data at your disposal: Dig into the metrics you already have such as turnover, absenteeism, the effectiveness of employee referral programs, and overall business performance. Are there any patterns, or outliers between departments/regions in your business?

• Observations: Similarly to an undercover boss type feel. If your leaders won't wear a disguise though (haha), ask an external person in to observe and run focus groups. How many focus groups do you run? When you start identifying patterns and trends, you can stop.

• Schedule follow-through in the calendar. Encourage and hold accountable leaders to commit in their calendar at least 2-3 dates in future where they will communicate results and share their plans for follow-through.

• During any type of regular meeting or 1:1 make it a ritual to check in and ask an open question like, “What’s on your mind?,” “What’s frustrated you lately?” and “Where can we improve?”

• Launch a listening tour. Mix leader roles and talk to teams. If you’re worried about people not sharing the truth, organise a leader swap or find an objective third party to lead these discussions.

As you read this, are you taking a backflip on launching your next engagement survey?

If I haven't convinced you yet, maybe I can sway you on enjoying some country music. Listen to George Strait's Amarillo by Morning!

I'm curious, what's your experience been with these type of surveys? Let me know in the comments.

About the author: Leanne Hughes is an Australian businesswoman, entrepreneur and high performance business consultant. She is the host of both Leanne Hughes' Work and Live Large podcast and the First Time Facilitator podcast. In 2021, Leanne was the winner of the Asia Pacific Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year. She advises clients across the world on creating dynamics work environments and organizational cultures that lead to improved business performance. You can find her work at leannehughes.com.