Include the employee opinion survey process into the normal business planning cycle

Organisations spend innumerable hours designing and conducting an employee opinion survey to elicit employee opinions. Despite this effort, many companies do not receive all the benefits from an employee opinion survey that they could. This flows from not knowing the decisions they should make before handing out an employee opinion survey. By following these suggestions coming from many organisations, companies can increase the effectiveness of their employee opinion survey.

One way to for an employee opinion survey to influence an organisation is to become part of its planning cycle - its goals, objectives, and budgets. Employee involvement can help achieve this by scheduling employee opinion survey events so recommendations become ready the month before goal setting and budget planning sessions. To accomplish this, schedule the employee opinion survey backwards. For example, if budgets are due in June, present employee opinion survey recommendations in May, develop employee opinion survey recommendations in April, analyse employee opinion survey responses in March, distribute the employee opinion survey (assuming a "one shot" employee opinion survey) in February, design the employee opinion survey in January, determine the employee opinion survey demographics and procedures in December, set the business goals and then the employee opinion survey objectives in November. By scheduling in this way the employee opinion survey will deliver the maximum results possible.

February to July should be used to keep employee opinion survey contributors informed of progress and July through to February should be about acting upon employee opinion survey recommendations so that contributors know that there employee opinion survey participation is helping bring about personal and corporate benefit.