Pulse surveys are one viable form of HR technology. They are a quick and easy way for organizations to gain a sense of how employee experience is at work. Pulse surveys tend to be shorter and more specific than traditional surveys that are usually too long or too infrequent (and they only provide adequate information if they are an engaging, short, and frequent survey).
This level of surveying allows enterprise leaders to see how the feelings of their employee base are coded and to respond to them before feelings escalate into serious issues.
In a changing workplace, having engaged employees at work is critical to the issue at hand. A pulse survey provides managers with the content they need to make better decisions more frequently, which will lead to improved retention and productivity and better morale.
Pulse surveys also promote a continuous conversation, providing employees a voice and trusting that they will see how their comments will be taken as action.
With more organizations using digital tools to manage their workforce, the importance and value of pulse surveys is becoming more readily noted.
Pulse surveys have emerged as a viable means on behalf of organizations to establish trust, enhance a continuous improvement process, and align HR related activities to employee expectations.
A pulse survey is a short and simple survey that organizations use to gather feedback from employees and candidates to monitor employee engagement over time.
Pulse surveys differ from traditional engagement surveys in that pulse surveys are quick, easy, and can be completed frequently. They also try to gain insights into real-time engagement levels of employees regarding their work, team, and organization.
Differentiation is achievable since pulse surveys can offer ongoing data streams instead of just the feedback that is given at certain times of the year.
HR Leaders and managers thus have the opportunity to interact frequently with their employees on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis as opposed to only two times a year.
Consequently, companies are now able to detect trends effortlessly, react to employee issues, and keep the engagement level high.
Pulse surveys are generally short when left to default within the software package, usually around five to ten questions. Employees quickly participate in the survey in a short time.
Pulse surveys should be conducted frequently. Generally, weekly or at least monthly, so organizations can measure employee sentiment over time and engagement trends.
Each pulse survey concentrates on one topic, for example, an initiative, an issue in the workplace that is of timely relevance to the employee experience.
Pulse surveys will always have a generated report of results that includes a standard report that is easy and quick to navigate, and provokes staff and managers who are directly responsible for that function to take action immediately.
For decades, organizations have turned to employee surveys to gauge workplace culture, engagement, and satisfaction..
The survey is very useful, but often the insight is captured at one point in time and can take months to analyze. By the time the data is presented, many of the workplace conditions have already changed, and managers are left responding to an insight that is not relevant anymore.
Pulse surveys were created to fill that gap. They are short, frequent, and focused, which gives organizations a way to understand sentiment in real time.
Rather than wait months to hear feedback from any survey, HR leaders can collect employees' responses relatively frequently and use that insight to modify policies, improve communications, or respond to employee concerns almost as soon as it is received.
Traditional surveys and pulse surveys differ in a few major categories:
An organization may craft traditional surveys which then can last 30 – 45 minutes and can ask 50 or more questions. Surveys (except for new-hire surveys) can usually consist of five to ten quick questions and last less than five minutes.
Traditional surveys conducted once a year or even twice a year provide a snapshot once a year or twice a year. Pulse surveys can be special studies conducted every week, every month or quarterly, also collecting numerous attitudinal dimensions of ongoing change.
Traditional surveys ask about a wide breadth of topics from benefits and incentives to leadership effectiveness. Pulse surveys focus on specific, timely issues like workload, teamwork or new initiatives.
Traditional survey analysis can take weeks, and then present valid results. Like I mentioned above, pulse surveys are designed to present immediate results, which managers can analyze and reflect on immediately.
Some studies have pointed out discrepancies between the overall results of annual engagement surveys vs certain areas identified from using pulse surveys.
For example, annual engagement surveys may show overall employee disengagement is increasing, specifically attributable to work/life balance, but it's too late to act when the attrition rates increase. High attrition may be detected quickly before it happens, since pulse surveys are less time-consuming to analyze by leaders always interested in monitoring change.
Some organizations simply monitor time manipulation at each continuation, while pointing out options available for attrition from a health and wellness perspective.
Together, the two provide a synthesis: the broad baseline established by traditional surveys, and the continuous flow of feedback which enables leaders to act promptly to improve employee engagement.
Selecting the appropriate tool is critical to success in utilizing pulse surveys. There are several options available in the marketplace, each having its own offerings that can fit specific organizational requirements. Below are five of the most recognized tools in HR tech:
Culture Amp is a leading employee experience platform with an employee engagement, performance, and development survey tool. Culture Amp has a specialized pulse survey with advanced analytics and a comprehensive benchmarking data set.
Gives immediate insights into employee engagement.
Gives a comparison with other companies of similar size and in the same sector.
Gives unambiguous suggestions for the culture enhancement.
Medium- to large-scale organizations that need solid analytics and comparison data.
Officevibe is a simple, weekly pulse survey that employees can complete in a short amount of time. Then managers can see real-time dashboards and feedback.
Drives continuous feedback and encourages open communication.
Managers get real-time reporting.
Includes team-building tools to develop important workplace connections.
Small to medium-sized businesses that want a simple tool to enhance engagement and trust.
TINYpulse offers pulse surveys, gamified experiences, and peer recognition to create an attractive employee feedback program.
Short frequency pulse surveys employee sentiment best.
Fosters peer recognition and appreciation.
Transparency and positive workplace culture fit well.
Organizations focused on creating stronger culture and recognition programs in addition to employee feedback.
15Five incorporates engagement surveys as a part of their goal tracking, performance management workflow.
Links employee feedback to performance outcomes.
Allows continual one-on-one check-ins.
Supports the manager's goals in delivering action plans from surveys.
Businesses that are looking for a combined and functionally dynamic engagement and performance management platform.
Qualtrics EmployeeXM is an employee feedback solution at the enterprise level, utilizing AI-driven analytics for extensive employee feedback collection and processing.
Uses multi-channel feedback to meet employee sentiment context.
Provides predictive insights through AI analytics.
Works with complex, global organizations.
Large enterprises looking to extract complex analytics, have scalable solutions, and input on global workforce sentiment.
Pulse survey tools vary in their features and functions, and randomly selecting a tool could lead to poor participation or results that are non-actionable. When comparing tools, here are some things to consider:
The tools should be easy to understand for employees and managers. Employees need to be able to complete the survey in minutes, and a usable dashboard for managers.
Your organization is going to be unique in its requirements. Many copies of pulse survey tools will allow you to configure questions, frequency, branding, and even automation options; so if it is important to configure, ensure you have the requirements set early in the process.
Real-time analytics, trended indicators, and benchmarking are well worth understanding for several reasons. Just like a candlestick will tell you a pattern of behavior (normally, price over time), the overlay of the feedback needs to be easily mapped so it becomes actionable.
Pick a pulse survey tool that will integrate with your existing HR systems, any performance management platforms, or communication tools so that you can minimize any data flow and purpose reporting.
Pulse surveys are now a part of any human resource function.
Pulse surveys provide organizations with more frequent and more focused feedback. Whereas traditional surveys were conducted periodically, pulse surveys give managers real-time information about the experience of the workforce, hence allowing them to quickly respond and create an environment of high engagement and satisfaction with employment and the workplace culture.
If used correctly, pulse surveys can allow organizations to open dialogue with employees, enhance
Using the right tool (or platform), following best practices, and developing an approach that relies on the feedback being provided are key in leveraging pulse surveys.
Organizations that embrace this approach gain a competitive advantage, which can provide tremendous value in being able to keep employees engaged, satisfied, and committed to the organization - both as individuals and as teams.
To participate in our interviews, please write to our HRTech Media Room at sudipto@intentamplify.com
