The Survey Initiative: An Introductory Guide to Employee Research and Employee Surveys.
Results analysis and reporting
There are many different ways of analysing, cutting and reporting results and each organisation has to decide individually on the best method for their needs. Some key things to consider are:
Generally, the best way to analyse a survey is for one person to go through all the data in detail and then produce a summary of the key issues – avoiding a lengthy written report. This can then be presented to the steering group who can request any further analyses they feel are necessary.
It is important to report the results to employees as quickly as you can after the end of the survey completion period. This will ensure that the momentum and interest that has already been generated will be maintained.
Ensure you focus mainly on the organisation's strengths and the implications for action - not the bad news. And wherever possible, present relevant local information to managers, as well as the strategic, organisation-wide picture.
Face-to-face feedback of results is the preferred communication method and, although this will probably not be logistically possible at an overall organisational level, it is essential for the feedback of local team results. This will allow employees to ask questions, suggest the root causes behind the results and possible ways to improve.
How do you compare?
In order to put the results into context it may be useful to compare with other organisations or with those results achieved in previous surveys.
Comparisons with other businesses are interesting and can provide a useful indicator of how well you’re doing in some important areas. The Survey Initiative maintains a database of normative scores to key questionnaire items (benchmarking).
From a management perspective, it’s also very important to be able to see how the results achieved in the survey compare with previous investigations. Comparing your results in this way will allow you to track the success of any policy changes or action taken as a result of the survey.