Colin Wheeler, Managing Director at Survey Solutions, discusses the significance of various survey methods, ranging from comprehensive annual surveys to smaller topic-focused or pulse surveys
Fresh from summer holidays and calmer months, many organisations now turn to thoughts of staff or user feedback, whether setting a budget, planning timings, developing questions, or having a short timeframe to get surveys in place.
The end of the year, or the start of the next year, is an opportune time for many to run a survey, and any time of year is a good time to think about feedback.
Choices of methodology – regular pulse surveys, comprehensive annual questionnaires, or different approaches are up for debate, with various pros and cons depending on what’s required for the organisation. Is fast turnaround, regular updates on key issues a priority, or a more in-depth understanding across a range of topics, or something in between?
Online approaches are great – relatively low costs and easy to complete for participants, but are other techniques required, such as focus groups, online panels, and in-depth interviews, going to be useful to help? For harder audiences or senior stakeholders, telephone outreach/interviewing may be more appropriate.
Sorting through the choices
Working out what’s required, reviewing objectives and linking those to methodologies can be made a lot easier with a partner who can work with a client team to assess and develop what is required.
So, getting the advice of an expert who can guide, be a sounding board, or provide different options, based on finding solutions for a range of clients and their issues, can smooth out the decision-making and ensure a robust process is implemented.
Novel techniques: Useful or ‘shiny new toys’
It can be quite interesting to experiment with new techniques, try brand new ideas, and add ‘AI’ into all sorts of aspects of the feedback process, but making this useful isn’t always clear.
Sometimes (often?), the bright and shiny new idea doesn’t quite live up to expectations, and on reflection, the approaches that have been tried and tested over a long period of time, can actually be the best solution. And novelty can come with a price, whether financial or in terms of resources, that creates disappointment when the advantage doesn’t deliver against expectations.
Practicality is an important factor that needs to be considered and weighed with the potential benefit.
Time to move then
Some of the key advantages of the annual survey:
- Expectations are for a more comprehensive survey, so participants are not surprised how long it takes.
- With many organisations seeking to understand issues such as diversity in more detail, additional demographic information can be asked and used to track specific groups who may experience disadvantage.
- More scope to dig into issues with additional routed questions.
For shorter pulse surveys:
- More focused on a few key topics.
- Short and easy to complete – potential to drive more participation where this is an issue.
- A temperature check on matters of concern.
Don’t miss the opportunity to combine approaches, with a rotation of pulse/full surveys, covering the requirements for a more detailed understanding and those for an occasional check on participant concerns and how implemented actions are working.
The combination of techniques, as appropriate, enhances the value of the feedback and provides clarity on the issues and impact of change.
Why getting it right matters
Budgets, time, and resources are tight, and will continue to be so – public sector bodies must squeeze the most value from all activities, including stakeholder and staff surveys. Value comes from obtaining useful data that informs strategy and decision-making, leading to positive actions that result in benefits for the organisation’s users.
Leaders use good quality data to make better decisions, increasing their success within their organisations and in their areas of expertise.
Open door, sounding board
At Survey Solutions, we explore our clients’ requirements, ensure that the projects we partner with are successful, deliver on objectives, and provide valuable insights and analysis of the most essential information.
In addition to presenting the findings and allowing senior leaders to directly ask questions of the lead researcher, we provide easy-to-use yet sophisticated analysis tools that enable clients to delve directly into their data.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss with existing or potential clients what they hope to achieve and offer solutions or advice on how projects can be structured. If you would like to discuss ideas or receive suggestions on methodological strengths and weaknesses, please feel free to get in touch.
About Survey Solutions
Survey Solutions helps organisations stay connected with their staff and stakeholders through a range of survey approaches, from extensive annual surveys to smaller topic or pulse surveys. We can also help with easy 360 feedback collection and analysis when surveys are not the right approach.
- Designed to your specification by expert researchers.
- Questions relevant to your organisation.
- A full range of topics, including leadership, wellbeing, diversity, and communications.
- Customised topics based on specific concerns.
- The whole process is delivered and managed for you.
- Analysis and reporting of results by our experts, along with direct access to the data.
- Fully supported from start to finish, and beyond.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
