What is a pulse survey?

Here are some examples of topics that can be found on pulse surveys:

• Company values

• Employee work satisfaction

• Recent changes to a company or its work environment

• Safety

• Communication and engagement

• Diversity and inclusion

• Company training

• Employee benefits

• Professional development opportunities within a company

• Leadership approval

• Overall company performance

Pulse surveys work best when they concern areas of improvement or development for a company. Pulse surveys can also be extremely targeted and only get sent to relevant teams, departments, or individual professionals that can have an impact on any changes, developments, or improvements that a company wants to make.

The data extracted from pulse surveys can be extremely valuable to employers. This information can act as a guide on how to best use resources and ideas to implement changes that will benefit employees and the company as a whole. Here are some more tips on how to best use pulse surveys:

• Questions for pulse surveys

  Pulse surveys can be designed in a few different ways, depending on the specific needs of the employer. The questions themselves can cover whatever the employer chooses but they should fit the main objective of the survey. They can use multiple-choice questions along with rating scales, or questions that allow employees to provide a written and detailed response.

• Designing a pulse survey

  As pulse surveys are often used multiple times a year by employers, they work best when they are short and targeted. The purpose of the survey and the specific employee opinions employers want to collect need to be clear before creating one. Too many questions can muddy the objective. Pulse surveys are normally between five and 10 questions long.

• Keep pulse surveys on the shorter side

  As was just touched on, pulse surveys should be concise and short. The survey should not go over 15 questions, and if possible, should be in the five to 10-question range. Longer surveys will typically make employees tired of doing them, especially if the employer is giving them often. Longer surveys also make it more difficult to take in and analyze key data.

• Communicate the purpose with employees

  Prior to distributing pulse surveys, employers should inform employees about the purpose of the survey. Employees respond best to these when they are kept in the loop.