Guide to running a survey

people

Careful preparation is required for maximising employee engagement with your survey and ensuring it runs smoothly.

How many employees do I need to survey?

All employees should complete the HSE Work Positive^CIsurvey. To ensure that confidentiality is maintained all teams undertaking WPCI must have more than five staff. If your team is less than 5, then you have two options;

Join with another team within your organisational structure to ensure confidentiality of responses are maintained.
Use the risk assessment tool in the HSE’s policy for the “Prevention and Management of Stress in the Workplace”.

Survey timing

It is important to identify what is happening in the “world” of your employees at the time you want to launch the survey. It is recommended that you:

Allow surveys to be completed during work time – this has been shown to improve response rates.
Consider leave arrangements to ensure maximum response rates etc.
Where possible, try to pick a time that you know your employees are not loaded with other deadlines that may impact their willingness to participate

For how long should the survey be open?

We recommend keeping a survey open for approximately three weeks, allowing enough time for employees to access the survey without rushing them, while at the same time not giving them too much time to put off taking the survey.

Pre-survey communications

The main purpose of a pre-survey communication is to prepare the organisation and its internal communications network for the launch, distribution and follow-up of the survey tool. Identify the different communication methods you will use to tell employees that an important survey is coming soon. Try to use as many diverse methods of communication as possible to ensure maximum employee awareness (e.g. posters, debriefings, intranet, e-zines, newsletters, e-mail, pay-slip notes and/or verbal announcements). Identify the critical statements you will make in the pre-survey announcement. Remember that you want staff to be highly motivated to participate. However you choose to word your pre-survey announcement, it is important that you explain to employees the reasons for the survey, including:

how and when employees will receive a questionnaire;
why they should participate;
outline the confidential nature of survey;
how and when employees will receive feedback on the survey’s results;
how actions will be taken in response to the survey’s findings.

For your convenience, we have provided you with a template that can be adapted for use, see below;

Communication of the survey requirements:

Remember to include in your key communication messages:

Your organisation is committed to improving employee wellbeing
The participation of all employees is essential to ensure all views are represented.

Pre-survey announcement template:

[Organisation name]’s Survey

Date 20XX

[Department/Service name] is undertaking a risk assessment/survey for work related stress called “HSE Work Positive^CI”. This survey covers the following areas;

workplace stressors,
critical incident exposure in the workplace.
employee psychological wellbeing,
workplace safety and health and
physical wellbeing and health promotion

The survey questionnaire provides an opportunity for all employees to have a say on their experiences of work, with the aim of improving any areas which the survey highlights as potential sources of risk, whilst building on the things we do well.

The survey will run between <date> and <date>. Employees will be emailed a survey invitation, which will direct you to the wellbeing survey website for completion of the questionnaire. The questionnaire is simple and straightforward, and will take approximately 20 minutes for you to complete.

Your participation in the survey, together with your responses, are completely confidential. Your individual responses are completely anonymous and cannot be accessed by anyone within the HSE. All responses will be merged to form a statistical report to help your Manager, the HSE and its funded agencies identify ways to improve your health and wellbeing.

Once the survey is over, the department or service-wide results will be communicated to you via your Line Management structure.

Your participation is greatly appreciated! If you have any questions regarding this survey or require further information, please contact: <FULL NAME and CONTACT DETAILS>

We thank you for your support and look forward to your participation in the wellbeing survey.

Survey invitations

HSE Work positive^CI survey invitations need to include important information such as the reasons for the survey, the confidentiality of results, what management intends to do with the data, and why it is important for staff to participate. Some points to consider:

Personalise the invitation if possible (e.g. print the sender’s signature);
Make the introductory statement short and clear;
Place the hyperlink to the survey with blank lines above and below (if using email);
Include the support contact information for your department/service (i.e. EAP/CI supports etc.);
Give an estimate of survey completion time;
Keep the invitation short and use text only;
Provide a deadline for completion of the survey.

For your convenience, we have provided you with a template that can be adapted for use, see below;

Survey invite template:

Dear Colleague,

Work related stress can affect anyone of us and as part of our proactive risk management process we require your participation in the HSE Work Positive^CIsurvey. The purpose of this survey is to obtain your opinions about what it is like to work in our organisation in order to improve your working environment and experiences as appropriate.

The survey will take approximately 20 minutes for you to complete. Please take the time to answer these questions carefully and honestly, as it is only with your help that we can create a healthier and safer workplace for all staff.

The survey is completed anonymously and all individual responses will be kept strictly confidential. No individual results will be provided to a Manager or any person within the HSE or Voluntary Organisation. Please click on the link that follows and complete the questionnaire no later than [INSERT DATE].

***SURVEY LINK***

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further queries or should you require any assistance in completing the survey.

Thank you in advance for participating.

Regards,

Manager.

Sending survey reminders

Sending survey completion reminders is one of the most effective ways to increase response rates. Carefully planned and managed survey reminders can dramatically improve employee engagement. As with invitations, it is essential to pay attention to the layout and wording of your reminders:

Change the reminder’s subject line so that it is not identical to the invitation (or previous reminders).
Create a sense of urgency within the subject line and body of the reminder.
Remind employees of the purpose of the survey.
Remind employees of the value of the survey.
Give an estimate of survey completion time.
Remind employees that their responses will be anonymous (where applicable).

Sending two or three reminders is considered to be best practice. Although sending survey reminders is one of the most effective ways to boost response rates, it is important not to send too many.

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