An employee pulse survey is a great way for HR to stay on top of how employees are feeling.
An employee pulse survey is a brief questionnaire that is regularly sent out to employees, typically on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.
What is the purpose of an employee pulse survey?
The main purpose of conducting an employee pulse survey may differ among organizations, but it typically revolves around one or more of the following aspects:
1. Monitoring employee satisfaction and morale
One effective way to gauge employee satisfaction and morale is by asking a few simple questions. This can provide insights into how employees feel about their work and the organization.
2. Identifying and addressing issues early on
Conducting a pulse survey allows for early detection of potential issues, such as a dip in morale or specific problems within a department.
3. Making informed decisions
By conducting an employee pulse survey, you can gauge people’s opinions on various aspects, such as new initiatives or upcoming policy changes, fostering engagement and encouraging active participation.
4. Improving employer-employee communication
If used correctly, pulse surveys can contribute to better employer-employee communication.
Employee pulse survey vs. employee survey
Employee pulse surveys and ‘regular’ employee surveys are often used interchangeably, but they do have distinct characteristics. Let’s explore the key differences between the two to better understand their purpose and benefits:
Employee pulse surveys and ‘regular’ employee surveys are often used interchangeably, but they do have distinct characteristics. Let’s explore the key differences between the two to better understand their purpose and benefits:
- Frequency: The biggest difference between the two is the frequency with which they are conducted. A traditional employee survey tends to be sent out once or twice a year, whereas a pulse survey is done quarterly, monthly, or even weekly.
- Length: An employee pulse survey is short; the general rule of thumb is that the more frequent the survey, the shorter it should be. For instance, a monthly survey consists of around 10 to 15 questions.
- Topic: As pulse surveys are shorter, they can focus on one specific topic, such as an upcoming policy change, employee satisfaction, or communication. An annual survey covers various topics, including engagement, company culture, personal growth, employee experience, and satisfaction.
- Actionability: A pulse survey can provide more immediate and actionable insights for organizations to make quick changes and improvements. Conversely, a traditional employee survey gives a more comprehensive picture of the state of employee engagement in a company, thus informing more long-term strategies and initiatives.
Checklist: Employee pulse survey best practices
Let’s take a look at six best practices HR practitioners can use as a guide when creating and implementing an employee pulse survey.
☐ Keep your survey short. As a rule of thumb, don’t ask more than 10 to 15 questions.
☐ Decide what (aspect of employee engagement) you want to focus on. This can be anything from employee experience and personal growth to company culture, a recent work-from-home policy change, and everything in between.
☐ Communicate. Communicating with employees before, during, and after the survey is crucial. Why and how are you conducting the survey, what will you use the results for, and how and where will the employee pulse survey results be shared?
☐ Act! Survey fatigue happens when people realize nothing is being done with their feedback. Before sending out the next survey, make sure that action has been taken based on the results from the previous pulse survey.
☐ Align with business goals. Where possible, you want your employee pulse survey’s objective to align with the organization’s business goals. For example, if the company wants to improve employee innovation and collaboration, you can pulse employees about how they feel about their creativity, ideas, and teamwork.
☐ Consider using an employee pulse survey tool. Depending on the size of your organization and the frequency of the pulse surveys you want to conduct, using a survey tool might be something to consider. We’ll share some examples of pulse survey tools later in this article.
☐ Decide what (aspect of employee engagement) you want to focus on. This can be anything from employee experience and personal growth to company culture, a recent work-from-home policy change, and everything in between.
☐ Communicate. Communicating with employees before, during, and after the survey is crucial. Why and how are you conducting the survey, what will you use the results for, and how and where will the employee pulse survey results be shared?
☐ Act! Survey fatigue happens when people realize nothing is being done with their feedback. Before sending out the next survey, make sure that action has been taken based on the results from the previous pulse survey.
☐ Align with business goals. Where possible, you want your employee pulse survey’s objective to align with the organization’s business goals. For example, if the company wants to improve employee innovation and collaboration, you can pulse employees about how they feel about their creativity, ideas, and teamwork.
☐ Consider using an employee pulse survey tool. Depending on the size of your organization and the frequency of the pulse surveys you want to conduct, using a survey tool might be something to consider. We’ll share some examples of pulse survey tools later in this article.
The structure of an employee pulse survey
Introduction
Give a brief background on the purpose of the employee pulse survey. Let people know how much time filling out the survey will take.
Engagement and satisfaction
Ask 1 or 2 questions to measure overall engagement and satisfaction at the company. A 1 to 5 rating scale is often used for this type of question.
Work experience
Ask 3 – 5 questions about key aspects of the employee experience – manager relationship, job satisfaction, collaboration, resources, etc. You can work with rating scales here as well.
Priorities and initiatives
Ask 1 or 2 questions about current organizational priorities like strategy rollout, new policies, initiatives, etc.
Previous survey
Include 1 or 2 questions about the actions taken based on feedback from your previous pulse survey.
Demographics
Include 1 or 2 questions on department, location, tenure, etc.
Open-ended feedback
Include one open-ended question like “What do you like most about working here?” or “What suggestions do you have for improvement?”
Closing
Thank employees for participating. Let them know when and where they will be able to consult the employee pulse survey results.
Frequency
The more frequent the survey, the lower the amount of questions you should ask. For instance:
• A survey every other week: 3 – 5 questions.
• A monthly survey: 10 – 15 questions.
• A quarterly survey: 15 – 20 questions.
• A bi-annual survey: 20 – 30 questions.
Give a brief background on the purpose of the employee pulse survey. Let people know how much time filling out the survey will take.
Engagement and satisfaction
Ask 1 or 2 questions to measure overall engagement and satisfaction at the company. A 1 to 5 rating scale is often used for this type of question.
Work experience
Ask 3 – 5 questions about key aspects of the employee experience – manager relationship, job satisfaction, collaboration, resources, etc. You can work with rating scales here as well.
Priorities and initiatives
Ask 1 or 2 questions about current organizational priorities like strategy rollout, new policies, initiatives, etc.
Previous survey
Include 1 or 2 questions about the actions taken based on feedback from your previous pulse survey.
Demographics
Include 1 or 2 questions on department, location, tenure, etc.
Open-ended feedback
Include one open-ended question like “What do you like most about working here?” or “What suggestions do you have for improvement?”
Closing
Thank employees for participating. Let them know when and where they will be able to consult the employee pulse survey results.
Frequency
The more frequent the survey, the lower the amount of questions you should ask. For instance:
• A survey every other week: 3 – 5 questions.
• A monthly survey: 10 – 15 questions.
• A quarterly survey: 15 – 20 questions.
• A bi-annual survey: 20 – 30 questions.
Employee pulse survey questions
Overall engagement and satisfaction
1. On a scale of 1 to 5, how happy are you with your job?
2. On a scale of 1 to 5, how likely are you to recommend our company as a great place to work?
Work experience
3. On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the opportunities to learn and grow in your role?
4. I feel comfortable sharing my opinion with my manager, even if it differs from their opinion.
5. I feel that I belong among my peers and colleagues.
6. I have all the resources I need to perform well and be successful in my role.
Priorities and initiatives
7. On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with our recently issued generative AI policy for using ChatGPT at work?
8. I know who or where to go with questions about our organization’s new generative AI policy.
Previous survey
9. I know where I can consult the employee pulse survey results from the survey that was held a month ago.
10. On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the changes that have been made based on the results from our previous employee pulse survey?
1. On a scale of 1 to 5, how happy are you with your job?
2. On a scale of 1 to 5, how likely are you to recommend our company as a great place to work?
Work experience
3. On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the opportunities to learn and grow in your role?
4. I feel comfortable sharing my opinion with my manager, even if it differs from their opinion.
5. I feel that I belong among my peers and colleagues.
6. I have all the resources I need to perform well and be successful in my role.
Priorities and initiatives
7. On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with our recently issued generative AI policy for using ChatGPT at work?
8. I know who or where to go with questions about our organization’s new generative AI policy.
Previous survey
9. I know where I can consult the employee pulse survey results from the survey that was held a month ago.
10. On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the changes that have been made based on the results from our previous employee pulse survey?
Digital suggestion box
11. What ideas or suggestions do you have for us to make our company an even better place to work?
11. What ideas or suggestions do you have for us to make our company an even better place to work?
👉🏻 Еmployee pulse survey example
The template provides a short, categorized list of questions that can be used for an employee pulse survey.
Questions can be tailored to any relevant topics you want to take your employees’ pulse on. Click on the button to download your free employee pulse survey template and customize it according to your specific needs.
Questions can be tailored to any relevant topics you want to take your employees’ pulse on. Click on the button to download your free employee pulse survey template and customize it according to your specific needs.
Employee pulse survey tools
When used correctly, an employee pulse survey can be a great tool to stay on top of employee sentiment regarding virtually any aspect of the organization and its functioning.
How to prepare for pulse surveys
Take a course at Mike Pritula ACADEMY - Conducting company surveys is your opportunity to improve HR practices and design an employee experience that improves productivity, talent retention and, ultimately, the work environment. And for my part, I'll give you the tools you need and together we'll practice using them.
Follow the link 👉🏻 to explore the programme.
Follow the link 👉🏻 to explore the programme.
