Use of Surveys as OD Interventions

1. Use of Surveys as OD Interventions 8/19/04 Presentation to ASTD by Mike Plummer Plummer & Associates, www.PlummerHR.com mplummer@comcast.net, 904-223-5505

2. History of use of surveys • Came into wide use in the 1920s for public opinion, political views, and market research • In 1938, Sears began formal employee surveys which continue today • Used extensively in WW II by US Government to seek opinions from civilians and the military • 1970s – shift from job-specific to climate studies • 1980s – shift to participative management issues • 1990s – linkage to co. strategies such as quality, customer satisfaction, and HR strategies

4. Comparison of various data gathering methods8/04 ASTD Minisurvey Rankings (1=best, 4=poorest)

5. Key Uses of Surveys • Organization climate diagnosis • Employee input on areas of concern • Monitor long-term trends • Evaluate program impacts • Input for decisions or meetings • Organization behavior research • Support organization change efforts

6. Typical Sr. Mgmt Questions about Proposed Employee Survey • Why do the survey? • Cost ? • Is this the right time? • Survey question set? • How will confidentiality & security be ensured? • Feedback and action planning process? • How should we position the survey? • What is my role?

7. Survey process Phase Planning & Design I Administration II III Data Analysis Feedback, Interpretation Feedback, interpretation IV V Action Planning, Follow-Through Time 

8. Typical Survey Process Timeline • Planning & Design 1 to 3 weeks • Administration 1 to 3 • Analysis & reports 1 to 2 Subtotal 3 to 8 ____________________________ • Interpretation & Action Planning - 1 to 3 month process best but stuff happens

9. Sample Size vs. Population Size(Assumes a 95% level of confidence) Source: Rea & Parker, (1992). Designing Survey Research, Josey Bass

10. Typical Employee Survey Dimensions

11. Hierarchy of Survey Questions • Higher level • Customer & quality focus, confidence in sr. mgmt, value diversity, org. growth & success, competitive bus. strategy, etc. • Middle level • Personal growth, communication channels, cooperation between teams, pride in org, etc • Basic needs • Pay & benefits, supervisor, working conditions, recognition, feedback, training, fair treatment, etc

12. Gallup Group “Big 7” Questions • I know what is expected of me at work. • I have the materials and equipment I need to do my job right. • I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. • I have received recognition for good work in the last 7 days. • My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person. • Someone at work encourages my development. • At work, my opinions seem to count. Source: First, Break all the Rules, Buckingham & Coffman, 1999

13. Survey Question Do’s • Let initial planning with mgmt & focus groups guide topic and question selection • Keep vocabulary simple, familiar • One concept per question • Positive wording usually best • Short sentences, active voice • Spelling must be impeccably correct

14. Question Do’s, cont. • 5-point scale usually best (i.e., very dissatisfied to very satisfied) • Put overall satisfaction near front • Put controversial questions near the front • Place demographics at end of survey

15. Rule of Thumb Question Test If employee answers to the question are unfavorable, will you be able to use their responses to do something? If no, consider dropping the question.

16. Survey Success Factors • Commitment to take action on survey results • Clear and targeted questions • Support purpose of survey • If you can’t figure out how you would use results from a question, don’t ask it. • Agreed upon approach for dealing with issue of confidentiality and security • Appropriate data analysis and feedback • Good communications throughout process

17. Survey Derailer Factors • Lack of support from leadership in word or deed, especially on commitment to use the data for action planning • Participants not confident that their identity will be protected • Poor survey design, sloppy execution, shoddy analysis, misguided interpretation and application of results

18. Limited Scope Employee Survey • 150 employees • Union issues around trust • Confidentiality critical • 10-question, paper survey plus 3 demographics • Purpose: base line diagnosis of organization • Organization “not ready for online approach or for open-ended comments”

19. 800-Person Division of Fortune 500 Company • Issues with outsourcing jobs & relocation • 5 demographic categories • Separate reports for 25 depts. & 4 groups • 8 categories with 90 total questions • 3 open-ended questions = 200 pages of comments! • What do you appreciate most about our company? • How could we do better at living our values? • Suggestions to improve our company?

20. Town Government • 250 employees • 9 departments • First ever employee opinion survey • Done concurrently with 360/coaching process for execs – link two processes • Doing well but wanted a comprehensive organization diagnostic survey

21. High School Parents Survey • 1500 students • Advisory council wanted parent input • Council chair quality guru from large company • 2001 school mailed a survey that yielded only 20 responses with limited information • 2004 web survey yielded 160 responses with “extensive, helpful information”

22. Hot Issue Minisurvey • 800-home prestigious country club • Membership survey conducted annually • Wanted short online survey focused on two “hot” issues • Dress code in various areas of Clubhouse • Type of New Year’s Eve event

23. Key Issues In Survey Process • Organization climate/issues/ needs • Confidentiality • Security • How long to leave survey open & extent of f/u? • Data analysis, including content analysis of verbatim comments • Feedback process for survey results • Action planning process

24. Getting Benchmarking Data • Not an easy task but a useful one • Trading comparisons of specific items with other companies • Consultant’s results with other clients • Usually done in a generic way • Survey giants such as the Mayflower Group and Gallup (big $’s, though)

25. Overall Job Satisfaction Benchmark A 1998 Gallup poll indicated that: • 72% of Americans ratedtheir job satisfaction a 4 or 5 (5=extremely satisfied) Source: J.L. Seglin, “Americans at Work,” INC., June 1998, pp. 91-94.

26. Favorable Benchmark Rule of Thumb(Favorable = top 2 ratings on 5 point scale) • Strength indication • Favorable ratings in 67% to 80% range • Real strength indication • Favorable ratings over 80%

27. Unfavorable Rating Rule of Thumb(Unfavorable = bottom 2 ratings on 5 point scale) • Area for improvement • Unfavorable ratings in 25% to 34% range • Area for immediate attention • Unfavorable ratings over 35%

28. Neutral Ratings (Neutral = middle rating on 5-point scale) • View neutral ratings as an opportunity to move opinions to favorable • may not take as much effort as unfavorable • Greater than 1/3 neutral ratings may indicate that this item is not important • Year-over-year shifts in neutral ratings can indicate trends

29. Job Satisfaction Ratings • Single global rating vs. summation score • Global rating: all things considered, how satisfied are you with your job? • Summation score: sum of ratings on various job facets • Research indicates that global rating is as valid as summation score • Some component ratings may be low even with high overall rating

30. Ways to Increase Response • Most influential person introduces survey • Pre-announce through company newsletters, intranet sites, etc • Managers remind employees, often • Follow-up during the survey • Publish % participation by dept, incentives • And, of course, a well designed survey

31. Analysis • Simple count/% chart useful starting point • Look at overall ratings, then “dig” into data and comments looking for support & patterns • Run cross tabulations • Look for significant differences by demographics • Theme comment questions • Special analysis on areas of key interest

32. Action Planning Tips • Start with a well organized report packagewith an executive summary • Develop/communicate/implement action planning process • Could range from simply distributing reports to facilitated action planning sessions • Communicate improvement steps taken

33. Online survey software • I have: • SNAP by Mercator -- high analysis/presentation capabilities ($3000) • Survey Solutions by Perseus – high question type capabilities ($1000) • Tradeoffs • Cost • Capabilities • Learning curve • How often used • Good starting place: surveymonkey.com • Web based subscription survey service • Site provides links to major survey software providers

34. Future Trends with Surveys • Increased integration of survey software into company intranets • Segmented application survey packages, ie, associations, golf courses, etc. • Survey input from PDAs and cell phones • Sophicated content analysis tools for comments • Interactive polling during meetings