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Survey Construct.

Developing the questions, the scoring algorithm and organizing the questions are all separate parts of creating an employee survey. At Entec we followed the principle that question organization drives the effectiveness of the analyses phase. Therefore if we wanted the analyses phase to lead clearly to recommendations for follow up implementation, the questions had to be organized in a way that reflects the outcome we were seeking. This thinking was responsible for the employee engagement modeling that Entec conducted as a first step in the survey design process. When the modeling was completed, the survey questions were placed inside the appropriate parts of the model. The section on Reliability and Validity below describes this process in more detail. The fact remains that there is a particular ordering to the questions. This ordering drives the analysis which in turn allows us to provide clear recommendations for follow up implementation.

Survey Analysis.

1. The nature of the survey analyses is just as important as the questions that are asked. The survey analysis is more than the provision of percentages. The analysis must provide an interpretation of the statistics. For example, how do the answers from one question or set of questions relate to the answers of another question or set of questions? Some questions are much more important than other questions as they relate to employee motivation and performance.
2. For example, in one company, the statement “There is little to no office politics and gossip” statistically linked with the following leadership statements: “Takes appropriate action with people who under perform”, “Resolves conflicts fairly and appropriately” and “Leads by example and action”. This type of analysis identified other leadership behaviors that appeared over and over again as being behaviors that were important to the culture of this particular organization. The analysis led to identifying priority leadership behaviors that had the greatest impact on best practices. Therefore the HR department had a concise set of behaviors that needed to be coached on a priority basis. The survey report also provided an evaluation of how well all those in the company with supervisory responsibility rated against these behaviors.
3. These same statements do not necessarily link with the same behaviors in all organizations. They vary somewhat depending on the company’s culture. Considering the example of office politics, research has shown that a high level of office gossip is typically associated with a toxic workplace. In this example, this type of analysis gives the company the knowledge and comfort that they are pursuing the right actions to minimize gossip and therefore improve performance.

Reliability and Validity.

Anyone can gather questions and create a survey. However this raises a question. How will you know that the questions are valid and reliable? In other words, if an organization creates its own survey, do they have the internal skills and are they prepared to conduct the necessary reliability and validity testing to ensure the survey will produce meaning results.

Nine years ago Entec Corporation spent one whole year developing a series of surveys. The process involved a number of steps. The first step was assembling an eclectic group of professionals comprising expertise in strategic management, organizational development, leadership, psychiatry and behavioural psychology. This group developed models and questions based on these models. These were tested with many focus groups in several business sectors and than pilot tested. Reliability analyses were conducted. Principle component analyses were conducted. The various surveys were pilot tested and analyzed again and the surveys amended. This iterative process continued and continues to this day in order to ensure the clients receive surveys that will produce the best possible results.

Conclusions.