Employee surveys: How, why and when to conduct them

Market research expert Chris Gwinner shares his secrets on the right way to do employee surveys

Most employee communication campaigns start with research—and for many companies that means employee surveys. But response rates are traditionally dismal. Infosurv, an Atlanta-based market research firm that specializes in employee surveys, believes its online program has solved that challenge.

“Infosurv online employee survey response rates typically range from 80 percent to 95 percent, well above industry averages,” says senior project manager Chris Gwinner. “Paper or print surveys have response rates at half or even less than half of these figures.”

Indeed, Infosurv’s model is attracting clients like Accenture, Merck and MasterCard. The firm recently conducted five online employee surveys for various divisions within Turner broadcasting; the majority of response rates were 84 percent or higher. Ragan.com asked Gwinner to share the company’s secrets.

Why is employee satisfaction something that every company should be measuring?