The culture of your workplace is a crucial element to its success. A strong culture can be a dealbreaker in your organization, ranging from increased productivity to greater profitability.
As a leader, it would only make sense to want these results at our fingertips. But how?
A culture survey is a quick and efficient tool to guide your decision-making and understand the current state of your workplace. The challenge to using culture surveys is knowing how frequently to administer them, and finding the right balance between conducting culture surveys too frequently and not often enough. Administering culture surveys too frequently can lead to employee survey fatigue, resulting in lower participation rates and possibly skewed results. On the other hand, waiting too long between surveys may cause you to miss out on valuable insights to help improve your workplace culture promptly.
3 Key takeaways you need to know
- The frequency of administering culture surveys is crucial.
- Culture surveys serve as valuable tools for guiding decision-making within an organization.
- Culture surveys offer a quick and efficient means to assess the pulse of an organization’s culture.
Why Culture Surveys Matter
Cultural surveys can be your pathway to improving your organization. They can help you achieve results in several ways.
1. Culture data helps leaders make better decisions.
There are several ways to collect data from your team. There are in-person interviews, casual conversations, and town halls, and employee reviews. These meetings generally have the same intent: to gain better knowledge and improve workplace culture. Culture surveys give you valuable information about your organization’s efficiencies and what needs work. They provide helpful information about investing your energy and resources to improve your team.
2. Surveys help create a strong culture.
Surveys give employees an open forum to share their opinions and ideas for improvement without fear of repercussions. This open and honest feedback can help foster a sense of trust and transparency within the organization, which are critical elements in building a solid company culture. You can also experiment with anonymous culture surveys until your employees gain more buy-in and trust.
3. Culture surveys improve performance.
When you include employees in the decision-making process, it drives engagement and productivity. Employees can take ownership of their roles and contribute to the organization’s success. Routine surveys give you instant results about the pulse of your organization. Many employees want to work in a supportive environment where they are treated with respect and provided with the tools to succeed.
4. Culture surveys build trust and transparency.
When employees feel that their opinions are valued and listened to, trust in the organization is strengthened. Increased transparency allows employees to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, concerns, and ideas. Transparent communication from leadership fosters a sense of unity and openness within the company, resulting in better collaboration and teamwork. By conducting culture surveys, you demonstrate your commitment to building a culture based on trust and transparency, which ultimately drives employee satisfaction and retention.
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Planning your culture survey
If you are new to running a culture survey, or you’re not getting the desired results, there are some best practices to help:
1. Set clear goals
What are you trying to accomplish with your survey? It should focus on the long and short-term goals of the company. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, as it takes time to change culture. Focus on steady and consistent progress.
2. Measure all areas impacting culture
Think about all the components impacting your company’s culture. The work environment, communication, leadership style, extrinsic factors, work process, values, and policies are all factors that contribute to a strong company culture. Your questions should center around various topics to get the most thorough and accurate representation of your company’s culture.
3. Simplify your questions
When conducting culture surveys, the questions you ask can significantly impact the quality of responses you receive. Ask clear and concise questions to get honest and thoughtful employee feedback. The surveys should not be overwhelming to finish, but not too short as your goal is to get valuable information. Also, stay clear of jargon or complex language unfamiliar to your audience. A better user experience can help you get more consistent and reliable results.
Organizational Culture Questions to Get You Started
If you are lost on where to begin, here are some questions to get you started.
- Using a one to ten scale, how much do you agree with this statement: The company recognizes and celebrates employee success.
- What would you like to change about the company?
- Using a one to ten scale, how much do you agree with this statement: My supervisor communicates the goals and objectives?
- What processes would you like to improve upon for increased employee well-being?
If you’re looking for more insight on culture related survey questions, you can check out our article on those here.
You can always experiment with different questions to determine how your staff responds. Again, workplace culture is constantly evolving, meaning your focus for this month will likely change next month.
Leverage employee feedback in your HR strategy
Get detailed insights and AI-powered recommendations with eNPS surveys and employee surveys sent through Peoplelytics.
How Often Should You Run Culture Surveys?
Now that you know the impact of culture surveys and how to get them started, a critical piece to their success is how frequently you deliver them. The frequency at which these surveys should be conducted is a point of contention. Some argue for quarterly surveys to keep abreast of any shifts in organizational culture. In contrast, others advocate for biannual or annual surveys to allow time for substantial changes to take effect.
Ultimately, the frequency of running culture surveys depends on the organization’s specific needs and goals. More frequent surveys may be necessary to capture real-time feedback for fast-paced industries where changes occur rapidly. Conversely, organizations with stable cultures might opt for less frequent surveys to avoid employee survey fatigue.
The key is finding a balance that ensures regular feedback without overwhelming employees with constant survey requests. By understanding their unique organizational rhythm and objectives, companies can determine how often they should run culture surveys to drive meaningful change and improve workplace culture.
FAQs on Running Culture Survey’s
If you are new to culture surveys or have run them before with no success, here are some answers to frequently asked questions.
How do I know if the frequency of my culture survey is efficient?
A great way to determine the effectiveness of your culture survey is to monitor response rates. A decline in participation is a sign you are surveying too much, or your employees don’t see the value of doing them. Also, consider aligning survey frequency with key organizational events or milestones to ensure relevancy and maximize engagement. Culture surveys are for promoting positive change, not data collection.
How do I achieve a higher response rate?
Once you have achieved the sweet spot for culture survey delivery, you’ll want to focus on getting maximum participation. You can achieve better results by explaining the purpose to your employees and what you hope to achieve. Transparency from leadership to employees builds trust and greater participation in surveys.
Will running more culture surveys improve retention?
Routine culture surveys create an inclusive and supportive work environment. Once employees feel valued, they are more likely to stay with the organization longer. You can also use results from these surveys at the front end of hiring. You can identify what employees want from a prospective employer. The onboarding experience for new hires will improve, and you’ll retain more employees.
Should culture surveys be run continuously?
It’s not going to hurt by having routine culture surveys. If your employees are happy, you have limited turnover and high production levels, you may not need them as often. However, great organizations are proactive and regularly assess the needs of their staff.
Let’s Recap
Culture surveys are a powerful tool for organizations seeking to enhance their workplace environment and drive positive change. By collecting valuable data, fostering open communication, and promoting transparency, culture surveys enable leaders to make informed decisions, strengthen company culture, improve performance, and build trust among employees.
To maximize the impact of culture surveys, it is essential to set clear goals, measure all areas influencing culture, simplify survey questions, and adapt the frequency of surveys to meet organizational needs. By embracing culture surveys as a continuous process that evolves with the organization, companies can create a supportive and engaging work environment that enhances employee satisfaction, retention, and overall success.
Interested in launching your first culture survey? Check out our free demo, here!
