Q1.   How can employee surveys improve our company’s bottom line?

Q2.  What should consultants and project managers use surveys?

Q3.  What is your “survey philosophy”?

Q4.  Why are your service fees lower than most other survey firms?

Q5.  What does a survey do for an organization that any observant manager can’t do?

Q6.  In a survey, how “small” is a small group?

Q7.  You say results are returned quickly…how quickly?

Q8.  What’s your custom questionnaire design process?

Q9.  What’s the biggest mistake people make when using surveys?

Q10. What other survey questions are most often asked?

Q11. What are some of the industries you’ve created surveys for?

Q12. What survey types do you have experience designing?

Q13. What’s the most useful book you’ve read on surveys?

Q14. What does “statistically significant” mean and is it important?

Q. How can employee surveys improve our company’s bottom line?

A. A well-designed employee survey will show you want actions to take in order to:

• Reduce turnover
• Improve retention
• Increase employee satisfaction
• Increase employee engagement
• Develop executives
• Streamline appraisals
• Expand IT services
• Improve HR planning
• Reintegrate expatriates
• Eliminate inefficiencies

Q. I’ve heard you talk about consultants and project managers using surveys, but why? What do they get out of it?

A. Consultants and project managers do their best work when they have data for planning and decision-making. Surveys ensure they have the right “people data.” Plus, a good survey grabs the attention of the company’s employees. People get a kick out of being asked, “What’s it like working here?” Knowing they are a part of the process to improve their workplace gives employees a buy-in, which supports the project, and ultimately the company’s profitability.

Q. What is your “survey philosophy”?

A. John Stuart Mill said it best: “The only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject is by hearing what can be said about it by persons of every variety of opinion, and studying all modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind.” That said, the best surveys make use of the ideas and experience of a broad range of people in the organization. Involving insiders is vital to a solid, robust survey, the foundation for making the right decisions.

Q. Why are your service fees so much lower than most other survey firms?

A. Three reasons:

1. My overhead is lower. Staff and equipment cost money – which have to be included in client fees. I don’t have a staff – I’m the only one here. After 30+ years in the business, I don’t need a team to support my efforts. I know what needs to be done and I deliver, without having to charge you for an office and assistants.
2. My reports are streamlined. A lot of data will be collected during your survey, but only a small portion of that data contains the answers you need. So, I don’t deliver a giant binder of data. Instead, you’ll receive streamlined, easy-to-interpret reports that allow you to start implementing changes right away. You only pay for what I report.
3. I don’t waste your time or money. If your managers have to plow through a huge binder of figures to analyze the survey data, you’re going to be paying a lot more than necessary to arrive at the answers you need.

Q. In general, what does a survey do for an organization that any observant manager can’t do?

A. A well-designed survey does four things for a client company:

1. It shows where the greatest pain exists
2. It shows where little or no pain exists
3. It provides benchmarks to gauge change efforts
4. It proves that management listens

No one manager, however gifted at reading the organization, can ever see the entire organization with the same detail and clarity as all its members can.

Q. In a survey, how “small” is a small group?

A. It depends on what’s asked, but the smallest group that can generate useful data is about 5-7. Most small groups are less than the ideal, 30, but some can be as much as 500.

Q. You say results are returned quickly…how quickly?

A. I can generate a small group survey, analyze the date, and write your reports in two to ten days. If most everything goes as planned, the survey will end on a Monday and I’ll have a report out by Friday. Last-minute client requests might add a day or two.

Q. What’s your custom questionnaire design process?

A. I provide a sample questionnaire to the consultant or project leader. They take it to the work group design team for edits and recommendations. It comes back to the consultant or to me to produce the final version. This process is often completed in one or two days.

Q. What’s the biggest mistake people make when using surveys?

A. They ignore the data and take no visible action. That’s not necessarily the company’s fault. Too often survey results arrive in a gigantic binder that simply can’t be turned into a sensible action plan. I eliminate this obstacle by keeping the survey focused on important problems: high turnover, low productivity, or too few staff development opportunities, for example. Then, I return streamlined reports that answer the question, “What do we need to do next to keep our people, make them more productive, and develop them for advancement?”

Q. What other survey questions are most often asked?

A. It depends on the company or industry, but there are several that seem common to most surveys:

• “What can we do to improve our productivity (or sales, or revenue)?”
• “What can we do to reduce unwanted turnover?”
• “What changes will make performance assessments more user-friendly?”
• “What do customers (or internal users) like and dislike about our service?”
• “What can we do to help new people fit in faster?”

These are not the only questions that can be answered with a survey; they are just a few of the most common. If you are considering a survey, let’s visit <link to Contact Michael> about the goals and purpose, which will lead us to the questions your business should be asking.

Q. What are some of the industries have you created surveys for?

A. In short, a lot. Here are a few:

Agriculture (wine)  – Fetzer Winery
Automotive – Toyota (NUMMI Motors)
Banking – World Bank
Clothing manufacture – Levi Strauss & Company

Consulting – Accenture

Distribution – Ingram Book

Electronics – Fujitsu

Finance – UBS

Food distribution – Performance Food Group

Food retail – Stop & Shop

Freight Transport – Pacific Courier Services

Heavy industry – Fakop (division of Ahlstrom Pyropower)

Higher education – Bryant University (Canada)

Industry – Mountain Glass

Insurance – Zurich US

Law – McGinnis & Carey

Mining (coal) – Panther Creek (division of Ahlstrom Pyropower)

Retail sales – Columbia Sportswear

Semi-conductor – Intel

Software – Taleo

Utilities – Bonneville Power Administration

Why is this important? I know that companies in different industries will have common issues, and each will also have unique issues. Including both in a survey is vital to generating interest in the process and supporting action taken by management as a result of the survey. Off-the-shelf surveys simply don’t work well.

Q. What survey types do you have experience designing?

A. I have experience and expertise in the following types of surveys:

• Employee satisfaction
• Employee engagement
• Departing employee
• New hire satisfaction
• Orientation effectiveness

• Needs assessments
• Manager-HR services
• Customer satisfaction
• 360° feedback
• Research projects

None of these surveys is difficult or expensive to produce, even if customized.

Q. What’s the most useful book you’ve read on surveys?

A. Frank J. Smith’s Organizational Surveys: The Diagnosis and Betterment of Organizations Through Their Members. Most of the value in this book comes from stories of about actual survey applications, challenges, difficulties, set-backs and gross errors. It is part anecdote, part science, and all very practical. Surveys studied range from CEO succession to supervisory training in all industries as diverse as healthcare and scientific research. Unlike most survey authors, Dr. Smith includes a lot of jokes – some are even funny! <Can we add this to the book store page and link the title here to the bookstore page? Thanks.>

Q. What does “statistically significant” mean and is it important?

A. “Statistical significance” means the results are unlikely to have occurred by chance. Statistical significance causes a lot of unnecessary anxiety. First, when you survey everyone, it is called a “census” survey and statistical significance doesn’t apply. It is only when your survey is limited to a “random sample” that statistical significance matters. Here’s how it works:

Let’s say your random sample results indicate a problem with female employees reporting they don’t have the same opportunities for promotion as men. That could indicate a problem in your organization, or maybe, just by chance, the results occurred by luck of the draw. How can you determine if the problem is real? Subject the scores to a statistical test. The analyst will look at the results of the test and tell you if they scores are “statistically significant” or not so you know whether or not you have a problem with promoting women fairly.