It is crucial in the survey process to implement an action plan upon its completion. Employees need to know that the survey they’ve just taken the time to complete is meaningful and their thoughts and suggestions have merit. Typically, an action plan will include who is responsible for what and when it will be accomplished so a company can move forward to achieve strategic goals. I asked Sharon Parker, Senior Survey Consultant and one of our resident experts here at Foresight to share some insight on the importance of action planning. Here are her thoughts…
The short-term outcome of sharing the results of a survey but taking no action is the same as doing nothing at all. Nothing happens. The long-term effect of sharing the results of a survey but taking no action is that something does happen…usually something negative. One of the most powerful means leaders have for creating positive and lasting change is to take action from their survey results.
One of the questions we often include in employee surveys is: “I believe actions will be taken based on this survey’s results.” We use this benchmarking question to measure employee confidence in the action planning process as well as confidence in leadership’s ability to follow through with their commitments. Over time, we have seen tremendous improvement in the results of this benchmark question as well as improvement in overall survey results as leaders have identified areas for improvement and have implemented changes based on feedback received from the survey.
We have also seen a lot of good action planning and activities go to waste, so to speak, because of poor communications. Leaders need to make sure employees understand that actions taken, changes made or improvements implemented have been the result of feedback received from the employee survey. It is imperative that employees see the connection or link between the survey results and actions taken. Making those connections will allow employees to feel that their voice is heard and help them feel that their feedback is valued.
For more information, please contact Sharon Parker, at sparker@foresightint.com.
