Why Workplace Surveys Often Miss the Mark - And How We Can Do Better
Ever completed an engagement survey that left you feeling... disengaged?
Or filled out a wellbeing questionnaire that didn’t reflect your reality, or give you the space to explain it?
Maybe you took time to share thoughtful feedback, only to hear nothing back about how, or even if, it was used.
Or worse, you final results were shared from a survey and you thought, “This doesn’t sound like us at all.”
It happens more often than it should. And when it does, it doesn’t just waste time, it erodes trust.
Where surveys can go wrong
A well-intentioned survey can go off-track in a few very human ways:
- Questions are either too narrow to reflect lived experience, or so open-ended and exhausting that people abandon the survey altogether
- Too many demographics are collected and people feel their responses won’t be anonymous
- People invest their time and honesty, but never hear anything back
- Surveys collect so much data that analysis feels a bridge too far, and the results sit on a server somewhere, never to be looked at again.
- Results are shared (if at all) in ways that feel generic, glossed over, or even misrepresentative
Why it matters that people see themselves in the results
Data only builds insight if people can see their experience reflected in it, and crucially trust that it will be used to build meaningful change.
Good survey design is more than technical, it’s relational. It asks:
- Do these questions actually reflect what matters here?
- Can people give honest insights about their experience, not just tick a box?
- Will we use this data to understand, not just report?
- What actions can we take, based on the results?
The process is just as important as the data you collect
Data only builds insight if people can see their experience reflected in it, and crucially trust that it will be used to build meaningful change.
Good survey design is more than technical, it’s relational. It asks:
- Do these questions actually reflect what matters here?
- Can people give honest insights about their experience, not just tick a box?
- Will we use this data to understand, not just report?
- What actions can we take, based on the results?
But if there’s one thing I’d love you to take away from this article, it’s this:
Before you ask people to share their experiences, consider whether you are truly ready to listen and act on what you hear.
Rather than thinking of your annual survey as another job on your to do list, think of it as an opportunity to really learn what's going on for the people in your organisation. And if you need any help to think that through, you know where I am!
