Pulse survey
Pulse survey, pulse is a tool used to monitor the level of employee satisfaction through a momentary check.
Therefore, it is held weekly or fortnightly and helps HR understand and map trends, correct the progress of projects and understand the employees’ point of view on different points.
In this sense, pulse survey is more objective than organizational climate survey and is targeted at a specific subject. Normally, 2 to 4 questions are applied and the objective is to collect feedback from employees more frequently.
How important is pulse survey?
Pulse survey is an important tool that helps to map employees’ feelings and perceptions. Thus, it can bring some benefits to people management . Below, we list the main ones.
1-Helps in solving specific problems
The main benefit of the tool is related to the solution of specific problems in specific themes. Because pulse survey is more targeted than a climate assessment, it allows HR to understand perceptions about predetermined issues and create action plans to correct deviations more quickly.
Thus, applying the survey, the manager is able to identify areas for improvement and challenges that may be impacting the team’s engagement and productivity and seek quick solutions to change this scenario.
2-Raises employees’ self-esteem
Listening to your employees is also a way to demonstrate how important they and their opinions are for the company’s development, which increases the professionals’ self-esteem and motivation .
In addition, this type of survey is also an important tool to improve the dialogue and relationship between leaders and subordinates , providing greater retention of talent .
3-Makes employees more active and engaged
One of the advantages of pulse survey is that it is faster and more objective. In this way, employees feel more comfortable responding and the dropout rate decreases.
However, these few questions answered weekly make the team constantly think about the organization , identifying gaps, solutions and exercising reflection on processes and improvements.
4-Assists in decision making
Finally, the pulse survey is also an excellent tool for managers and leaders who are able to support decisions with data and seek strategies to improve the company’s climate and culture.
In addition to helping to solve specific problems, pulse surveys can also offer insights and ideas to improve daily life and coexistence within the organization.
When and how to apply pulse search?
This type of tool does not need to be applied to all company employees. As it has a very specific target and needs to provide quick answers to a problem, ideally you should only select a portion of the team, for example a sample group.
But be careful not to select too small a group. Since it is important to apply the survey in a minimum amount of 5 collaborators for the survey to be effective.
In order for the survey to have the desired level of excellence, it is important to have a plan and follow the programmed steps. Furthermore, it is necessary to define the frequency of application, as already mentioned, the cycles can occur weekly or biweekly . Below, we list the main steps to put the tool into practice.
1-Identify a goal to be verified
Before starting a survey, HR should establish what topics need to be investigated and what the analysis will be aimed at. So, look for a clear objective that is easy to identify and create a questionnaire that makes sense of these questions.
Imagine that HR has been noticing a certain team dissatisfaction with a lead, for example. In this scenario, pulse survey can be essential to understand why the dissatisfaction is and what solutions can be used to resolve the conflict.
2-Establish clear and objective questions
The simpler the form, the lesser the chances of the employee giving up participating , so try to be objective and find a language that is easily understood.
The tip is to create multiple choice questions or questions with a rating scale , for example, “strongly agree”, “somewhat agree”, “agree”, “neither agree nor disagree”, “disagree”, “somewhat disagree” and “strongly disagree”.
3-Build a form that can be answered quickly
The idea of the pulse survey is precisely to be a quick and objective questionnaire, which is why it is important to be pragmatic at the time of construction.
For that, think of a form that can be answered in a maximum of 3 minutes and that has between 2 and 4 questions. Keep in mind that employees’ work routine is often accelerated, so they may not be interested in pausing activities to answer long weekly questionnaires.
4-Ensure anonymity for employees
Anonymity is important when we talk about this type of survey, because many employees are afraid of suffering reprisals or being harassed by direct leaders, if the feedback is not positive.
By guaranteeing anonymity, you give more psychological security to professionals and allow them to feel free to express their real feelings. Thus, in addition to prioritizing employee privacy, HR also gets much more honest answers.
5-Perform data collection
To carry out data collection, it is interesting that you look for a specialized platform. This is because this type of solution allows not only the submission of forms and the collection of responses, but also the analysis of the information collected .
In addition to carrying out the survey, it is essential that HR know what to do with the data obtained , measuring the level of employee satisfaction and drawing up action plans and strategies to solve the problems found.
Therefore, knowing how to transform information into actions is essential to improve the organizational climate and show the real objective of these measures.
6-Share the results
Finally, HR needs to show transparency and publicize the results obtained by the pulse survey. Sharing this type of information brings more motivation and engagement for employees, which results in more productivity and efficiency for the organization.
In addition to disclosing the calculated data, show the team everything that is being done to improve the corporate environment based on what was collected. Conducting frequent surveys but not showing real changes can end up compromising the credibility of people management.
What is the difference between pulse survey and weather survey?
The organizational climate survey is a tool that controls the company’s climate, that is, it measures the perception of employees considering different corporate aspects.
Thus, it is a denser and more complete survey, which assesses the team’s feeling in relation to:
- to professional development;
- the communication;
- to the company’s values;
- human resources policies;
- management models applied.
The tool is able to measure the individual and collective mood of professionals and identify satisfaction indices related to benefits, workload, leadership, management models, team behavior, work tools and objectives.
The biggest difference between the climate survey and the pulse survey, therefore, is the scope . While the climate survey seeks answers about different perceptions of the work environment, the pulse survey is aimed at solving specific problems.
In addition, the climate survey, being more extensive, is applied at a longer interval , usually every 6 months or a year. Pulse, on the other hand, has a recurring application and helps to diagnose problems throughout the year, which allows for route changes and quick solutions.
However, both surveys are of great importance for human capital management. This is because, while the climate survey helps the HR manager to understand the employee’s general perception, it often ends up leaving out situations and conflicts that occurred throughout the year.
The pulse survey, on the other hand, being carried out in shorter periods, allows HR to draw a satisfaction graph in real time , but it cannot cover all the important points of the organizational climate.
Thus, it is recommended that HR create a schedule and apply the two types of survey , each in its own period. In this way, he achieves a more efficient data analysis and can support his decisions in an assertive way.
