However, before the problem is sorted out, we should look at the problems with some methods of collating feedback within organisations and how this compares with online tools.
Paper and pencil
Distribution and collection: let’s assume that the manager leaves a survey in the snail mailboxes of 400 people (rather than visiting each person at his or her desk). Identifying the appropriate boxes out of, say, the 500 available could take 30 minutes. Once the surveys have been completed, let’s assume these people take five minutes to put them back in the manager’s mailbox. At 400 people, that’s 4,000 minutes of company time—nearly 68 hours.
Collating and data entry: a 10-minute questionnaire contains on average 30 questions. After an initial 30 minute set up, the answers can be entered into a spreadsheet at a rate of about four per minute if the person has a colleague read the answers aloud, although this slows to about two per minute when entering surveys alone). In either case, this would take around four hours of company time to enter.
Analysis: to merely check the frequencies of each variable would take at least 30 minutes for a relatively advanced spreadsheet or statistical software user. The data would then need to be filtered and compared against other variables of interest for example, demographics which would take another couple minutes per analysis of interest.
At this point we’ve used up nearly a full working week’s worth of time to simply distribute and collect data.
Many organisations are still using the internal email system to write a survey from scratch, send it out to employees and then collate the data from the emails one at a time.
Distribution and collection: once you have collected all the email addresses emailing 400 people would only take a few minutes.
Collating and data entry: in most circumstances the manager would have to read handwritten responses in email and convert them to a number which would be entered into a spreadsheet. This process would take considerably more time than reading (or listening to) numbers from a paper questionnaire. Conservatively this would take 33% more time, another 10 hours. Moreover, the process of sorting, clicking and scrolling through emails in outlook would take another three seconds or so per email, which adds another half hour to the process.
Analysis: running simple frequencies would take at least 30 minutes in a classic spreadsheet based programme.
Online survey tools
Online tools like SurveyMonkey allow managers to distribute, collect and analyse data in a fraction of the time it takes using other modes. Total time to carry out a survey will vary depending on factors such as length of the survey, complexity of the survey logic, familiarity with online tools, and proficiency on the part of respondents. The most notable advantage of online tools is the elimination of redundant and manual processes along each step of the process.
Distribution and collection: online survey tools enable HR managers to easily distribute surveys in a variety of ways: by emailing a survey link, by posting a link on an internal intranet, or by embedding the survey on a company blog or website. By using the SurveyMonkey email collection method, managers can also easily see who has completed a survey and who might need a gentle reminder.
Collating and analysis: responses collected by the online survey tools are usually automatically collated and HR managers can filter responses by department, by employee tenure, or any other key factors to understand any potential differences that drive variations in responses. Data can also be easily downloaded into Excel or in data files that are compatible with other analytical programs. Managers can also easily share results with password protected URLs.
Moreover, it cost far less (in human hours) to execute a survey project using an online tool. Even better, the cost of execution for online survey tools is static whereas each survey collected in the modes mentioned above increases cost incrementally. In addition, once a survey is created, managers can easily distribute the survey again in six months time, a year, two years, etc. and quickly benchmark performance improvements.
Nearly immeasurable, though, is the impact that quick feedback has on the ability of a business to react to changes in its culture. The productivity and efficiency gained through a happy and empowered workforce are invaluable.
Dave Goldberg is CEO of Survey Monkey
