Employee engagement surveys are familiar to almost everyone. Most companies conduct them, and many struggle with interpreting the results. Once the results are in, the challenge is figuring out what changes they call for. In this article, I’ll explain the reasons behind this challenge and propose a solution.
The biggest problem with employee engagement surveys is the expectations we place on them. The truth is, they are not the best tool for improving or managing the employee experience. This might sound harsh, but let me explain: improving the employee experience is all about focusing on the individual and their experiences. Employee engagement surveys, however, deal with anonymous responses, meaning solutions can’t be precisely targeted where they’re needed most.
Another challenge is the infrequency of these surveys. The employee experience evolves much faster than a once-a-year survey can track. Employee pulse surveys were developed to address this, but they often end up generating even more data that is difficult to process.
The real issue isn’t with employee engagement surveys themselves, but with the expectations placed on them. Surveys are useful for mapping out the general atmosphere and identifying areas for development, but if you truly want to improve the employee experience, the only way is to engage with each individual and have meaningful conversations.
These reasons were at the core of our decision to found Humbol in the spring of 2021. We wanted to create a tool and method that would allow employees to regularly respond to predefined questions about their work and the conditions for success. These questions are then discussed with their manager, and specific actions are agreed upon and tracked. In other words, we offer companies a continuous, action-oriented feedback culture.
Our simple method has proven to be effective. Today, through analytics, we can show our clients in real time the impact it’s having.
Our clients are often surprised by how much of a difference continuous, meaningful conversations make. It’s important to note that sending a survey in even the largest organizations takes only seconds, while one meaningful conversation can take an hour. But that one hour, where a team member genuinely feels heard and seen, and where solutions are found for their challenges, always outweighs an anonymous response in an employee engagement survey.
We are often asked why we don’t offer anonymous surveys as well, even though we have the technology to do so. The answer is simple: it wouldn’t add value. We didn’t create this product to gather more data—we created it because we want to drive deeper impact.
A meaningful conversation will always surpass the effectiveness of an employee engagement survey.