There are many ways to reach employees in an employee survey or pulse measurement.
The different methods have different pros and cons.
| Distribution via email | Recommended |
Personal link to the survey is emailed to employees' email addresses. This is the simplest, quickest, and cheapest method to keep track of who received the survey and responded, as the system can automatically keep track of respondents, manage reminders, etc. Another significant advantage is that on each individual, background data can be added so that the employee does not need to answer questions we already know. We can also generate response rates per background variable, e.g., store, etc. The survey is perceived as anonymous. |
| Via Employee ID | Second-best option |
Employees initiate the survey by entering their employee ID on a login page. Reminders are done by managers who find out how many have responded and remind everyone verbally. The method allows adding background data for each individual so that the employee does not need to answer questions we already know. We can also generate response rates per background variable, e.g., store, etc. However, ensuring that information reaches all employees is essential so that everyone knows how to proceed. The survey may be perceived as not anonymous. |
| Survey via personal code | Administrative, Anonymous |
Employees initiate the survey by entering a personal code given by their manager on a login page. Survey via personal code functions similarly to survey via email but is much more labor-intensive and may be perceived as not anonymous since the respondent sees their name. Individual sheets with codes and names are created, printed, and distributed to the correct person. The same process applies to reminders, meaning identifying those who have not responded, creating reminder sheets, printing out these individuals' codes, and redistributing them to the correct person again. Distribution can be done in many ways, but the most important thing is to ensure that the correct person receives their personal code. Different distribution methods include sending letters to managers, PDF files to managers, or via distribution with, for example, salary statements. |
| Survey via group codes | Administrative, Anonymous |
Employees initiate the survey by entering an anonymous code given by their manager on a login page. Functions similarly to survey via personal code but is more anonymous since the group/store receives a number of codes to share. Since we do not know who responds to each code, the survey must include questions we want to break down by type, e.g., male/female. Reminders are not possible since we do not know who responded. Administration is as extensive as with personal codes, with the addition that stores often report missing codes. Response rate becomes difficult to track since we do not know how many codes were used in each store; we only know how many were distributed. |
| Survey via common link | Discouraged |
Employees initiate the survey by clicking on a common link, e.g., on the intranet. This is the simplest but worst method to conduct a survey as it completely loses control over who responded. This means targeted reminders cannot be done, and the opportunity for response rates is lost. The survey can be easily sabotaged as the same person can enter and respond multiple times if they want to influence the results in a certain direction. Regarding segmentation, it requires including the questions needed to break down the data in the survey. |