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Resources
Skills Review - Web-based Employee Research
Don't throw the baby out with the bath-water…
Although we have lots of new ways of doing things, don't forget
the fundamentals of conducting Employee Research, says Peter Goudge
Those types of employee surveys designed to engage whole organisations
in dialogue, historically likely to involve paper questionnaires, have
shown themselves to be well suited to web-based approaches. The advantages
of web-based questionnaires are by now fairly obvious and well known.
Not only does the technology assist with a more rapid turnaround but
also it is far easier to keep track of how the survey is going during
the fieldwork period. Additional benefits of Web-based approaches are
as follows:
- It is easier to route respondents to relevant questions
- Respondents can't give multiple answers to single response options
- It is harder for respondents to give bogus answers to demographic
questions
- On-line Help screens can be made available to assist respondents
- Use of passwords restrict respondents to completing one questionnaire
- Employees who are not office based will find it easier to access
and complete a questionnaire on the Internet.
However, one ignores the fundamental principles at one's peril as they
can have new twists and slants that stem from the use of the very technology
that is bringing these benefits.
Communication / Timescales
- The increased expectation of speed in turnaround of a survey can
lead to a foreshortening of the timescales for the entire project,
when the survey completion period is in fact only a part of a larger
communication and engagement process. It therefore necessitates careful
planning and a programme of communication that builds up to the survey
itself.
- Subsequently, and as a realisation of any commitments offered in
advance, there needs to be full reporting and involvement in action
planning to determine what changes need to be implemented across the
organisation as a consequence of the survey.
Access to / Distribution of questionnaires
- A further danger arising from the above is that there can be pressure
on limiting the period during which employees are given the opportunity
to complete the questionnaire. This can sometimes mean that the availability
of people is overlooked - adequate time needs to be allowed for people
being on holiday, training courses and other absences which could
lead to them being "disenfranchised" by virtue of the survey
period being limited to the time they are away from the office.
- For those of us who spend their days slaving over a PC it is also
easy to assume that everyone has access to e-mail and the Internet
(and, indeed, that all those who do would have a preference for completing
a questionnaire at a PC as opposed to on paper). Yet there are huge
numbers of people e.g. those working in retail organisations in shops
or bank branches that do not have such access. And even if they do
they may not be able to enter information about themselves in a manner
that affords them the privacy that they require or deserve.
- With more and more people having access to a PC at home, it could
be suggested that access in the office is not necessary. However this
assumes that employees are prepared to spend "their" time
completing it and can run contrary to the principle whereby the company
demonstrates the importance of the exercise by allowing people to
complete it in company time.
Confidentiality / Independence
- In addition to the point about privacy above, perceptions of confidentiality
also arise with the hosting of the survey. Hosting on the website
of a third party provides a similar reassurance to that obtained by
providing reply-paid envelopes addressed to an external processor.
For many people there can be a perceived risk of others (including
their superiors) finding out their views if the information is collated
internally.
- This is also relevant to the use of passwords, which confer some
benefits in managing an on-line survey, but which can add to the perception
that an individual's responses will not remain anonymous.
Ultimately, this all comes back to doing what most market researchers
would do and that is thinking of the most appropriate approach given
the business needs and the nature of the information required - rather
than starting with a methodology and working back from that.
This should of course apply to any employee research exercise, even
if all the points made above relate to quantitative studies. Indeed,
it is worth concluding by emphasising the expanding nature of employee
research. It has extended much further than the traditional, "set
piece" attitude surveys. There is much more ad-hoc and specific
research undertaken amongst employees, and this has unsurprisingly resulted
in many more qualitative studies, as there has been increased recognition
of the role that this form of research can play.
Peter Goudge
Research Consultant
Email: peter.goudge@ntlworld.com
Tel: +44 (0)1582 620331
Peter Goudge was the collator of the original MRS Guidelines on
Best Practice Employee Research in 1996 and has recently updated
them to take account of the latest developments.
This article first appeared in MRWho, March 2003 (www.mrweb.com/who).
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