The 13 main problems with the annual employee survey and what to do instead

The need for organizations to manage the employee experience and well-being more frequently is rapidly increasing. This shift is primarily driven by our world changing faster with organizations following suit and new, evolving expectations of the younger generations.

Traditionally, employees were asked to give their input once a year or every other year. In today’s work environment, collecting input once a year is problematic, specifically because:

1. One measurement cannot accurately represent an entire year
2. It is impossible to find the perfect timing for an annual survey
3. Annual survey results are quickly outdated
4. By the time the measurement results are discussed, teams may have changed entirely
5. It prevents HR from being data-driven and supported by continuous metrics, like other functions already are
6. It makes you react to history rather than support you to be proactive
7. You cannot see the effects of your improvement initiatives
8. You cannot track and improve your organization’s onboarding process
9. Your continuous learning culture is not supported
10. Success should be celebrated as it happens, not once a year
11. Your new hires expect to be listened to more frequently
12. Science supports removing the mountain of questions
13. The annual process is no longer necessary: Your most important annual survey questions can be incorporated into your pulse survey

A better approach

Instead, modern employee surveys, or pulse surveys, have proven significant in ensuring you stay up to date with your employees and use their input to improve the success of your organization’s focus areas. Along these lines, Anders Westerholm, SVP HR, Ambea explains, “When our [26,000] employees are our most important asset, we need to listen to them frequently." 

These are the 13 main pain points with traditional employee surveys that can be addressed by implementing a more systematic and modern employee survey:

1.  One measurement cannot accurately represent an entire year – An issue with the yearly survey is that an employee’s experience varies throughout the year. Topics like workload or employee happiness are examples of areas that vary every month and can change rapidly from day to day. Also, it is difficult to give an accurate answer to questions that spans an extended time period. Instead, a pulse survey allows you to track progress throughout the year.

2. It is impossible to find the perfect timing for an annual survey – Often, each part of an organization has its distinct workload cycles in a year. Our data show, for example, that finance teams experience stress during closing periods. The same is true for different industries where, for example, retail and logistics employees are more stressed during shopping holidays. You can better manage active and slower periods by regularly tracking your organization’s status.

3. Annual survey results are quickly outdated – Traditionally, it took days - or even weeks - to receive the results from an annual survey. The challenge in an ever-changing world is that the value and relevance of survey responses start to depreciate immediately. What was an issue two weeks ago may no longer be a problem and not worth discussing today, or something great may feel outdated to celebrate. Employees often do not even remember what they answered, preventing a meaningful discussion. Instead, a continuous pulse survey ensures quicker feedback cycles and immediate results that are remembered with responses up-to-date and relevant.

4. By the time the measurement results are discussed, teams may have changed entirely – People regularly leave or move roles within organizations. In organizations challenged by higher employee turnover (e.g., in retail organizations, healthcare organizations, or call-center organizations), a team may look completely different when the results are discussed compared to when data was collected. With a quick and continuous pulse survey, you ensure increased accuracy by providing the team result based on the people who answered the survey.

5. It prevents HR from being data-driven and supported by continuous metrics like other functions already are – Nobody would, for example, suggest keeping track of your financial and operational KPIs just once a year. With employees being an essential asset in organizations, listening to them frequently is business critical, and real-time data should back these decisions. A pulse survey enables you to do that.

6. It makes you react to history rather than support you to be proactive – In an annual employee survey, you get a high-level understanding of the total employee experience during the past year. Naturally, these results are backward-looking, summarizing the past year (or the past two years, in some organizations). In contrast, pulse surveys have the tools to be forward-looking. Most problems and infected situations do not emerge without warning. A declining trend is often visible in the pulse survey dashboards, allowing you to take preventative measures and work proactively.

7. You cannot see the effects of your improvement initiatives – Organizations spend millions on change management initiatives, such as culture transformations, mergers, integrations, or implementing an agile way of working. Additional millions are spent on handling problems due to toxic work environments and leadership issues. The impact on employees of these types of programs is difficult to understand from an annual employee survey. In a continuous pulse survey, you can track change, gain objective input to course correct as needed, and understand the current team status.

8. You cannot track and improve your organization’s onboarding process – Annual employee surveys only allow you to get feedback from new hires once a year. Some organizations create separate surveys for onboarding, and while they might be helpful, they add to survey fatigue and administration. With a pulse survey, you keep track of your employees’ first-year development at a more granular level without adding extra work.

9. Your continuous learning culture is not supported – Traditionally, annual employee surveys have often been used as only a "hygiene measurement" to identify and address negative behaviors and poor performance. Neuroscience research suggests an increased focus on positive behaviors and outcomes. Both continuously high and performance improvement are important to celebrate. A pulse survey's instant and continuous nature allows you to see progress quickly, learn what is great right now, and enable your leader to drive the needed improvement or give the change ownership to the team.

10. Success should be celebrated as it happens, not once a year – Traditionally, annual employee surveys have often been used as only a "hygiene measurement" to identify and address negative behaviors and poor performance. Neuroscience research suggests an increased focus on positive behaviors and outcomes. Both continuously high and performance improvement are important to celebrate. A pulse survey's instant and continuous nature allows you to see progress quickly, learn what is great right now, and enable your leader to drive the needed improvement or give the change ownership to the team.

11. Your new hires expect to be listened to more frequently – Past generations came from an era where paper and pencil were used to conduct employee surveys. Millennials and Gen Z expect to be listened to in light and frequent feedback cycles. And growing up with technology, many assume successful organizations are digitally focused. A pulse survey gives you both.

12. Science supports removing the mountain of questions – Most annual surveys ask many questions to ensure they capture the whole picture but are often dreaded and not necessarily answered accurately. Neuroscience research highlights human beings’ limited attention span and how nine areas explain high organizational engagement, trust, and wellbeing. Modern pulse survey technology enables you to keep track of these nine evidence-based areas in less than 60 seconds monthly or weekly.

13. The annual process is no longer necessary: Your most important annual survey questions can be incorporated into your pulse survey – Some say the annual employee survey is dead. We disagree. Some areas are unsuitable for continuous measurement simply because the metrics are long-term or more challenging to address at the team level. For example, the corporate brand perception, understanding the corporate strategy, or building trust in the executive leadership team. Hence, leading organizations add yearly questions to the modern employee survey to track the longer-term metrics.

So, why ask 100+ questions yearly when you can capture the current picture in real-time using a lot fewer questions? A well-designed modern employee survey is a constructive tool to uncover improvement and celebration opportunities, giving you a closer understanding of your organization’s employee experience and the well-being of your most important asset – your employees.