At a time when flexibility and speed are crucial, more and more companies are opting for pulse surveys to collect feedback from employees quickly and frequently. On the face of it, this type of survey offers an attractive way to continuously gauge the situation within an organisation. Whereas longer questionnaires focus on collecting detailed and comprehensive insights, pulse surveys focus on obtaining immediate, up-to-date feedback with less depth. But is this quick approach effective? Are pulse surveys the right choice for your organisation or are there significant drawbacks to consider?
What are Pulse Surveys?
Pulse surveys are short, frequent questionnaires that help companies gather constant feedback among employees. These surveys often focus on specific topics and are sent to a select group of people. The aim is to gain quick insight into mood, satisfaction or needs so that organisations can respond immediately to changes or problems.
Benefits of Pulse Surveys
- Fast and frequent: Pulse surveys are often sent out weekly or monthly. This means that, in theory, companies can respond quickly to employee feedback. As a result, problems can be addressed immediately before they get out of hand. This can be useful in fast-moving work environments where things can change quickly.
- High Response: Because these questionnaires are short and to the point, employees initially complete them faster. This often ensures higher response rates than with longer questionnaires. Especially in the beginning, when curiosity is high, companies get a lot of valuable feedback.
- Current Topics: Pulse surveys can focus on specific, topical issues that are relevant now. This provides quick insights into topics that would otherwise not be addressed until much later. This targeted approach helps respond quickly to current concerns or questions.
Disadvantages of Pulse Surveys
- Survey Fatigue: Asking for feedback too often can lead to survey fatigue. Employees get bored of it and answers are taken less seriously. This can also reduce engagement in the feedback process and lower the value of the data.
- Cost: Conducting regular surveys can be expensive, especially when specialised software is used. Licensing costs for such tools can add up. This can be a problem for smaller companies or organisations with limited budgets.
- Limited Depth: Because pulse surveys are short, there is little room for detailed answers. Complex issues cannot always be fully understood as a result. This can lead to blind spots in the data and important issues being missed or misinterpreted.
- Analysis Overload: The constant flow of feedback can be a challenge for HR teams and management. Processing and analysing all the data requires a lot of time and effort. Without a proper structure, the results can be overwhelming, making it difficult to find the most important information and respond effectively.
Conclusion
Pulse surveys can provide a quick way to regularly collect feedback from employees, which can help companies respond flexibly and quickly to new challenges and opportunities. However, it is important here to also consider drawbacks such as survey fatigue, limited depth and the challenge of constant data analysis. Limited depth, in particular, can lead to blind spots that can cause important signals to be missed. As a result, it may be necessary to at least combine pulse surveys with more extensive and less frequent questionnaires so that important insights are not missed.
Sources
Jolton, J. A., & Klein, C. (2020). Exploring the Universe of Pulse Surveys and Continuous Listening Opportunities. In Oxford University Press eBooks (pp. 53-67). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190939717.003.0004
Menon, V., & Muraleedharan, A. (2020). Internet-based surveys: relevance, methodological considerations and troubleshooting strategies. General Psychiatry, 33(5), e100264. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2020-100264
