In our second episode of “Ask the Expert”, we invite Karin Hurt, the CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders, to share her perspective on what companies should do to prevent or minimise survey fatigue. She is also an author of 4 books, including Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers and Customer Advocates and Winning Well. 

In Karin’s opinion, one of the factors that cause survey fatigue among employees is that they are concerned that there will be no action taken on the highlighted matters. Since they share about personal challenges they experience at work and contribute ideas on how to improve the situation, it is fair for them to expect an equivalent response from their organisation. They worry that the shared ideas will be taken lightly or not be considered. 

Karin mentioned that according to extensive research by Let’s Grow Leaders in conjunction with the University of North Colorado Social Research lab, employees are concerned that nothing will happen after spending their time sharing their thoughts in the company’s surveys. In other words, they are worried about not having the feedback loop closed, in which they ought to feel their voices are being heard and valued by the company. Surveys should not be just about gathering employees’ feedback, but also about taking action and following up with employees who speak out in the surveys. Surveys should help create conversations between management and employees which can further benefit both parties.

In their courageous culture process, Karin shares that the right action is known as “responding with regard”, in which leaders respond with gratitude, information and an invitation to continue to contribute. For instance, showing appreciation by thanking the employees for completing the surveys, participating in the focus groups, and contributing new ideas during their one-on-one sessions. 

Karin believes that it is essential for leaders to demonstrate their appreciation towards their employees’ opinions to show that they genuinely care about their thoughts. When employees know their voices are heard, trust will be gradually built. Next, leaders need to act on the collected feedback and inform them on how they (the leaders) will address the highlighted challenges they encountered at work. For instance, if the survey results demonstrate that the return-to-office plan is not favourable to most employees, the leaders should consider revising their plans, ensuring that flexibility is in place. 

To effectively prevent or minimise survey fatigue, Karin strongly recommended practising “responding with regard” by inviting employees to continue thinking, tackling the identified problems and suggesting innovative ways of doing things. This approach should help companies prevent survey fatigue and keep people coming back to respond with creative solutions and other micro innovations.

Exploring a better way to prevent or minimise survey fatigue? Schedule a free consultation with our friendly expert team to let us guide you through this.

About Karin Hurt

Karin Hurt is the CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders which offers practical tools and techniques for human-centred leaders. You can download the first few chapters of Courageous Cultures for free here.

Accelerate team performance by giving your leaders a roadmap to develop their teams and achieve breakthrough results. With the Let’s Grow Leaders Team Accelerator Program, managers work with their teams to apply practical tools and a step-by-step plan for setting direction, improving connections, and building trust.