Employee Engagement Survey
Home > Products > Employee Survey > Articles > Implementation Plan

Employee Survey Implementation Plan

Before launching your employee survey, you should have a plan and general timeline in place for the entire process from start to finish. Conducting the survey is only one part of this process.

Your plan should cover all phases of the project, as outlined below. Make sure you have the necessary resources lined up and that you communicate with employees and other stakeholders at every stage of the process.



Phase 1: Prepare for the Employee Survey
1-3 weeks
 
  • Create implementation plan to determine roles and schedules during and after the employee survey
  • HR and top management agree on schedule for initial survey and details of employee communication
  • Create employee demographic spreadsheet, confirm it has been loaded into system (or define demographic questions)
  • Send initial communication to employees on the engagement survey process and benefits
Note: Some or all of the steps for this phase have probably already been completed by now.
Phase 2: Conduct the Employee Survey
2-3 weeks
 
  • HR initiates survey, monitors participation, answers questions from employees
  • HR sends reminder emails as needed
  • If the response rate is low, it may be necessary to extend the survey end date
Phase 3: Review Survey Results and Debrief
1 month
 
  • HR (and/or consultant) and the senior leader evaluate data and plan interventions with top managers; equal focus is placed on "centers of excellence" and "centers of opportunity"
  • Senior leader and HR agree on implementation priorities, roles, and schedule
  • HR (and/or consultant) debriefs top managers to explore engagement survey results within their areas
  • HR (and/or consultant) works with top managers to cascade debriefings to middle managers and employee groups
  • If some employees are not debriefed in targeted groups, they are provided with high-level results and management's plan to address any problems
Phase 4: Act
Ongoing
 
  • Action plan is defined, communicated, and implemented
  • Ensure all employees understand the action plan, how it benefits them, and the senior leaders' commitment to the plan
  • HR (and/or consultant) coaches leaders and their teams to enhance alignment, trust, straight-talk and healthy conflict; key leaders learn the fundamentals of engaging leadership
  • Keep communicating as the plan is put into action and milestones are reached
  • After enough time has elapsed, repeat the engagement survey to measure progress and understand how engagement and engagement-related issues have shifted since the initial survey
Related Topics:
Readiness Assessment
Communication Plan