Practical recommendations for a high response rate

  1. Create a broad base for the survey: make sure that all parties are deeply involved (senior management, line management, employees, trade unions, etc.).
  2. Set up a project group that is closely involved in getting the survey going.
  3. Communicate in a timely and sufficient fashion, both during the preparatory phase (i.e. announcement of the project), the results presentation phase, and during the post-survey period (actions and results).
  4. Make the purpose of the project clear. Why is it important for respondents, and what do they stand to gain from it?
  5. Have an attractive, interest-rousing invitation.
  6. Give the project a name, and have each communication come from a person that employees know.
  7. Maintain a strict project approach and timing.
  8. Use the appropriate data gathering method.
  9. With paper data collections include reply envelopes (postage paid by recipient).
  10. Avoid difficult, complex and/or socially sensitive questions.
  11. Don’t make the questionnaire too long.
  12. Guarantee confidentiality and anonymity.
  13. Make sure no mistakes creep into employees’ names and addresses.
  14. Don’t measure during vacation periods or peak periods with high work pressure.
  15. Where possible, allow your employees to fill in the questionnaire during working hours.
  16. Send a reminder mail, but don’t exaggerate and send too many.
  17. Make sure that respondents with problems and/or questions have someone from the project group or at a helpdesk to assist them. ZebraZone has a professional helpdesk, which respondents can always turn to.
  18. Do something with the results, take action: this will increase the response rate for a re-measurement exercise.
  19. Don’t re-measure individual respondents too quickly (ZebraZone proposes an interval of 18 to 24 months). Over-questioning negatively affects response rate. It can also take a while for improvement initiatives to sink into employees’ perception. If you want to measure more frequently, one solution can be segmented surveys (for example half-yearly measurement or one measurement per quarter but with a different segment of the organization).
  20. Organize workshops to increase involvement in action plans.