Survey Process at a Glance
The survey process should follow a disciplined sequence from planning to reporting and action. The exact timing can be tailored to Council’s operating context.
| Phase | Key activities | Practical output |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Project planning and survey preparation | Confirm scope, roles, timeline, employee population, demographic structure, custom questions and communication approach. | Confirmed project plan and survey specification. |
| 2. Survey setup and quality testing | Configure online survey, prepare paper or assisted options if needed, test links and reporting fields. | Tested survey ready for launch. |
| 3. Survey promotion | Launch pre-survey communications, explain purpose and confidentiality, brief leaders. | Employees understand why participation matters. |
| 4. Data collection | Open survey, monitor participation, troubleshoot access issues, issue reminders. | Sufficient response rate and clean response data. |
| 5. Analysis and reporting | Clean data, apply scoring and reporting rules, prepare reports and benchmarks where available. | Main report, portal results and summary findings. |
| 6. Results presentation and action planning | Brief leaders, communicate findings, identify priorities and convert insights into action. | Focused action plan and communication approach. |
Tip · Process discipline
The survey itself is usually very straightforward technically. The risk is not the technical set up; it is unclear ownership, weak communication, poor participation, over-reading subgroup results or failing to close the loop after results are released.