Sharing Results

Once you have reviewed the survey results for your area, it is time to share the survey results with your team. This is a very important step in the post-survey process. It is your opportunity as a leader to demonstrate to your team that you are taking personal ownership of the survey results and that you very much value their insights and opinions for making your team and the organization more successful and a better place to work.

Goals in Sharing Your Results

Thank them for participating in the survey

Assuming that your team had at least a reasonable level of participation in completing the surveys - ideally, at least 50% - it is important to thank them for taking the time to participate and provide honest feedback. If the participation was low, still thank those who participated and encourage those who did not participate to engage in post-survey conversations.

Thank them for acknowledging strengths

If the results are favourable compared to the organization as a whole, compared to the external benchmark, compared to the previous survey and/or on an absolute favourable score basis (e.g., 60% favourable or better for most dimensions), thank them for acknowledging improvements and/or any favourable results. Do not take personal credit for positive survey results. Keep the focus on them, not yourself, when it comes to favourable survey results.

Let them know you heard them

If the results are not particularly favourable or downright unfavourable, take ownership of the results. Let them know that you heard them and their concerns and that first and foremost you want to better understand why. If the results are mostly favourable, tell them that you heard them regarding opportunities to improve.

Give them an opportunity to ask questions

The initial meeting to share the survey results generally is not the time to try and identify solutions or ways that things could be improved. Most employees need a bit of time to digest what they have heard before having a more in-depth conversation about why they responded the way they did to the survey and to brainstorm ideas about how things could be improved. You should encourage any questions they might have about the survey results, particularly clarifying questions to help them understand the results. But it is best to have more in-depth discussions, particularly about possible actions, at a subsequent meeting or in a follow-up focus group.

Discuss a tentative list of priority issues

Although this is not the time to have an in-depth discussion with your team about the results and possible actions, it is a good time to get some initial thoughts from them as to which issues they feel should be on the shortlist of priorities for action.

Outline Next Steps

Although you may not have all the answers about what actions to take and likely will need further input from employees, it is important to communicate your intent to take action and to outline the process for moving to the next important phase of action-planning.

Results Sharing Tips

1. Be Fully Prepared: Ensure that you understand the results, including what your employees are most and least happy about, how your results differ from the organization as a whole and what the key driver analyses indicate about the most impactful issues on engagement for your group.

2. Be Relaxed and Confident: It is important that employees feel that you are comfortable in sharing the results with them.

3. Don't Be Defensive: It is not uncommon to take things personally and try to give reasons why the results are low. Try to stay focused on simply communicating the results and not trying to offer your explanations. The results represent the views of your employees, so let them offer any explanations they are comfortable sharing as to why the results are what they are.

4. Listen: It is most important to listen to whatever comments or questions employees have to help them understand the results. The sharing session provides you another opportunity to learn from employees how they feel about things, beyond what the survey results convey.

The Results Sharing Meeting

• Prepare: Ensure you understand the results and the key messages. Ensure you understand the drivers of engagement and how they are similar to/different from the rest of the organization. Understand in broad terms how they were derived and why you should focus on these to improve engagement, and not just what employees have indicated they are least satisfied with.

• Convene a separate staff meeting focused on the survey results. Ensure this is viewed as a high priority. Walk through the results. Allow ample time for Q&A.

• DO NOT attempt to obtain feedback or reaction during this meeting. Let employees ask their questions. Asking for feedback at this point distracts them from processing the new information they are getting, and what comments they have to offer will not be based on reflection and consideration but on unprocessed impressions. Giving your team time to consider and discuss the results will significantly improve the quality and focus of the feedback offered.

• Allow employees a few days, then conduct one or more “feedback” sessions.

Additional information on the steps above can be found in the "More on Action Planning" section of this guide.

Feedback Sessions

A few days after you have presented the results, it’s time to listen. Conduct one or more feedback sessions with small groups of employees. The ideal size is 6-8, but if you are sharing with a large group this may not be possible. In that case, periodically during the meeting divide the participants into small groups of 6 - 8 to discuss and share their thoughts and share back to the larger group. This ensures everyone has a chance to speak and be heard.

The purpose of these sessions are to:

• Listen to team members’ interpretation of how they see the results and how it reflects their reality

• Understand the root causes of the key issues (why team members answered the way they did)

• Establish 1-3 key priorities upon which to focus action

Once you and your team have established the priorities and the root causes of those priorities, the work of meaningful change can begin.