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Survey PRO

Sep 03, 2024

The best (and worst) practices for understanding the needs of your frontline

Engagement across the retail sector is faltering, and companies need strategies to better understand employees’ needs. Here are the common mistakes and simple fixes that we have learned while working with leading retailers. By following these practices, you’ll not only save time and effort but also ensure that your employee listening strategy is a success, leading to a more engaged and productive workforce. 

 

 

wrongDON’T rely on paper surveys, free forms, or point solutions 

A successful employee survey needs to be insightful while also offering value for money. Choosing the right method is key. Paper surveys might seem like a simple option, but they are impossible to scale and difficult to anonymize. This means that staff usually won’t give honest responses. Some companies attempt to save money by using free online forms, but the platforms offering cost-free services provide only the bluntest analytical tools. 

Point solutions for surveying can be a tempting proposition, offering specialized services. However, these services can be cost-prohibitive and offer little return on investment. Their stand-alone apps can be complicated and bloated with useless features that only exist to justify the price. Companies end up designating significant resources to master the tools, deliver the survey, and crunch the data—energy that could have been spent delivering on the employees’ needs. 

Many of these options require employees to access the survey through an extra app that needs to be downloaded onto their phone, or via a company email address - something that most retail frontline staff don’t have. 

correctDO add employee surveys to your existing app 

Response rates to surveys are highest when you meet your frontline staff where they are. If your team is already using a dedicated app to access communication tools, day-to-day task management, and other resources, they will be ready to engage with a survey that reaches them through this familiar means. 

Survey Pro from Relesys also saves you time during the analysis process. It uses AI to examine qualitative data, offering you immediate insight into your employees' engagement.  

 

 

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wrongDON’T run ‘one-and-done’ surveys 

Retail environments are always changing, and your employee experience will shift over time. Don’t assume that a single survey will offer long-term insights. The initial changes you make to address employee needs will often require fine-tuning, and only your staff are in a position to tell you exactly what that should look like.  

correctDO run frequent pulse surveys and review trends over time 

Survey your frontline teams on a regular basis, using quicker and less invasive pulse surveys to ensure engagement while keeping your data relevant. As you build up feedback from a regular program, you’ll be able to identify ongoing trends and respond accordingly. Survey PRO empowers you to undertake an ongoing program that will ensure you’re able to adapt to changing needs, and that your staff always feels heard. 

 

 

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wrongDON’T lock survey responsibility up in the head office 

Keeping in touch with your frontline needs to be an organization-wide effort. Too many companies limit responsibility for surveys to a single member of HR or a team that is based solely in the head office. This creates a divide between the data and the on-the-ground staff who will be implementing changes.  

correctDO democratize action by sending results to local managers 

Connect your local team leaders with the data pulled from regular surveys so that they can react in real time. Survey PRO enables you to visualize local and store-level data and share key data with the relevant teams. Support a ‘bottom-up’ approach to improving employee engagement by empowering frontline teams to devise and deliver effective action plans. 

 

Action surveyRelesys offers an effective survey programming tool that is accessible to frontline staff, allowing you to gather meaningful data and act quickly to better your business. Want to learn more about how Relesys can help you deliver a successful survey program? Get in touch today!

  

 

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