Employee surveys can be game changers. Done right, they give leaders a direct line into what people are really thinking and feeling at work that you just can’t get from a meeting or a memo.
But here’s the catch…not every survey hits the mark. Many perform poorly because they’re too long, too vague, or just not handled thoughtfully. Instead of boosting engagement, they end up wasting time or, worse, breaking trust with employees. The good news? With some smart planning and a few guardrails, your first employee survey can avoid the usual pitfalls and deliver results.
Why Should You Run Employee Surveys?
Employee surveys are worth the effort because they give leaders real, unfiltered insights into how their workforce feels and functions. Employee surveys:
- Engage employees. Surveys show employees that their voices matter. When people feel heard, they’re more likely to be engaged and motivated. Even the act of asking builds trust and signals respect.
- Detect early problems. Surveys can uncover issues (like workload imbalance, unclear communication, or morale dips) before they become full-blown problems. Catching challenges early allows leadership to address them proactively instead of reacting to crises later.
- Help make informed decisions. Instead of relying on hunches, leaders get concrete data about what employees value, what’s working, and what needs fixing. This helps prioritize initiatives that will have the greatest impact and ensures resources are used wisely.
- Improve retention. By identifying pain points that drive turnover (like lack of career growth or weak manager support), surveys help organizations take steps to keep their best people.
- Strengthen workplace culture. Consistent surveys reinforce a culture of listening and transparency. When you share and act on the results, employees see that leadership is committed to improvement. This effort fosters trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging.
To help you get it right from the start, here are the most common mistakes organizations make when launching their first survey and how to avoid them.
13 Survey Mistakes…and How to Avoid Them
Your organization’s first employee survey sets the tone. Get it wrong, and you risk damaging trust before you even begin. There are plenty of ways a well intentioned survey can go off the rails.
1. Asking too Many Questions
When enthusiasm is high, leaders often want to cover everything, from culture, leadership, and workload to benefits, policies, and more. The result? A 60-question marathon that leaves employees frustrated and disengaged. Long surveys risk lower response rates and rushed answers, which compromise the quality of your data.
Avoid this survey mistake: Keep surveys concise and focused. Aim for 10–20 questions that directly tie to your goals. Use skip logic where possible, so employees only answer relevant questions. Short, purposeful surveys show respect for employees’ time and yield more reliable responses.
2. Posing the Wrong Questions
Even a short survey can flop if the questions are vague, irrelevant, or confusing. For example, asking “Are you happy at work?” doesn’t provide actionable insight. Or worse, questions may be leading or biased, nudging employees toward a certain answer.
Avoid this mistake: Design your survey questions effectively. Focus on clarity and align questions with objectives. Every question should connect to a decision you can make. Use simple, neutral wording to avoid bias. Instead of “Are you satisfied with our amazing benefits program?” try “How satisfied are you with the benefits offered?” Review questions with HR or leadership teams to ensure they serve a strategic purpose.
3. Not Setting Clear Survey Goals
Some companies launch surveys simply because “everyone else is doing it.” Without clear goals, the survey becomes a fishing expedition with no plan for how to use the data. This frustrates employees when nothing changes afterward.
Avoid this survey mistake: Start with the end in mind. Do you want to measure engagement, identify retention risks, or gather feedback on a new policy? Set 2–3 core objectives before writing any questions. Goals ensure the effort drives real impact.
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4. Using Only Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions can yield valuable insights. However, too many of them overwhelm employees and HR teams. Employees tire of typing long responses, while analysts face mountains of text data to categorize and interpret.
Avoid this survey mistake: Balance open and closed questions. Use multiple-choice or Likert scales for benchmarking and sprinkle in 1–2 open-ended questions to capture nuance. For example: “On a scale of 1–5, how supported do you feel by your manager?” followed by “What is one thing your manager could do to better support you?” This combination gives you both measurable trends and richer context.
5. Breaking Confidentiality
Fear of retaliation is a major barrier to honest feedback. If employees believe their responses can be traced back to them, they may sugarcoat answers, or worse, refuse to participate.
Avoid this survey mistake: Communicate that responses are confidential or anonymous, depending on your method. Use a trusted third-party platform like Peoplelytics to reinforce trust. Share how you will gather and report data to protect individual identities. Consistent transparency builds confidence and encourages employees to provide candid, useful feedback.
6. Timing Surveys Poorly
Launching a survey during peak busy seasons, major organizational upheaval, or right before the holidays almost guarantees low participation. Employees either won’t have the time or will be too distracted to thoughtfully respond. “The wrong time” can cause low participation and less-than-robust feedback results.
Avoid this survey mistake: Choose a calm period when employees can give your survey the attention it deserves. Announce the survey in advance and give a reasonable window (7–14 days) to finish it.
7. Failing to Communicate the Purpose
If employees wonder, “Why are we doing this survey?” they may distrust the motives or see it as a box-checking exercise. This leads to low enthusiasm and poor participation.
Avoid this survey mistake: Before launching, share the “why” behind the survey. Explain how the organization will use the feedback to make meaningful improvements. Use multiple channels (email, team meetings, one-on-ones) to spread the word. When employees see the purpose, they’re more likely to engage wholeheartedly.
8. Making Participation Difficult
If your survey is hard to access, buried in emails, incompatible with mobile, or requires multiple logins, many employees won’t bother. Friction kills participation rates. Even small hurdles, like clunky navigation or unclear instructions, can discourage people from finishing. The more effort it takes to get started, the more likely employees are to abandon it altogether. Then you’re left with incomplete or skewed data.
Avoid this survey mistake: Make surveys accessible and user-friendly. Optimize them for mobile devices, provide single-click links, and ensure translations if you have a multilingual workforce. The smoother the process, the higher your response rate.
9. Forgoing a Survey Pilot Test
Even a well-written survey can run into issues. Unclear wording, confusing response scales, or unexpected glitches can damage your results. If you skip pilot testing, you risk rolling out a survey that frustrates employees or produces unusable data. That can undermine trust and make your very first effort fall flat.
Avoid this survey mistake: Run a pilot with a small group before launch. Ask them how long it took to complete, which questions felt unclear, and whether the flow made sense. Use their feedback to fine-tune. A quick pilot test can ensure your wider rollout goes smoothly.
10. Ignoring Participation Rates
Some organizations pat themselves on the back for getting 30% of employees to respond. But low participation means your results may not represent the full workforce, leading to skewed insights.
Avoid this survey mistake: Set participation goals for 70% or higher. Encourage managers to remind their teams and explain the value of contributing. Offer small incentives, like a team lunch if participation exceeds a target. Track response rates in real time and adjust reminders accordingly. Broad participation ensures results reflect the true employee experience.
11. Rushing the Analysis
Skimming surface-level results without digging deeper can lead to poor decision-making. Averages can hide hotspots (like one team is thriving while another is struggling), and small sample sizes can make ordinary fluctuations look like crises. It’s also easy to overlook nonresponse bias or ignore the gold mine in open-ended comments. Move too fast, and you can end up missing or misreading patterns.
Avoid this survey mistake: Take time to properly analyze results. Look beyond averages to see differences across departments, roles, tenure, locations, or managers. Be sure to protect anonymity! Check a sample balance and participation so one group doesn’t dominate the narrative.
12. Keeping Results Under Wraps
Employees take the time to provide feedback, but if they never hear back, they may feel ignored. This is one of the fastest ways to erode trust in future surveys.
Avoid this survey mistake: Always close the loop. Share employee survey results within the company, not just leadership. Highlight both positive findings and areas for improvement. Be honest and transparent. Even if the changes take time, acknowledging the feedback demonstrates respect and reinforces trust.
13. Failing to Act on Feedback
The ultimate mistake is asking for input and then doing nothing. Surveys without follow-up breed cynicism, disengagement, and skepticism about leadership’s commitment. Employees may stop participating altogether.
Avoid this survey mistake: Develop an action plan based on results. Prioritize 2–3 areas for improvement and communicate the steps being taken. Involve employees in creating solutions through focus groups or committees. Provide regular updates on progress. Acting on feedback changes surveys from a data-collection exercise into a real change driver with significant company impact.
Thoughtfully Strategize Employee Surveys to Mitigate Mistakes
Surveys are one of the simplest, most powerful ways to listen to your team. When you approach them with care, they can uncover what’s working, spotlight what’s not, and give you a clear path to improve the employee experience.
By avoiding these common mistakes, you’ll create surveys that capture your workforce’s voice and lead to meaningful action. With the right approach, surveys become a powerful engine for growth and engagement. This helps employees feel heard and motivated to do their best work.
Keep surveys simple, purposeful, and most importantly, act on what you learn. Do that, and your surveys will build trust, spark change, and keep your people engaged.
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