Engagement surveys are incredible tools when used properly. They can help organizations understand the causes of employee disengagement and design a strategy to course-correct. They can help employees share their experiences to influence organizational decisions and improve outcomes.
However, life sciences organizations often fall into critical traps when interpreting this data.
Here are the biggest pitfalls we have seen firsthand at organizations of all types, from big pharma to mid-sized biotechs and R1 academic institutions:
Drawing the Wrong Conclusions
The Scenario: If you outsourced your engagement survey to a vendor, you will likely be provided with a list of questions that “drive” or “impact” engagement. For an organization that is committed to taking data-driven actions to improve engagement, the next logical step is to put in place a strategy that will respond to these top engagement drivers.
The Challenge: In reality, it is important to understand the math behind this list of drivers. In many cases, these drivers are actually passengers in your engagement survey “car”: they are going in the same direction as your general engagement score, but they are not the ones taking them there.
The Impact: Wasted resources chasing the wrong cause. When teams are already navigating complex transformations, misinterpreting data can lead to strategies that fail to address the actual friction points within the workforce.
The Solutions:
Interrogate the Data: Ask your vendor or data analytics person or team: are these questions highlighting the root cause of disengagement (the true drivers), or are they simple correlations to our key engagement metrics (just passengers)?
Utilize Qualitative Data: Design specific open-ended questions to understand the root cause of disengagement using qualitative research methods.
Other common pitfalls of engagement surveys are the absence of data ownership for the organization, or the lack of ability to use the engagement survey results to measure the impact of your interventions.
Does your team have the capability to truly understand your engagement survey results in a way that will inform your strategy and resource allocation?
We are putting together a course for HR and L&D leaders to develop the analytics skills they need to generate and demonstrate new value for the organization. Reach out if you’d like to know more.
