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What is an employee pulse survey?

Glossary definition

What is an employee pulse survey?

An employee pulse survey is a short, frequently repeated workforce satisfaction survey.

The results help HR and People teams ‘take the pulse’ of the workforce, so they can spot changes and issues and take timely action to maintain employee engagement and satisfaction, and deliver great employee experiences.

Employee satisfaction surveys come in many shapes and sizes. Historically, an organisation might have carried out a large-scale survey once or twice a year.

In today’s fast-moving and competitive talent marketplace, enlightened employers understand that employee opinions and experiences change far more rapidly.

Carrying out a weekly pulse survey gives an immediate snapshot and builds comparative data that makes trends obvious.

A pulse survey might be sent to all employees once a week by email or via a mobile app.

For maximum uptake, it should be short, easy to respond to and contain a mixture of fixed and changing questions, for insights into core employee satisfaction and engagement as well as workforce reactions to new or tactical initiatives or changes.

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