What is an Employee Needs and Interest Survey and Why is it Important?
An employee needs and interest survey is a short and direct survey used to determine the needs, interests, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs of employees within your organization. Essentially, these surveys help guide your wellness efforts. When creating a wellness program, conducting an employee needs and interest survey is essential. In addition, they are also extremely helpful to do yearly or anytime you plan on adding to or enhancing your wellness program.
Regardless of what stage your wellness program is in, it is important to survey your employees so you can better understand what they feel they need to improve their health as well as what they are interested in learning about and participating in. The more input the employees have in the creation and upkeep of the wellness program the more invested they will be. Research shows that these surveys help give employees ownership and involvement regarding the decision making initiatives inside the organization, therefore, they are more likely to participate in the program. In summary, below is what an employee needs and interest survey can help you discover:
- How much interest there is in a wellness program
- Health topics and activities employees are interested in
- What health topics are top priorities for employees
- Incentives that will motivate employees to participate
- The best ways to communicate wellness related information
- Who might be interested in joining the wellness committee
- What changes need to be made
Tips for Your Survey
- If you want to increase survey participation and have higher response rates, make sure they’re 100% anonymous. Have employees reach out to you if they are interested in joining the wellness committee to prevent any of their other answers from being known.
- Communicate the value of the survey before distributing it to employees. Make sure everyone knows how important their opinions are.
- Make the survey short and to the point. You can increase participation by stating how long the survey will take in the description.
- Make the survey convenient for employees. Use a simple platform with minimal steps if you are emailing the survey out. If your employees prefer a print out, set up a convenient drop off location.
- Last, but most important, demonstrate follow through! Showing employees that you care about their opinions and make changes or additions based on their responses is the best way to improve overall wellness program success.
