Workforce Attitude Surveys & Change Initiatives

Custom surveys for “taking the temperature”
and enhancing engagement.

You need to build or revise an employee engagement survey. Maybe you’re looking for innovative suggestions to enhance the culture or ways to boost trust in leadership. Or maybe you just want to get a finger on the pulse of your workforce.

The problem is, you have a million questions, like…

  • How long does the survey really need to be? How short can you cut it without sacrificing data integrity?
  • How often should it go out? Annually? Quarterly? Monthly?
  • What’s a minimum acceptable response rate?
  • What’s the right way to handle confidentiality?
  • How do you know if your questions are targeting the right attitudes and experiences? What are the right attitudes and experiences, anyway?
  • Do you really need to worry about concepts like reliability and validity?

More generally… Can you just wing it, or do you need some kind of special training in survey design?

I have good news:

  • You don’t need 100+ questions
  • You don’t need a 100% response rate
  • You don’t need a PhD in statistics
  • You don’t need to be an expert in survey design in order to develop an effective survey

I can help you answer all these questions AND build a playbook for workforce surveys that you can take with you and use for the rest of your career.

How I Can Help

I offer three options for evaluating employee engagement, depending on whether you want to fine-tune an existing method or build a custom employee listening process from scratch.

  1. Survey Refresh ($1,000 USD)
    This is a rapid audit of your existing employee engagement process, where I’ll identify the top 10 improvements to boost response rates and dial in on actionable takeaways.

  2. Survey Blueprint ($2,500 USD)
    This is an employee surveying blueprint that you can use to craft your own custom surveys. I’ll show you a method for targeting only attitudes and behaviors that people in your organization are actually able and willing to change.

  3. Survey Build (contact for pricing*)
    This is a full survey design project, where I will walk you through the process of creating an effective employee listening system. Along the way, you’ll become equipped to design your own custom surveys moving forward.

    *Price varies based on the scope of what you’re looking for.

Each service is explained in more detail below (click to expand).

If you already have an existing survey or other employee listening process in place, and you just need to tweak it to improve response rates and get more useful results, then go with the Survey Refresh.

I’ll review your process, including walking through the experience as a respondent, and I’ll identify the top 10 fixes to drive up respondent engagement, completion, and usable responses.

Examples of components I focus on include:

  • Overall structure
  • Timing
  • Length
  • Wording
  • Redundancy (i.e., what can be cut)
  • Bias or unintended misinterpretations
  • Actionability
  • Friction points
  • Response scale

All I need to know beforehand is the survey’s purpose and intent. How will the resulting information be used? Then I’ll help you refine the process to better achieve that aim.

To get the Survey Refresh, email me at seth.osbornLA@gmail.com or book a virtual meeting to get more info.

NOTE: I guarantee satisfaction. If you don’t feel like you’ve gotten at least one helpful improvement to your survey, then I’ll immediately refund the entire payment, no questions asked.

If you just want a roadmap for designing a new survey or other process, but you don’t actually need help implementing it, then the Survey Blueprint is the best choice. I’ll give you all the tools you need and explain the process so that you can run with it yourself.

My approach divides survey items into 2 general types:

  1. Temperature items, which are broad attitudinal questions (they “take the temperature” of workforce morale).
  2. Actionable items, which are specific perceptions of others’ behaviors. As the name implies, these are things that people can directly influence by changing their behavior.

You really only need a handful of temperature items, because there are rapidly diminishing returns to adding more of them. And I recommend limiting the actionable items strictly to things that people in the organization feel willing and able to influence.

I provide a variety of sample items to choose from, and the blueprint also provides guidance for writing your own.

To get the Survey Blueprint, email me at seth.osbornLA@gmail.com or book a virtual meeting to get more info.

NOTE: Even though this option allows you to plan out and implement the survey yourself, I’m still available for troubleshooting anytime. If you have any questions about implementation, now or in the future, just send me an email, and I’ll be happy to provide additional guidance.

If you want a roadmap AND someone to spearhead the implementation, then the Survey Build is the option for you.

With this option, I take you through every step of the design, development, and implementation of the survey, as well as visualization and analysis of the results. If desired, I also offer assistance with planning and implementing change initiatives to bump the results in the right direction.

Although I’m highly involved in this option, my general approach is to build your internal capacity to be able to complete all these steps in the future without my assistance. Many of the steps can be automated, and I’ll show you how.

To discuss options for the Survey Build, email me at seth.osbornLA@gmail.com or book a virtual meeting.

NOTE: I’ll offer the Survey Build at a discounted rate if you are willing to let a team of my outstanding graduate students assist with or lead the project. (See FAQs below for more details.)

Why Me?

I’ve been designing and implementing employee surveys for more than a decade…

  • Over the years, I’ve helped dozens of organizations translate their survey findings into concrete action steps that improved engagement, culture, customer satisfaction, and safety metrics
  • I’ve taught university courses on surveying, testing, and psychological assessment
  • I’ve administered countless surveys in research and academic contexts

Along the way, I’ve picked up many useful principles for what works and what doesn’t.

I have actually had some respondents describe my surveys as “interesting” and “fun,” so take that for what it’s worth.

Check out the FAQs for reasons not to work with me.

FAQs

“Do you offer benchmarking along with the survey results?”

No. I only use custom surveys designed specifically for your organization and what you’re trying to accomplish, so there is no comparative data.

If you need benchmarking, just go with an off-the-shelf tool.

“Do you use popular surveys like the Gallup Q12?”

No. I only use custom surveys designed specifically for your organization and situation. Your survey will not be the same as anyone else’s survey.

“How long does a survey project take, on average?”

It depends on the scope, but a survey could hypothetically be designed and implemented within a couple weeks on the high end.

However, my method only includes survey items tapping attitudes and behaviors that people at your organization feel willing and able to influence. It usually takes organizations a few extra weeks just to figure that out. (It’s better not to rush through that phase, as it’s probably the single most important component.)

“What survey platform do you use?”

I often use Qualtrics, ZipSurvey, or even Google Forms. We can use whatever platform you’re most comfortable with.

“Can I get a discount?”

Absolutely. If you’ll allow a team of my phenomenal graduate students to assist or lead the project, then I’ll cut 30% off the project price.

In exchange for the discount, I’ll ask that you provide a testimonial for the students if you are happy with the results.

Email any additional questions to seth.osbornLA@gmail.com.

Meet the Survey Designer

Hello! I’m Seth Osborn.

I’m an industrial-organizational psychologist (think “business psych”). I’m the principal consultant for Osborn Learning & Analytics LLC and a Professor of Practice at Rice University.

Across more than a decade of training and consulting, I’ve certified hundreds of trainers; taught or spoken to thousands of professionals and students; and provided consulting services for nonprofit organizations, government agencies, prominent Fortune 500 and Am Law 100 firms, and professional sports teams.

My certifications include Hogan Assessments, the Birkman Method, and the Uncommon Coaching model developed by Leadership Worth Following. I hold a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Tulsa.

My Philosophy:

I believe that every psychologist’s goal should be to make the invisible become visible. I don’t see the value in telling people what they already know.

So, rather than merely “holding up a mirror,” my services are designed to reveal blind spots. New vision enables new action.

If that’s what you’re looking for, then let’s chat.