Designing and Using Organizational Surveys : A Seven-Step Process

by Church, Allan H.; Waclawski, Janine; Kraut, Allen I.

• ISBN13: 9780787956776
• ISBN10: 0787956775
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-03-28
• Publisher: Pfeiffer

Summary

The survey process is a highly complex and situationally dependent one, in need of careful management. If poorly designed and administered, surveys can create disappointment and even disaster. Little has been written so far for those responsible for designing and implementing surveys in organizations. These authors have drawn on their extensive consulting experience to develop a concise, pragmatic, seven-step model covering the entire process, from initiation, to final evaluation, to making the results meaningful to the future of the organization. They pay special attention to the political and human sensitivities concerned and show how to overcome the many potential barriers to a successful outcome.

Author Biography

ALLAN H. CHURCH is director of organization and management development at PepsiCo in Purchase, New York. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a distinguished visiting scholar in the College of Business, Technology, and Professional Programs at Benedictine University. Church is the author of numerous articles in professional journals and coeditor (with David Bracken and Carol Timmreck) of The Handbook of Multisource Feedback (Jossey-Bass, 2001). JANINE WACLAWSKI is a principal consultant in the Management Consulting Services line of business at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. She is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and has been an instructor in Hunter College at the City University of New York. Waclawski is a past recipient of the American Society for Training and Development's Donald Bullock Memorial Dissertation Award for her research on large-scale organizational change and performance.

Table of Contents

Tables, Figures, and Exhibits	xiii
Foreword	xvii
Allen I. Kraut
Acknowledgments	xxi
The Authors	xxv
Introduction	1	(3)
What is a Survey?	4	(4)
A Brief History of Surveys	8	(2)
Contemporary Use of Surveys	10	(2)
Surveys in Contemporary Organizational Life	12	(5)
The Seven Steps to Effective Organizational Surveys	17	(10)
Step One: Pooling Resources	27	(24)
Setting Clear Strategic Objectives	31	(7)
Obtaining Commitment	38	(4)
Overcoming Resistance and Apathy	42	(1)
Maintaining Confidentiality	43	(2)
Deciding What Information to Collect	45	(1)
Balancing Priorities	46	(3)
Checklist for Step One	49	(2)
Step Two: Developing a World-Class Survey	51	(38)
Using a Survey Design Team	53	(2)
Gathering Preliminary Information	55	(1)
Identifying Key Issues	56	(2)
Discussing Your Findings	58	(2)
Drafting the Initial Survey Document	60	(24)
Piloting the Survey	84	(3)
Checklist for Step Two	87	(2)
Step Three: Communicating Objectives	89	(24)
The CPR Model of Organizational Communication	91	(5)
First Contact with Employees	96	(4)
Communicating the Survey	100	(6)
Sample Survey Introduction	106	(1)
Guidelines for Communicating to Employees	107	(2)
Recognizing Informal Systems	109	(2)
Checklist for Step Three	111	(2)
Step Four: Administering the Survey	113	(36)
Timing of Administration	114	(2)
Working with the Project Plan	116	(4)
Sample Versus Census	120	(2)
Methods of Administration and Data Collection	122	(15)
Paper Versus Electronic Methods: A Comparison	137	(6)
Response Rates	143	(3)
Learning While Doing	146	(1)
Checklist for Step Four	147	(2)
Step Five: Interpreting Results	149	(52)
The Role of Statistics	150	(4)
The Importance of Timing	154	(5)
Data Entry	159	(3)
Data Preparation	162	(10)
Item-Level Analysis	172	(6)
Conceptual-Level Analysis	178	(8)
Comparative Analysis	186	(7)
Content Analysis of Write-In Comments	193	(6)
Checklist for Step Five	199	(2)
Step Six: Delivering the Findings	201	(28)
Understanding the Roll-Out Process	203	(4)
Preparing the Survey Report	207	(18)
Balancing Expectations and Reality	225	(2)
Checklist for Step Six	227	(2)
Step Seven: Learning into Action	229	(50)
Using Surveys to Create Lasting Change	232	(1)
Barriers to the Transfer of Ownership	233	(6)
A Commitment to Action	239	(2)
Four Approaches to Survey Action Planning	241	(17)
Five Critical Factors That Determine the Success of Survey Action Planning	258	(1)
The Action Planning Process	259	(8)
Linking Survey Results to Other Measures of Performance	267	(4)
Building Systems for Evaluating Success	271	(1)
The Evolving Role of the Survey Practitioner	272	(4)
Checklist for Step Seven	276	(3)
References	279	(8)
Index	287