Meeting the Measurement Challenge
Making sure your survey investments are not going to waste

The construct summarizes the seven basic steps of the PDi Survey Effectiveness Cycle©.

Needs Analysis & Survey Design (Steps 1&2) probe whether the survey is assessing important issues, critical for organizational success. Surveys are often developed with good intentions yet,
fall short and end up as “feel good” or “ceremonial” and become a wasted effort. In short, flaws in survey design, such as poor instructions and confusing layout can undermine their effectiveness. Similarly, inadequate survey goals/objectives, poorly worded survey questions (ambiguous, leading or overly complex), or invalid rating scales, compromise survey instrument validity and reliability.

Effective survey efforts use representative and statistically valid Sampling strategies, state of the art Administration technology ( Step 3) to gather quality data, and comprehensive analysis techniques to establish statistically significant findings, not only on the sample in general, but on important differences between key demographics.

Results and Feedback (Step 4) must be clear, timely and adequately explained during and after any survey debriefings. Survey effectiveness demands actionable results that can be used to plan and deploy realistic improvements Action Plans ( Step 5). Such efforts are undermined unless leaders systematically follow up on implementation, and track and measure ongoing progress.

Some organizations opt for the path of convenience and do not bother with survey Synchronization (Step 6) Survey effectiveness demands synchronization, where all of the organization's surveys become integrated. Survey data becomes cumulative, increasing the explanatory power of the data, to maximize insight and impact. Surveys which cannot be linked decrease effectiveness.

Comprehensive, meaningful Evaluation (Step 7) makes sure that any problems with the survey process are identified and managed. Without the combination of survey ratings and open ended feedback, it is difficult to improve survey effectiveness. Each of these seven steps measure the essential requirements necessary for overall Survey Effectiveness. When surveys are effective, their findings provide critical information to help people Make Better Decisions...