Could you be putting lipstick on a pig, and not know it?

No company can afford to invest hard earned resources on employee or customer metrics that do not result in improved performance. Surveys and other measurement systems, however well intended, can not live up to their promises if they lack face, content or construct validity, or are not reliable. They are little more than a ceremonial "feel good" ritual if their questions are not actionable, relevant, and timely.

Surveys should yield the data and information measurements necessary to focus improvement efforts to not only improve, but also increase both employee and customer loyalty. Accordingly, PDi has developed a powerful measurement tool -The PDi Survey Effectiveness Index ©. This nation-wide index allows organizations to benchmark and evaluate surveys/metrics and provides recommendations on how to get the most from measurement efforts. Incorporating the latest research on survey effectiveness, the PDi Survey Effectiveness Index © provides a measurement of the key drivers to high quality data collection and information by assessing the following essentials:

1. Needs Analysis
2. Sampling Strategy
3. Survey Design & Administration: Question Quality
4. Survey Design & Administration: Survey Credibility
5. Survey Analysis & Feedback
6. Action Planning
7. Survey Synchronization with Customers
8. Survey Synchronization with Internal Partners
9. Respondent Trust
10. Overall Satisfaction

Taking Metrics to the Next Level

As organizational leaders have long noted, the first, and perhaps most important step in productive decision making, is reliable information. Surveys that don't provide reliable information undermine the ability to lead company improvement efforts. Comparative data of the PDi Survey Effectiveness Index© will highlight both the areas of strengths and those in need of improvement in ways that are difficult to ignore. A comparison of a company's PDi Survey Effectiveness Index© scores with the data will provide considerable and most importantly, very valuable information. Knowing where your company stands regarding survey effectiveness with other companies is a key to successful learning, adaptation and growth.

Looking for similarities and differences yields a number of data points. Differences are timed "gap scores". When gap scores are large enough to be statistically significant, plus or minus, the positive gap can provide a difference worth celebrating. On the other hand, a negative gap can provide a difference worth corrective action. Comparing your company survey effectiveness scores with the benchmark data creates a compelling rationale for evaluating the return of your company's survey investments.

Even when your surveys and other metrics are valid, reliable, and actionable, that is not enough. To be world class, your survey efforts need to be compatible and integrated, so the information becomes cumulative, and each survey leverages the explantory power of another, to maximize your return. When we see employee surveys which cannot link with customer satisfaction efforts, or organizational effectiveness surveys which do not support internal customer partnering and satisfaction efforts, we wince; An opportunity has been wasted.

What is the sum total of the PDi Survey Effectiveness Index ©?

An objective, third party review without conflicts of interest

An expert review of face and content validity of survey questions and constructs, and how to improve them

An evaluation of implementation and action planning opportunities

Strategies to assess whether survey metrics are impacting the bottom line

Strategies to synchronize survey and metric efforts so they leverage each other

Identification of opportunities to streamline the survey process without losing explanatory power

Strategies for internal trending over time

Comparisons of individual organization results wtih national, sector and/or industry benchmarks