What To Know About Average Survey Response Rates

When giving your employees or customers surveys, you might wonder what the benefit is from doing so. The greatest benefit of surveys is seeing how current company practices and products are being received by either employees or customers. By adjusting the company more in line with what customers or employees want, you can create a happier and more productive workplace, as well as a better customer experience.

In general, you will find that most companies have a response rate of about 65% or higher if they are employing the proper techniques for engaging their respondents. In companies that don’t use the appropriate response engagement techniques, you will find that the reactions from employees fall below 40%, and in some extreme cases, you will see the results are less than 20%. That can be a frightening statistic for companies—not getting survey responses shows a lack of interest in the company. Click here to find out more about survey response rates.

What Can Cause Employees Not To Respond

From an employee perspective, lack of engagement may be a sign that employees are unhappy and don’t believe that the surveys have any practical value for changing company practices.

There can be many reasons why they feel as if they shouldn’t respond. One of the most significant and important reasons is that they feel like they may get in trouble if they tell the truth about their thoughts. Make sure that surveys are completely anonymous so that employees can respond honestly without fear of reprisal.

Another common reason that respondents ignore surveys is if they have no incentive to finish. A company with a high response rate will offer incentives that make people want to complete the survey because they know there is a reward at the end of the finish line.

The questions that you have put in place affect survey response rates. If you have too many open-ended questions, your employees may decide that they don’t want to answer them because they require too much effort and time. Focus on “yes or no” questions and scaling questions rather than expecting respondents to type out long open-ended answers.

What Happens When Survey Response Rates Are Low

When your survey response rates are low, you will find that your company suffers as a result. You won’t have customers telling you how they feel, and the work environment can be hostile. You can solve these issues by taking the time to ask the right questions and ensure that your employees are responding.

Remember, when your employees are happy, you have an efficient, productive company. That ensures success and financial stability for your company to have a better future in a highly competitive world.

Also check: How To Avoid Financial Ruin As A New Business Owner

Gain Better Survey Response Rates And See More Structure And Stability

When you are more thoughtful and innovative when creating your surveys, you will see that people respond well. Let them know that there is no fear of retribution (make the survey anonymous, and it will do wonders to the rate of responses), and give them an incentive to finish. You will see that your rates go from a twenty percent rate to sixty or more. Continue looking for innovative solutions to increase your survey response rates, and your goals will be met more clearly.