How do you ensure that your internal communication survey questions are clear, relevant, and unbiased?

1 Define your goals and objectives

Before you start writing your survey questions, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your feedback. What are the main goals and objectives of your internal communication strategy? How will you measure them? What are the key indicators of success? How will you use the feedback to improve your communication? Having a clear vision and direction will help you craft relevant and focused questions that align with your communication goals.

2 Know your audience

Another important factor to consider is your audience. Who are you surveying and why? How familiar are they with your communication channels and topics? How often do they receive and respond to your messages? How diverse are they in terms of demographics, preferences, and needs? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your questions to their level of understanding, interest, and feedback style. It will also help you avoid asking irrelevant or inappropriate questions that might confuse or offend them.

3 Choose the right format and length

The format and length of your survey will depend on the type and amount of feedback you want to collect. There are different types of survey questions, such as open-ended, closed-ended, rating scales, multiple choice, and ranking. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the level of detail, specificity, and analysis you need. Generally, you should use a mix of question types to get a balanced and comprehensive feedback. However, you should also keep your survey as short and simple as possible, to avoid overwhelming or boring your respondents.

4 Write clear and unbiased questions

The wording of your questions is crucial for the quality and validity of your feedback. You want to ask clear and concise questions that are easy to understand and answer. You also want to avoid leading, loaded, or double-barreled questions that might influence or bias the respondents' answers. For example, instead of asking "How satisfied are you with our excellent communication?", you should ask "How satisfied are you with our communication?". Similarly, instead of asking "Do you agree or disagree that our communication is timely and informative?", you should ask "How timely and informative do you find our communication?".

5 Test and refine your survey

Before you launch your survey, you should test it with a small sample of your target audience. This will help you identify and fix any potential issues or errors in your survey design, such as unclear or ambiguous questions, confusing or missing options, technical glitches, or formatting problems. You should also ask for feedback on the overall survey experience, such as the length, the tone, the layout, and the instructions. Based on the feedback, you should refine and improve your survey until you are confident that it meets your goals and objectives.

6 Analyze and act on the results

Once you have collected your feedback, you need to analyze and interpret the results. You should look for patterns, trends, gaps, and insights that can help you evaluate and improve your internal communication strategy. You should also share the results and the key findings with your respondents, as well as with your stakeholders and managers. This will show them that you value their feedback and that you are committed to making positive changes based on it. You should also thank them for their participation and invite them to share any further comments or suggestions.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?