How internal comms can write ‘what we heard’ recaps for employee surveys

After taking the time to participate in a survey, employees might wonder whether their answers will actually be acknowledged and acted upon. A strong “what we heard” recap is one of the first chances communicators have to answer that question.

Karen Testa, senior director of enterprise communications at Elbit Systems of America, told Ragan that when she sifts through the results of an employee survey, she maintains a relatively simple starting principle. She gives employees a story they can follow based on the data, rather than spitting back the data.

“Really, it’s a narrative. It’s not a data dump,” Testa said. “Group things into themes, not by question. People think in terms of stories, not spreadsheets.”

Instead of reporting back every single finding, Testa recommended that communicators narrow the results in their findings report to several key themes. She also said that supporting those themes with representative data or comments can help weave a thorough narrative.

“Use plain language — no HR speak, business jargon or acronyms,” Testa said. “Pair the quantitative with the qualitative. If 72% of respondents say something, give them a relatable comment that helps explain what that number means.”

Translate employee signals into clear takeaways

One of the primary challenges internal communicators will face when going through survey responses is figuring out what it is employees actually want. Testa shared an example of this in action — she said she’s gotten multiple surveys that indicated employees were overwhelmed by the amount of internal communications they were getting, yet at the same time, they wanted more frequent updates from leaders.

“You have to frame it like this: if employees want fewer, shorter, more focused messages on day-to-day topics, they probably want more meaningful communications and less noise and less stuff to cut through the clutter,” Testa said. “They want it to be clear and easier to understand.”

Communicators do need to be careful about just how much interpretation they’re putting into their “what we heard” summaries. Testa recommended using direct language that reflects employees’ responses without the organization trying to filter their experiences.

“You just have to acknowledge things directly and be neutral,” Testa said. “Say things like, ‘Employees told us they’re struggling with blank.’ Avoid words like ‘misunderstanding,’ ‘incorrect,’ or ‘perceived.’ You have to give the feedback without judgment.”

Testa told Ragan that when presenting percentages in their written findings, comms pros should pair them with short explanations from employees that illustrate the sentiment they’re reporting. She also suggested cutting aggressively once the recap is drafted.

“I always say, write it the way you want to and then cut 10% out,” Testa said. “It forces you to make sure that you’re being very, very clear.”

Connect your takeaways to realistic next steps

Once comms pros have outlined what they heard in an employee survey, they need to state what’s going to happen next with the knowledge the organization now has. That makes it easier for employees to connect their feedback to a response rather than hunting for it elsewhere in the recap.

Testa cautioned that the stated action plans need to line up with what the organization can follow through on.

“Don’t overpromise,” Testa said. “I’ve seen this over and over again — people announce tiger teams and all these follow-ups, and then employees are asking, ‘Well, what happened to the plan?’”

Testa also recommended that in their recaps, communicators should get as specific as possible about what will change based on the responses and when employees should expect to see those changes. For instance, if employees say that they’re juggling too many concurrent goals, the response might read, “Based on the information gathered in our employee survey, we plan to simplify our quarterly goals and communicate them at both the organization and team level starting next quarter.”

“Give them some bridge,” Testa said. “That’s the bridge they’re looking for, if something is actually going to happen after the survey comes out.”

If your organization hasn’t decided on a response to a given survey response, don’t fill the space with a vague promise. Testa said that comms pros should tell employees where the decision stands. In addition, they should also include what options leaders are considering when possible.

“If there’s not a decision that’s been made yet, at least say leaders are exploring a couple of options,” Testa said. “Talk about what those options could be. People fear all this stuff just disappears into some void.”

The follow-through in stating what comms pros heard in a survey can also shape whether employees believe it’s worth participating the next time around.

“People don’t want to do the survey if they see over and over again that things don’t actually pan out into some improvement or some change, or even some small tweaks that would make a difference to employees,” Testa said. “What’s the point?”

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.