Colleagues will have noticed that there is a second pulse survey of recent months available to complete, this time exploring thoughts and feelings about the transition back to working on campus.

Using surveys to gather feedback is a common staff engagement tool. Whilst I’m sure we would all like to imagine organisations where flows of communication are open and transparent and every part feels able to have a voice and know that their thoughts are transmitted to those who need to hear….in reality, of course, the picture is somewhat more fractured, and not through any intention. Bring any large group of people together and it is instantly difficult for opinion, voice and power to be distributed equally.

Surveys, then, offer one way of all those disparate views to be shared. Staff surveys have been used in the University for a number of years now, however our recent situation has meant that gathering views has become more important than ever and, perhaps, more challenging given that we do not share spaces, offices, cafes etc.

A pulse survey is intended to capture views on a specific topic (as opposed to the general staff survey which seeks to be all-encompassing of the employee experience), quick and easy to complete, so that results are relatively straightforward to analyse and actions can be taken in response. The University is taking its first steps into this space and it seems organisational learning can be as clumsy as individual learning. So, as we have released surveys we have learned each time what works and what doesn’t, how to frame intention, how to structure questions and so on, to improve the experience for the next.

In this fast-evolving, unpredictable and potentially more agile world, expect pulse surveys to become a common part of employee experience in every sector, and let your voice be heard.

The current pulse survey is open until 19th July 2020 and is open to all colleagues at Canterbury Christ Church University.

Juliet Flynn, Organisational and People Development