HR Definitions

A climate survey describes a particular type of questionnaire that gives information about the views of staff members within an organisation, about how they see the workplace.

Climate Surveys measure the internal climate, or general feel of how people view their work, and the workplace.

The types of issues covered in a climate survey may include (amongst others):

• Physical work environment
• Enjoyment of work
• Rewards and recognition
• Management practices
• Leadership, including vision
• Understanding of the business
• Opportunities to develop
• Promotional possibilities, career progression
• Customer focus of the business
• Relevance of work to business objectives
• Compliance with legislation in regard to employment (safety, eeo)

The survey is a useful tool for giving Management a snapshot of the general feeling of staff.

By including demographic information in the collection of data, the organisation has the ability to "drill down" into locations or business units, or even across gender or age groups for example, to analyse the data to identify areas requiring managerial input.

Climate surveys are used to provide management with information to assist in decision-making and provide alerts to areas requiring urgent attention.

HRworkbench recommends that climate surveys be conducted electronically and preferably conducted as an outsourced process to remove suspicion about privacy and confidentiality and the use of results, and provide a trusted environment.

This is essential to get staff to answer the survey honestly, thereby giving the best possible information.

Measurement will de-motivate staff if no action is apparent after the survey. Managers must ensure that the views of staff are acted upon, and areas requiring improvement are addressed and any actions taken are communicated clearly to staff.

It is best practice for the survey results to be transparent and publishing the results for staff to view is very motivating.

The climate survey should be run periodically as a pulse survey to be able to show that improvements have been achieved and to focus attention on the need for continual improvement.

Employee Opinion Surveys
Pulse Surveys
Organisational Surveys/Organisational Health
Surveys