If you’re in an employee owned business or are transitioning to employee ownership, understanding how your team feels is essential. Our staff survey is designed specifically for small businesses with 10 to 100 employees. It offers a straightforward way to assess key aspects of your workplace culture, such as business purpose, leadership, teamwork, and customer focus. Anonymous feedback can shine a light on areas that need improvement and give you an opportunity to celebrate your successes. For smaller teams, this survey can also spark meaningful discussions about business direction and alignment of roles.
Why it matters
At the heart of a successful business lies the ability to challenge assumptions. Founders and Senior Leadership often think they know how their employees feel, but without direct input, you’re working with an incomplete picture. Running this survey not only builds a clearer picture, but you will help foster a culture of openness, by creating a safe space where they can share their perspectives. And most importantly it gives you the chance to act on insights and create change. This culture of transparency and two-way communication is integral to an EO business.
Staff survey key benefits
- Building trust and engagement: Employees appreciate being heard, strengthening their connection to the business.
- Identifying strengths and weaknesses: Understand what’s working well and what needs attention.
- Encouraging ownership mindset: Helps employees feel invested in the business’ direction and success.
- Benchmarking progress: Compare results to the UK Workplace Study.
- Track changes: Getting into a regular routine with staff surveys allows you to chart your progress and employee sentiment over time.
Key themes the survey covers
The short survey provides insights across several critical areas:
- A shared purpose: Does the business have a clear vision and direction?
- Personal development and reward: Are employees proud to work here? Do they feel supported in their growth?
- Customer perception: How do employees view customer satisfaction and service?
- Communication and employee voice: Are employees’ ideas and concerns heard and addressed?
- Teamwork: How well do teams collaborate?
- Managers and leadership: Are leaders providing the necessary support?
- Overall engagement: How satisfied are your employees?
- Employee Ownership perspective: How do your employees feel about EO?
The survey includes a mix of closed and open-ended questions to capture both quantitative data and personal insights.
Survey report and next steps
After your team has completed the survey, you’ll receive a comprehensive report, including:
- A full breakdown of responses: See answers to every question and all anonymous comments.
- Comparison data: While EO-specific benchmarking is still developing, to provide helpful context we include some data from the UK Workplace Study.
- Thematic analysis: Scores are grouped into key sections, making it easy to identify trends.
For most businesses running this survey, the next step is sharing the results with your team. This should provide a catalyst to open up conversations around the different areas and scores. Key questions to consider:
- What successes should we celebrate?
- Were there any unexpected results that require a deeper look?
- Do the results confirm known challenges? If so, what should we prioritize for improvement?
Taking the temperature of your organisation is a great way to start meaningful conversations and a practical step you can take towards staff engagement and creating an open dialogue.