The answer options in an employee survey are just as important as the wording of the questions. Answer options influence responses. They should therefore be clear, neutral and comprehensive. It is frustrating for employees to come across a mandatory question when none of the available options apply to them. Remember to provide a free-text “Other” or comment field as well.
More Important Tips for Answer Options in Employee Surveys
- Number of answer options: The number of options should also be considered carefully. Respondents tend to select the middle option particularly often.
Example: If you offer answers a), b) and c) for an estimation question, most respondents will tend to select b) because they consider it the average. If you add more answer options, however, you will also receive different answers. - Forcing decisions: You can also use the answer options to force respondents to make a decision.
Example: If you offer only “Yes” and “No” as answers, no one can choose “Maybe” and respondents have to take a position. Of course, this can also be a disadvantage. - Clear labelling: Always make sure your answer options are labelled clearly and in sufficient detail. Options that are too brief can confuse employees.
Example: If you ask about frequency, the answers “1”, “2” or “3” are not enough. You need to specify whether this means once a week, once a day or even once an hour.
The LamaPoll survey tool has a validation check that checks for missing answers in foreign languages, but it does not know the context of your questions.
What is LamaPoll?
LamaPoll is a survey tool for creating employee surveys and measuring employee satisfaction. You can use it to create, conduct and analyse all types of employee survey. Create your employee survey in just a few steps, apply your organisation’s corporate design and invite employees conveniently by email or via your intranet. You can quickly gain insights that help improve employee satisfaction. You can register for our survey tool free of charge and immediately conduct surveys for up to 50 employees with no obligation. If you need more responses to your online employee survey questionnaire, simply choose one of our monthly plans. You can also use our employee survey questionnaire templates and examples.
