A traditional employee survey and a pulse check share the same goal: they show how your employees experience their work. The employee survey covers a wide range of topics at longer intervals and brings critical issues to light. The pulse check picks up individual topics from it and asks about them every month with 5 to 10 questions. This lets you see between two surveys whether the actions you have taken are working.
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Pulse check and employee survey compared
A pulse check does not replace the employee survey, it complements it. Both formats capture your employees’ views, but they differ in scope, frequency and purpose. The key features at a glance:
When is each format the right choice?
A traditional employee survey is the right choice if you
- need a comprehensive picture of job satisfaction, leadership and collaboration,
- want to set priorities for the coming months,
- want to check the impact of the actions you have taken against the last survey.
A pulse check is the right choice if you
- want to track individual topics from the employee survey between two surveys,
- are supporting changes such as restructuring or new ways of working,
- want to spot early on whether the mood in a team is changing.
How to combine both formats
- Conduct an employee survey: the in-depth survey shows where action is needed.
- Set priorities: choose a few topics you want to work on and plan your actions.
- Set up a monthly pulse check: ask 5 to 10 targeted questions on these topics. You will find suitable wording in our pulse check sample questions, and the pulse check checklist helps you prepare.
- Share the results and act: share the results with your employees and adjust your actions. The three-phase pulse check process shows how this works.
- Measure the impact: the next employee survey shows whether the actions have made a difference across the company.
This creates a cycle: the employee survey provides the overall picture, and the pulse check shows how things develop in between.
