How to Design the Best Employee Engagement Survey for Law Enforcement
Employee engagement is critical for all organizations, but especially for law enforcement agencies. An engaged police force leads to higher job satisfaction, better performance, and reduced turnover. Conducting regular employee engagement surveys allows leadership to take the pulse of the organization and identify areas for improvement. Here are some tips on creating an impactful engagement survey for law enforcement:
1. Involve officers in survey design
Get input from a diverse cross-section of officers across ranks when creating the survey. Ask them what questions they feel would be most useful and relevant. This will help ensure the survey captures issues that truly matter to the workforce. Consider having officers review the final survey before deployment.
2. Focus questions on key engagement drivers
Research shows the following factors often have an outsized impact on engagement for law enforcement:
– Leadership support
– Training and development
– Workplace culture and morale
– Work-life balance
– Fairness in promotions and assignments
– Communication and transparency
Ensure the survey includes pointed questions around these key areas.
3. Add open-ended questions
Include some open-ended questions that allow for honest, anonymous input. Asking “What can leadership do to improve engagement?” and “What concerns do you have about the department?” can yield valuable insights.
4. Offer anonymity
Assure respondents that surveys are 100% anonymous to encourage candid feedback. Officers may be wary of speaking openly otherwise.
5. Share results and take action
Simply conducting a survey is not enough – it’s critical that leadership shares results and follows up with action plans. Establish processes for analyzing data, communicating findings, and developing engagement initiatives based on the input received.
6. Survey annually
Employee engagement levels can change over time. Survey at least once a year to keep a consistent pulse on the organization.
Creating an impactful engagement survey takes effort up front, but pays dividends through higher engagement levels over the long term. Following these best practices will lead to a survey that provides leadership with the credible insights they need to enhance morale, retention, and performance.
Here are 10 sample survey questions that could be included in an employee engagement survey for a law enforcement agency:
1. On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with your job here?
2. How supported and valued do you feel by your direct supervisor? (very, somewhat, neutral, not really, not at all)
3. How would you rate the training and development opportunities available to you? (excellent, good, fair, poor)
4. How often does your workload prevent you from taking your allotted time off? (often, sometimes, rarely, never)
5. Do you feel there are opportunities for advancement and promotion here? (yes, no, not sure)
6. How often does leadership communicate important information in a timely manner? (always, usually, sometimes, rarely)
7. Do you believe promotions and special assignments are handed out fairly here? (yes, no, not sure)
8. How would you describe morale in your department? (high, moderate, low)
9. What 1-2 things could leadership do to improve engagement within the department? (open ended)
10. If you could change one thing about working here, what would it be? (open ended)
