Investigating the Promise and Pitfalls of Pulse Surveys

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity and marketing of pulse surveys, there is little research concerning this practice. To this end, this practice forum reports the results of a four-wave pulse survey conducted in a health-care organization. Pulse surveys provided reliable estimates of overall engagement but scores remained stable across eight months. Practically no differences in group scores or trends could be found despite high participation. Item responses displayed little differences between groups and poor discriminant validity. Based on these results, pulse surveys may be adequate for estimating overall employee sentiment but not useful for detecting change over time or differences between groups. These limitations should be considered when designing or implementing pulse surveys.