Pulse survey

Our People Team runs Pulse surveys as a way to check in with Teammates on a regular, ongoing basis. The survey gives real-time information on what’s working, and what’s not, allowing our leadership team to respond and adjust in real-time to teammate sentiments. They allow us to engage in the most important topics and quickly take action to positively impact Teammates’ engagement. Ultimately, the Pulse survey helps us continually improve the employee experience at Sourcegraph.

The following questions will run over the next 5 months (Oct 2023 through Feb 2024). There are 12 total questions across 8 themes.

1. Company outlook:

  • Our company is making progress that will lead to future success
    • What it’s measuring: Employees buy-in and trust in company direction

2. Enablement:

  • I have the resources I need in order to succeed in my current role
    • What it’s measuring: Tied to teammate happiness and retention
  • The pace of work here enables me to do a good job
    • What it’s measuring: Tied to teammate happiness and retention

3. Feeling valued:

  • I feel valued and recognized for the work I do
    • What it’s measuring: Teammate happiness with their work
  • The work I do contributes to fulfilling our organizational goals (unpause)
    • What it’s measuring: Provides insight into teammates understanding the impact of their work towards the greater goals.

4. Management:

  • I receive regular constructive performance feedback from my manager.
    • What it’s measuring: if our goal of building feedback culture is being practiced
  • My manager or another leader at work supports me in my professional development (net new)
    • What it’s measuring: Tied to teammate happiness and retention

5. Openness & transparency:

  • I feel comfortable giving input and direct feedback to leadership and/or all teammates
    • What it’s measuring**:** If our goal of building a feedback culture and psychologically safe space is being practiced.This will be important with future leadership changes or management styles can shift the company culture and impact employee satisfaction.
  • When the organization makes changes, I am aware and understand why the change is being made** **
    • What it’s measuring: This can help us track our change management skills and communications.

6. Team learning:

  • I have career growth and development opportunities
    • What it’s measuring: Tied to teammate happiness and retention. If employees feel stagnant and don’t see opportunities for career advancement or skill development, their job satisfaction may decrease over time. Repetitive tasks without new challenges can lead to boredom and reduced engagement.

7. Well-being:

  • I am happy working here
    • What it’s measuring: Tied to teammate happiness and retention

8. Growth & development:

  • I can see myself growing and developing my career in this company** **
    • What it’s measuring: Tied to teammate happiness and retention. As employees spend more time at a company, they may develop a clearer sense of what they want from their job, and if the company doesn’t align with those expectations, dissatisfaction can arise.

9. Executive Leadership:

  • Our executive team has a clear view of where the company is going and how to get there.** **
    • What it’s measuring: Tied to teammate confidence and trust in our executive-level decisions and direction.

FAQs

Why do we have pulse surveys?

Pulse surveys allow us to ‘bridge the gap’ between our annual engagement surveys and hone in on what is important in the here-and-now.

Who receives the survey?

All Teammates will be invited to participate in our pulse survey.

When will I receive a survey?

Pulse surveys are sent to all employees at random intervals during the survey period of two weeks. Spreading out survey delivery times helps mitigate recency bias in survey results. If someone on your team has received a survey and you have not, don’t worry! You’ll get a chance to participate in the survey.

How do I complete the survey?

We use Lattice to administer the survey, so you’ll receive both a Slack notification via the Lattice App integration, and an email prompting you to complete the survey. You’ll only be able to complete the survey once.

Am I required to fill out the survey?

We are all invested in the future success of Sourcegraph, which means that we’re also responsible for creating a culture and company in which we all thrive. While you are not required to complete the bi-weekly survey, we strongly encourage you to do so. The more Teammates participate, the better the insights that we’ll uncover - enabling us to develop more strategically as an organization and understand how we can build the very best employee experience imaginable.

How often do we run pulse surveys?

It is best practice to run these quick, small surveys every other week. A lot can change in two weeks at Sourcegraph, so we want to ensure that we’re constantly keeping a strong pulse on the state of the organization and understanding whether any immediate changes would be beneficial (as opposed to waiting for the next engagement survey cycle). In simple terms, we’re always looking to iterate and pulse surveys enable us to do so quickly, efficiently and in line with Teammate expectations.

How long does the pulse survey take?

Each survey should take no longer than 2-3 minutes to complete.

Surveys remain open for the entire 2-week cycle and reminders are also sent via Slack to encourage participation.

How many questions are on a pulse survey?

Each teammate receives 3 questions, which come from a list of questions we use in the anual engagement survey so that we can measure progress. You may answer the same question multiple times. This helps us see how Teammate sentiment changes over time.

How do we respond to pulse survey results and take action?

Every month, the People Team aggregates all data and summarizes the key themes, both at the organization and department levels. These are then shared with Executive Leadership, who will align on the key organization-wide and department-specific actions to be taken.

The following will be presented at quarterly Company Meeting:

  • Pulse survey results
  • Trend observations
  • Next steps/call to action

Our overarching philosophy is simple: take meaningful actions, based on in-depth Teammate feedback, and deliver the committed outcomes at pace. This will likely involve the efforts from many, if not all of us, across the organization.

Where can I see survey results?

Survey results are included in the weekly update in #announce-people-talent-team.

What is the meaning of an eNPS score

eNPS is the score related to answering one question: How likely are you to recommend Sourcegraph as a great place to work

What is the meaning of the teammate sentiment score?

Sentiment is the measurement of survey responses and scores across all 8 themes listed at the top of the page.

Who will be able to see my responses?

All responses are submitted anonymously. The People Team can view department-specific themes when 5 or more Teammates from a given organization (Sales, Engineering, Operations, etc.) respond to the survey. All comments are submitted anonymously, and the People Team can respond to them but cannot see who submitted the comment.

Are we still doing an annual engagement survey?

Yes! The pulse survey does not replace the annual engagement surveys. The engagement survey provides an important baseline for pulse surveys, and helps inform questions we ask in pulse surveys.