The Guarding Minds at Work employee survey allows administrators to set up the survey to ask demographic questions. These must be selected before sending out the survey or they will not be tracked or included in the report.
Although it is very easy to add demographics to the survey, that doesn’t always mean it’s necessary or advisable. Below we will discuss what information can be gathered as well as the pros and cons of including these questions in your survey. There are two types of demographic questions – percentage of respondents and segmentation. One provides the percentage of respondents who replied and the other produces separate survey results for each segmentation chosen.
Percentage of respondent questions
The results for these questions are provided as a simple percentage of employees who responded to each question by the answers chosen.
The questions to choose from include:
- How old are you?
- What is the highest level of education that you have attained?
- Which of the following best describes your seniority level within your company or organization?
- For approximately how long have you been working for your present employer (in any capacity)?
- For approximately how long have you been in your current position with your present employer?
- On average, how many hours in total do you work per week?
- What department/branch do you belong to?
- Where do you currently reside?
- What is your gender?
- Are you a member of a union?
- Do you mostly work in a setting where other employees are present or do you mostly work alone?
- In your job, are you directly responsible for managing others?
- [If Yes] In your job, about how many employees do you supervise on a day-to-day basis? Please indicate how many employees report to you directly and how many employees report to you indirectly (that is, how many employees report to supervisors who report to you.)
- Are you a shift worker?
- [If Yes] What type(s) of shift(s) do you work?
- Which of the following best describes your current employment status?
- Are you:
- Indigenous or a visible minority (a racialized group)
- 2SLGBTQIA+
- An immigrant to this country
- Living with a physical and/or mental disability (invisible or visible)
- A caregiver of children or adults
Potential pros
If you are advocating for specific groups, such as equity-deserving groups, to be provided with programs or resources, knowing the percentage of employees in those groups may be helpful to you in making your case. It may also be helpful when demonstrating who is responding to the survey to ensure your results are not biased.
Potential cons
Any time you ask another question, you add to the time and effort of the employees to complete the survey. If you are asking questions that seem intrusive or personal, with no explanation of how the information will be used, it may make some employees uncomfortable. Another con may be the possibility of misinterpreting the results.
Survey segmentation questions
Segmentation questions will generate survey results separately for each category, if the groups meet the following requirements:
- At least 10 respondents reply to each of the potential answers for each segmentation question. This prevents the chance that responses can be tracked to specific individuals. For example, if you asked about disability and only one employee has a disability, it would then clearly identify that person.
- Segmentation questions can only be selected during this step. You will not be able to generate segmented results if you do not select the questions now.
- You understand the pros and cons of segmentation in each of the categories.
The following are the demographic questions which can be segmented in the report:
- What department/branch do you belong to?
- Where do you currently reside?
- What is your gender?
- Are you a member of a union?
- Do you mostly work in a setting where other employees are present or do you mostly work alone?
- In your job, are you directly responsible for managing others?
- [If Yes] In your job, about how many employees do you supervise on a day-to-day basis? Please indicate how many employees report to you directly and how many employees report to you indirectly (that is, how many employees report to supervisors who report to you.)
- Are you a shift worker?
- [If Yes] What type(s) of shift(s) do you work?
- Which of the following best describes your current employment status?
- Are you:
- Indigenous or a visible minority (a racialized group)
- 2SLGBTQIA+
- An immigrant to this country
- Living with a physical and/or mental disability (invisible or visible)
- A caregiver of children or adults
Potential pros
When your action plan is striving to address inequity, having the results sorted by the groups you wish to support may be helpful in identifying specific needs.
Potential cons
We suggest that you avoid any segmentation questions that are not directly related to your intended plan for action. Any time you ask another question, you add to the time and effort of the employees to complete the survey. If you are asking questions that seem intrusive or personal, with no explanation of how the information will be used, it may make some employees uncomfortable.
Explore more information or begin using the survey tools.