YMCA WorkWell Blog

Scaling Success: Why We Use a 100-Point Scale for our Surveys

Written by YMCA WorkWell Team | Jun 2, 2023 6:30:24 PM

Employee surveys are a crucial tool for organizations to gather information and feedback from their employees. With the right approach, these surveys can provide valuable insights that help improve workplace culture, employee satisfaction, and overall business performance. Unlike traditional employee engagement surveys that use 5 or 10-point scales, WorkWell Insights takes a more nuanced 100-point scale approach. Here's why.

Similar to a 5-point scale, a 100-point scale asks respondents to rate their agreement or disagreement with a statement on a scale from 1 to 100. This approach has some advantages when collecting employee feedback and has gained popularity over the years due to its simplicity and versatility. What are the advantages of a 100-point scale?

More Nuanced Responses

One of the most significant advantages of the 100-point survey scale is that it allows for more nuanced responses. By providing employees with a broader range of scores, this method can capture more detailed feedback than 5-point scales. It's not uncommon to have more than 60% of responses select "Agree", for example. This granular data gives leaders a better understanding of their employees' opinions and attitudes toward specific topics, enabling them to make well-informed decisions.

Reduced Bias

The 100-point scale also helps reduce bias in survey responses. When presented with a large range of scoring options, it is less likely that respondents will cluster their answers around a certain point. This feature is particularly beneficial when addressing sensitive issues or low trusting cultures, where employees may be reluctant to provide clear answers. The 100-point scale encourages honest feedback, leading to more accurate results.

Increased Response Rates

Another advantage of this scale is its potential to increase response rates. With a clear and user-friendly format, employees are more likely to take the time to complete the survey. Our WorkWell Insights survey is accessible and mobile-friendly. Employees can quickly swipe left or right through the 100-point scale to respond to each question. A higher response rate leads to a larger sample size, which results in more accurate and reliable findings.

Flexibility and Customization

The 100-point survey scale is highly flexible and is customizable to suit the specific needs of an organization. Our WorkWell Insights survey evaluates four key drivers of organizational health on a 100-point scale, ensuring that the survey generates relevant and actionable insights.

Whispers of Change

Organizations that use WorkWell Insights prefer to survey staff every six months. While that may seem too frequent to some coming from traditional engagement surveys, we utilize the 100-point survey scale to look for 'whispers of change'. Small, 2-3 point changes over six months can indicate not only progress but also the impact your actions can have on staff in a relatively short period of time. Traditional survey scales may require as much as a 20% increase or decrease to see any change.

Ease of Analysis

The quantitative data obtained from the 100-point scale is easy to analyze and interpret the results. 100-point scales are all around us: school grades, percentages; we have learned that a score of 100 is what we should aim for. With this familiar milestone, it is easier for leaders to identify trends, patterns, strengths, and weaknesses within the organization. By quickly pinpointing areas that require attention, organizations can take prompt action to address these issues and improve overall performance.

Overall, the 100-point survey scale is the best method for employee surveys due to its simplicity, versatility, and accuracy. By providing a greater range of scores, this method can provide valuable insights to help leaders improve employee satisfaction, workplace culture, and overall positive impact on workplace.