As another installment to our reading list, below is information on eleven books on Leadership that were submitted by our colleagues. Please note that we tried to assign ownership to the description/review wherever possible. Continue reading
A while ago I started ‘talking’ about simple steps that anyone can do to deploy an effective survey. In past blogs I’ve talked about: Continue reading
Optimizing Talent
Authors: Linda D. Sharkey PhD and Paul H. Eccher PhD
Optimizing Talent is an inventive and in-depth guide for companies to align business strategies with improving and managing talent. Sharkey and Eccher’s extensive experience and research with various Fortune 500 companies teaches business leaders how to develop a plan of action to optimize talent. The authors provide insightful tools and resources for any company who is seeking to pragmatically take action and attain results. Continue reading
Over the past several months I started ‘talking’ about simple steps that anyone can do to deploy an effective survey. In the last few blogs I’ve talked about: Continue reading
Several weeks ago I started ‘talking’ about simple steps that anyone can do to deploy an effective survey. In the last few blogs I’ve talked about: Continue reading
Customers occasionally ask for normative data for their 360 degree feedback deployments. They want to see how the responses provided for their leaders compare to leaders in other organizations. Is there consistency between their leaders and leaders in other organizations? This analysis can be one step towards understanding their leaders’ strengths and opportunities in a competitive marketplace. Continue reading
Clients sometimes ask for input in designing a 360 assessment. Two of their favorite questions are:
SurveyConnect has great customers, and some of those customers have written books on management and leadership. Over the coming months we will be reviewing these books, and sharing thoughts with our community. Continue reading
Whether on an employee survey, a customer survey or a 360 assessment, the response scale(s) matter.
Most questions are scored using multiple-choice scales, and many times clients ask whether they should use an even-numbered scale (e.g., a four-point scale such as Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree), or an odd-numbered scale (e.g., a five-point scale such as Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Disagree nor Agree, Agree, Strongly Agree). Some administrators prefer not to have a middle ground such as “neutral,” forcing respondents to have an opinion, while others like that middle point.
While over 80% of our customers do use either a four or five point scale, about another 15% – 20% use three, six, and seven and ten point scales; this discussion is covering just the 4 or 5 point scale issue.
As with many things, over time I change my preferences. For several years I supported the even-numbered scale concept, thinking that the middle point on a five-point scale can offer a ‘safety net’ for a respondent’s feedback. I now have seen enough anecdotal evidence that says that when we use a four-point scale, respondents generally don’t use the lower half of the scale any more than they do with a five-point scale…in fact, some respondents have provided feedback that they wish they had a 3.5 option on a four-point scale (meaning they wish they had a five-point scale). So although I understand and support customers who like the four-point scale, when clients ask I currently recommend the five-point scale.
Many administrators provide a “not applicable” response choice for respondents, but since this selection is not calculated in the scores, it is not included as a point when discussing four vs. five point scales.
Note: This discussion is based on our years of experience in conducting surveys and assessments (as opposed to statistical research), so please take this into account.
Several weeks ago I started blogging about simple steps that anyone can do to deploy an effective survey. I talked about: Continue reading
Subscribe to RSS feed.