The elements of a good questionnaire are as follows:

1. Each question must directly relate to, and be measured against, the survey objectives,
2. It must be easy to complete and not attempt to "trick" employees,
3. It should take no longer than 20-30 minutes to complete,
4. It should include questions that employees can reasonably answer,
5. It should have similar questions grouped together,
6. It must only include questions that will provide relevant and actionable information to the organization,
7. It must strike the right balance between addressing the needs of employees and the needs of the organization,
8. It should include questions that allow comparison of results with other external organizations,
9. It must include questions that will allow employees to provide improvement ideas and suggestions in the form of verbatim comments.

As part of the questionnaire design process, it can be worthwhile to conduct focus groups and face-to-face interviews with employees and key survey stakeholders (i.e., managers with a real interest in using the survey results) in order to solicit their feedback on the subject matter and content that should be included in the questionnaire.

Richard Harris http://www.qebsolutions.com