PepsiCo’s Pulse Survey Approach to Organizational Change

Quite a bit has been written regarding the changes in the workplace since COVID.  We have all heard phrases such a “work after COVID’ and the “new norm.”  Has COVID-effect influenced behavior in one country more than another?  What about differences in business groups within a country?  How has the change been felt within different job classifications within a country? How do you find out? PepsiCo instituted a system of pulse surveys to better understand how their organization was internally dealing with change.  As with most activities, the traditional pulse survey needed to be modified to better understand pandemic-related nuances.  The information below is from an article by Allen, Jain, and Church, titled “Using a Pulse Survey Approach to Drive Organizational Change”, published in Organization Development Review.  Results were based on the responses of 13,658 employees. One of the dramatic shifts was to create a more agile tool and re-define how the reports were presented to senior leadership.  Using a “story-telling” method beginning with the start of the pandemic, as well as filtering data by countries, business groups, etc.  The survey results were more effective at conveying the true “pulse” of the organization based on these filters. Here is a summary of some of those results;

• By continents or major business regions, those entering the COVID-19 pandemic reported higher levels of sentiment and energy compared to those that were already in confinement and with restrictions.
• Employees that were already working remotely before the pandemic were more favorable. North America employees working from home prior to COVID-19 reported higher levels of energy, work-life balance, and social connection compared to North America employees newly working from home. Findings suggested that with time employees can adapt and that we need to learn from these employees.
• Groups adjusting to remote work or with increased demands reported lower work-life balance, and overall energy and sentiment leading to potential concern for burnout.

The authors made some key observations about pulse surveys and their place in organizational development;

• Pulse surveys can be engagement tool and help communicate key messages
• An agile-concept release helps improve the quality of information and ultimately the benefit
• Challenge is balancing speed and alignment

by Ron Palinkas           Reference:  Allen, J. B., Jain, S., & Church, A. H. (2020). Using a Pulse Survey Approach to Drive Organizational Change. Organization Development Review, 52(3), 62–68.

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