Question 1

What’s the difference between an Engagement Survey and a Culture Check?

Accepted Answer

Both tools help you understand your people and workplace, but they focus on different aspects:

• Engagement Survey: Measures how engaged your people are and why, by exploring drivers such as recognition, leadership, workload, growth opportunities, and autonomy. Think of it as a thermometer — it tells you the temperature of engagement, highlighting what motivates employees and where attention is needed.
 • Culture Check: Explores the underlying organisational values, behaviours, and norms — the “soil” or environment in which engagement grows. It uncovers patterns, shared assumptions, and ways of working that support alignment, trust, and long-term performance.

Question 2

When should I choose an Engagement Survey vs a Culture Check?

Accepted Answer

Use an Engagement Survey when you want to:
 • Understand current engagement levels and drivers
 • Identify what’s motivating people and where improvement is needed
 • Track progress over time or after initiatives like 360° feedback

Use a Culture Check when you want to:
 • Explore how work really gets done and the behaviours that guide it
 • Assess alignment between values, behaviours, and organisational goals
 • Identify patterns that affect collaboration, innovation, and long-term performance

Question 3

How do Engagement Surveys and Culture Checks link to business outcomes?

Accepted Answer

Both provide actionable insights that influence performance and organisational success:
 • Engagement Surveys highlight where to focus to boost motivation, productivity, and retention.
 • Culture Checks reveal foundational patterns in behaviours, values, and ways of working that allow engagement and performance to be sustainable.

When engagement is supported by a strong culture, employees stay longer, contribute more, and champion the organisation — driving tangible business results.

Question 4

How often should we run these surveys or checks?

Accepted Answer

The frequency depends on the type of survey and your goals:
 • Culture Checks: Typically done periodically, such as after major organisational change or when you want a comprehensive understanding of cultural health. After a Culture Check, pulse surveys or shorter check-ins can be used to track progress on initiatives, behaviours, or alignment efforts.
 • Engagement Surveys: Often run once a year to get a full view of engagement levels and drivers. Between annual surveys, pulse surveys can monitor progress, respond to emerging issues, and keep engagement initiatives on track.

Question 5

How is this different from using survey software?

Accepted Answer

Survey software is designed to collect data. Dear Team helps you understand the data and act on it. While software often delivers dashboards and scores — and can come with ongoing licence fees or hidden costs — we provide expert-led interpretation that considers your organisation’s context, people, and goals. We help you make sense of what’s behind the results, identify what matters most, and translate feedback into clear, practical actions — so you’re not left guessing what to do next.

Question 6

Why does HR-led interpretation matter?

Accepted Answer

Employee feedback is nuanced, and without experience it’s easy to misread results or focus on the wrong issues. HR-led interpretation brings professional judgement, context, and people expertise to the data. We help leaders understand what feedback is really saying, how different insights connect, and where action will have the greatest impact — building confidence, reducing risk, and ensuring feedback leads to meaningful, sustainable change.

Question 7

Can 360° reviews be combined with engagement surveys or culture checks?

Accepted Answer

Yes — 360° Leadership Reviews can be run on their own or alongside engagement surveys and culture checks. When combined, they provide a fuller picture of team and organisational dynamics, but they’re also valuable as a stand-alone tool to give leaders insight into how their behaviours impact engagement, collaboration, and performance.

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