Closing the insights gap for council's outdoor workers

Your employee engagement survey results are in! But the participation rate of your outdoor workforce is in stark contrast to office-based teams. So you’re left with no choice but to make decisions based on assumptions, second hand information and skewed data.

Sound familiar? You're not alone.

Capturing the voices of council outdoor crews is notoriously difficult.

We all know the reasons behind the gap – irregular access to technology and varying levels of digital literacy are the biggies. Not to mention the common misperception that their opinions don’t matter; that these surveys are just for the office folks.

The self-perpetuating problem

The real cost to Council goes far deeper than low participation rates.

• You can’t fix a problem you don’t fully understand. You’re left to make decisions about workplace improvements, policies, or resource allocation based on misrepresentative data. That’s a big deal if your outdoor workforce make up something like 30% of your staff.
  
  
• It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle. The more these teams feel left out of the equation, the bigger the divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’ becomes, the less likely they are to share their views, the less their issues are addressed… and so it goes on.
  
  
• This growing gap doesn’t just impact morale. Without their input, councils risk overlooking inefficiencies, unaddressed health and safety hazards, and other workplace issues that could boost productivity and engagement. This isn’t just a missed opportunity—it’s a risk.

Breaking the cycle

Our approach is a little different to what you’ll find elsewhere. It’s purpose built for councils. It’s proven. It’s about meeting people where they are.

Many councils that partner with AskYourTeam boost outdoor worker participation using QR codes and paper surveys. 

QR codes provide a simple, secure way for workers to share their views using their mobiles - where and when it suits them.

Paper surveys cater to all ranges of tech literacy. Each survey contains a code that’s unique to that worker making it even quicker and easier for them to share their views with the confidence that what they share will remain anonymous. This is how Palmerston North City Council achieve such high levels of participation, and gain the valuable insights they need.

Ready to bridge the gap?

With the right tools, you can break the cycle and create a more inclusive, cohesive, productive, and engaged workforce. Not just some of your workforce. All of it.