The Pulsed Employee Survey : A multifaceted transformation of an institutionalized practice from formal policy to intended outcome.

Sammanfattning: Based on the limited outcomes and often failed implementation processes of annual employee surveys a new phenomenon for collecting people data has risen; the pulsed employee survey. This survey and its continuous way of measuring are by many providers and consultants stated to be an important tool that increases employee engagement. The phenomenon of the pulsed employee survey has so far received limited academic attention, despite its growing importance as a potential institutionalized practice. Therefore, this study aims at broadening the understanding of the phenomenon of the pulsed employee survey. How is it transformed into organizations during an implementation process and can the process be seen as coupled or decoupled from the institutionalized practice? Further, what explains the potential coupling or decoupling? To investigate this, a model based on decoupling theories by Bromley & Powell(2012) has been used through a qualitative case study. The result shows that, even though the surveys are implemented into the organizations, means-ends decoupling can be found, whichmay be explained by the complexity of what is measured as well as the multifaceted expectations and perceptions at different organizational levels.