What Is a Staff Pulse Check?

Learn more about Pulse Checks® for staff groups.

A Pulse Check is a quick way to get a "pulse" on the experiences of people in your community and organization.

We send routine, succinct questions via SMS and email, using accessible wording that translates well in over 100 languages.

Pulse Check questions are standardized for our partners to allow for points-of-comparison between schools and districts across the country.

The Pulse Check Sequence

We use a formula for our Pulse Check sequence of questions:

First, we ask the Sentiment Question™: "Are you happy working with {school or district name} this week?" Respondents can answer yes, mostly, or no.
Second, a Pulse Check may include an optional Bonus Question™, which is sometimes sent first or the only question sent upon request.
Third, depending on how respondents answer the sentiment, they will be asked a standardized question welcoming praise, ideas, and questions (for "yes" responses) or a standardized question asking about needs and concerns (for "mostly" and "no" responses).
Finally, respondents will be asked if they would like to share their name or remain anonymous.

This mix of questions gives you quantitative and qualitative insight into the world of your staff.

Keep reading for additional information on the Sentiment Question and Bonus Questions, or learn more about the intention behind Pulse Checks here.

The Sentiment Question

The Sentiment Question helps you understand the general sentiment of your community in a quantifiable way.

You will be able to see how people's sentiment toward your organization is changing over time, and if their expectations for happiness, needs, or comfort are being met.

Possip asks this Sentiment Question to both parents and staff routinely for partner schools and districts nationwide. Not only are we collecting insight for your community, but over time we can help compare how your data measures up to that of similar schools and districts.

Measuring sentiment helps our partners track leading indicators for data points such as student enrollment and staff retention.

Possip helps you measure two primary sentiments:

Happiness helps you keep a pulse on social-emotional wellbeing and culture.
Needs help you keep a pulse on community needs such as technology, mental health needs, supply needs, and more.

The Bonus Question

The Possip Bonus Question (BQ™) is optional. It's a powerful tool to leverage when you have high priority questions or need to quickly share links and invitations with staff.

You may want to ask Bonus Questions about virtual learning, attendance, health and safety, or more. View sample Bonus Questions and gain inspiration here.

What happens after the Pulse Check?

After Pulse Checks, responses are organized in a recommendation report by our reporting team, which is primarily comprised of educators. They highlight praise, and categorize needs, concerns, ideas, and questions into topics to help you follow up. Learn more about Pulse Check Reports here.