While most people think of land surveys in the
most basic sense, the drawing of the boundaries of a property, in actuality
there are many varied and different ways of surveying that service many
different industries. Property surveys are a large part of the business, but
there are also surveys and surveyors that service the construction industry,
the environmental sector, and many others. The kinds of surveys that are
conducted would surprise most people, and some things that you might think are
surveys aren't surveys at all. Instead of the standard two-dimensional
measuring from one point to another, today's surveys not only measure the land,
but also the air and water above and below us.
The most common and well-known surveys conducted
today are boundary surveys, mortgage surveys, and topographic surveys. An ALTA
survey, which is actually a shortened title for ATLA/ACSM, combines elements of
all three, with a set of standards put forth jointly by the American Land Title
Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. ALTA surveys
are most commonly used for commercial properties; by having a universal
standard, companies can assure themselves of the level of thoroughness and be
confident when the results are guaranteed by an ALTA survey.
Boundary Surveys are exactly what the name
describes: a survey to establish the true boundaries of a given property.
Through previously recorded markers and the establishment of new landmarks, a
surveyor will establish the true boundaries of a property and then mark the
corners and lines of the plot, using markers such as iron rods, pipes or
concrete monuments in the ground, or nails set in concrete or asphalt. In the
past, piles of stones, trees or other, less permanent markers were used, which
led to confusion when the markers were either destroyed or changed.
Mortgage Surveys are simple surveys that, for the
most part, determine land boundaries and building locations. They are usually
required by title companies and lending institutions when they provide
financing to show that there are no structures encroaching on the property and
that any structures on the property meet current zoning and building codes. It
is important to ensure that you are getting an officially licensed mortgage
survey performed by a licensed land surveyor, and not a mortgage inspection,
which is a substandard survey which does not adhere to any set standards and is
not regulated or accepted as an official land survey.
Topographic Surveys are land surveys which locate
natural and man-made features. For example, buildings, improvements, fences,
elevations, land contours, trees and streams. These are then measured for their
elevation on a particular piece of land, and presented as contour lines on a
plot. Topographical surveys are sometimes required by the government. Engineers
and architects also use topographical surveys to aid in the design of
improvements or developments on a site.
One of the largest and most rapidly growing
segments of land surveys are in the construction industry. Surveys are crucial
tools from inception and planning, to actual construction and maintenance
afterwards. Most construction surveys fall under the discipline of civil
engineering, which may require additional degrees and certifications in order
to conduct. All construction projects begin with the Plot Plan or Site Plan,
which sets out the plan for the entire project, including all existing and
proposed conditions on a given site. As-Built Surveys are conducted several
times during a construction project to verify for local and state boards that
the work authorized was completed to the specifications set on the plot plan.
Foundation Surveys are a type of as-built survey which collects the positional
data on a foundation that has been poured and is now cured. Foundation surveys
are done to ensure that the foundation has both been constructed in the proper
location and has been built in the proper manner according to the plan.
For existing structures, a Deformation Survey
determines if a structure or object is changing shape or moving. By the taking
of three-dimensional positions on specific points on an object, then letting a
period of time pass before retaking and measuring the points, a determination
of whether a structure is moving can be made.
Although it may seem counter-intuitive, land
surveyors are also responsible for performing Hydro-graphic and Barometric
Surveys. Hydro-graphic surveys collect data relating to any body of water, and
the data collected may include the water depth, bottom contours, the direction
of the current, observing and recording high water marks and water levels, as
well as location of fixed objects and landmarks for navigational purposes. They
can also be conducted to gather information for engineering or resource
management purposes, such as hydro power plants. Barometric surveys deal
exclusively underwater, and map the seabed profile.
Geodetic surveys fall under both the land and
water category, as they map out the shoreline. Thomas Jefferson commissioned a
geodetic survey in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast. Progress on the survey
moved slowly at first, as they did not even have the proper instruments to
perform the survey until 1815. It still exists today as the National Geodetic
Survey and its responsibilities now include the interior lands of the United States
as well as its coasts.
Wetlands Delineation and Location Surveys belong
in a category all on their own; they are performed when construction work that
is being planned on or near a site containing defined wetlands. Local, state,
or federal regulations vary, but wetlands are usually classified as areas that
are completely inundated with water more than two weeks during the growing
season. Boundaries of wetlands are determined by observing the soil colors,
vegetation, erosion patterns or scour marks, hydrology, and morphology of the
land in question. Data is then collected on the locations of the placed flags
and a plan is drawn to reference the boundary of the wetlands and compare it to
the proposed boundaries of the surrounding plots or parcels of land and the
construction work proposed within.
Employee Communication Surveys: Seven Tips For Successful Design and Implementation
Organization Communication Problems?
So, your organization is suffering from poor
communication practices. John complains that his boss never tells him anything.
Sally is expected to come up with sales targets without being briefed on this
year's company strategy.
Where do you start in improving ineffective
communication between people? A good first step in fixing communication
problems in any organization is to survey employees. Even if there are no
obvious problems, surveys can help get an organization to the next level of
performance.
What are the benefits you would expect to see in
conducting a communication survey and acting on the results? Well, you could
experience some of the following:
*improved employee satisfaction
*lower turnover
*reduced absenteeism
*less political infighting
*greater levels of manager-worker trust
*reduced defect rates
*higher customer satisfaction
A well-run survey can give your organization
these benefits. However, a poorly conducted survey can have the opposite
effect. Surveys badly planned, rolled out and followed up can actually increase
employee cynicism and resistance to change. It may also worsen employee
turnover and absenteeism. And this impacts on customer satisfaction and your
bottom line.
Communication Survey Tips
So, what do you need to consider before rolling
out your survey? Here are seven useful tips to get you heading in the right
direction.
Question
types
Include in your survey questions requiring
limited tick-the-box responses, such as Yes/No and Strongly
Agree/Agree/Disagree/Strongly Disagree. Including these questions will allow
you to perform quantitative analyses that you can use to compare results
between different demographics and to use as a benchmark for future surveys.
However, just as importantly, allow provision for
free form comments. Everything that people will want to say will not fit into
your pre-packaged boxes. A good idea is to run Focus Groups with a random
sample of survey respondents after the survey forms have been collected and
analyzed. These discussion groups are invaluable in performing a sanity check
on your results so far and in teasing out issues that have surfaced in the
written survey.
Anonymity
Guarantee absolute anonymity for the people
completing the survey and make this clear in the survey instructions. Some
employees will either not complete the survey or give sanitized answers if they
believe that their identity will be disclosed with their answers and comments.
Sample
size
Should you survey the whole
organization/department or a select group? Preferably, survey all employees as
this gives everyone a sense of being listened to. If the
organization/department is excessively large or budget is tight, draw a random
sample from each of the demographic groups that you will be reporting on.
If your selection is not random, the survey
results will not be representative and you will lose credibility with your
client managers and employees. If a demographic group comprises 50 people or
less, you will need to survey 100 percent of the people within that group.
Mode of
delivery
If the people completing the survey are small in
number and at the one location, then hard-copy distribution will not be a
problem. As the number of respondents increase and the locations become more
dispersed, give more consideration to the need for electronic distribution.
Think about putting the survey on a local intranet or internet web server.
To make filling out the form easy for people,
have it so that the form can be completed online. If this is not possible,
either send the form by email or put it on an accessible server from which
people can download it. If your survey respondents are not comfortable with
technology, then be wary of online options and provide plenty of employee
support if you decide to go down that road.
Inducements
and Reminders
Survey participation rates are typically ten
percent or less. You can dramatically improve on this completion rate by
conducting some simple follow up. As you get closer to the survey cut-off date
(of course, you will have publicized that date with your survey), send out an
email reminder or have someone call the respondents personally. Advertising a
prize to go to the first to complete the surveys will also increase the
participation rate.
Distribute
results
Once the results are in and analyzed, distribute
your findings first to your client managers and then to employees. Withholding
results from employees will only breed cynicism and distrust and make your next
survey all that more difficult to get a satisfactory response rate.
Break down your results into meaningful groups,
such as by department or by region. The reporting groupings need to be small
enough that people can identify with the group enough for a meaningful action
plan to be developed.
Be prepared for some kickback from defensive
managers. Frank employee feedback is both confronting and jarring, especially
for those managers not used to it. Use your best facilitation skills to deliver
the key messages. If you are in a politically charged environment, use a
professional facilitator to perform this sensitive task.
Follow up
and Rewards
A survey conducted with no plan for action is not
only a waste of resources but will leave employees asking why they bothered to
feedback to managers how they felt. Work with each manager to construct an
action plan that they agree with. Remember, it is the manager that will be
implementing the plan, not you. Get back with each manager three or six months
later to review how they are progressing with their plan and report the results
to the organization. As you see communication practices improve across the
organization, make sure that managers get rewarded.
By following the above tips, you're sure to get
the most benefit from your employee communication survey. The key is to leave
room for free form comments on the survey form whilst guaranteeing that participants
will not be identified in the results. Make the survey accessible and follow up
to ensure that a sufficient number of people respond. You can maximize your
response rate by offering rewards. After analyzing the results, distribute to
all employees. A survey report ignored is a survey wasted, so develop an action
plan and follow up with managers.
Winning Marketing Surveys
Are you planning a marketing survey in the near
future and you are unsure how to get the best results? Here are ten time-tested
tips that will dramatically improve your survey results:
Clearly define the survey's purpose.
Usually surveys are conducted to gain information
that will help make better decisions. What decisions do you hope to make using
the survey results? What other goals will be met by conducting the survey? If
your survey is used to collect information to assist you in your marketing
efforts, clearly identify your marketing goals. Also, have specific plans for
how you will use the data once it is collected.
Use surveys that are brief and highly focused.
It is usually better to conduct a narrowly
focused survey rather than a master survey covering many objectives. The best
surveys take less than ten minutes to complete. A five minute survey focusing
on information that will improve decision making is even better. Research shows
that participation in surveys lasting more than ten minutes falls off
dramatically. Include your most important questions and avoid those that are
merely nice to know.
Keep your questions simple.
Simple concise questions are easier to understand
and take less time to complete. Avoid jargon and acronyms. Make questions
specific and direct. Avoid open-ended questions that lead to reader confusion
or doubt.
Use closed-ended questions.
Closed-ended questions require specific answers
or choices. Closed-ended questions can usually be answered with yes, no, or
perhaps from multiple choices. Open-ended questions usually invite unique
respondent answers. These qualitative answers might be helpful, but they
require more time, are usually less precise, and are much harder to correlate.
Keep rating scale questions consistent.
Rating scales can be a useful way to collect and
compare sets of data. In order to gain the respondent's confidence and to avoid
confusion, it is important to use consistent rating scales. If you use a 1-5
rating scale to indicate worst to best, or weak to strong, use 1-5 with
directional consistency throughout your survey. Avoid higher rating values or
reversing scale direction.
Order surveys logically.
If possible, keep your survey questions in
logical order. It will help the respondent. It helps to include a brief
introduction, including the purpose of the survey. Proceed from there to the
broader-based survey questions. Follow with questions that are narrower in
scope. Demographic and sensitive data should be collected near the end of the
survey. If you need contact information, request that last.
Conduct a trial run.
You can avoid lots of mistakes and snags by
pre-testing your survey on a sample audience or on co-workers. Use your test
audience to make sure that they properly interpret your questions and that they
complete the survey in the desired time.
Consider your audience when sending out survey
invitations.
Be sensitive to busy times of year or upcoming
holidays. If your survey is targeted at employees, send the survey during
business hours. Of the business days, Monday and Friday are statistically
proven to be better days for respondent to receive surveys.
Consider sending reminders to prospective
participants.
Reminders may not always be appropriate, but they
can be useful to help potential respondents remember to complete the survey.
Let's face it. Potential participants are busy with priorities that they find
more important than your survey. One or two reminders indicating why the survey
is important might significantly boost your results.
Offer an incentive.
If appropriate and available, consider offering
incentives. Most people like the idea of being rewarded for investing their
time in a survey. Well-conceived incentives can boost survey results by as much
as fifty percent. If you use incentives, make sure they are appropriate in
value and type. Inappropriate incentives can lead to undesirable participation
and respondent fabrication of survey responses.
