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Policy decisions in business and economic fields are often informed by surveys of employees. Many employee surveys use costly interviewer-administered modes to reach this special population. However, certain employee subgroups may be especially hard to reach using these modes. Thus, besides high administration costs, nonresponse bias is a concern. To reduce costs and potential nonresponse bias, some employee surveys have introduced web as part of a sequential mixed-mode design. However, the impact of introducing web on response rates, nonresponse bias, and costs in employee surveys is understudied. The present study addresses this research gap by analyzing a mode design experiment in which employees selected for a national survey in Germany were randomly assigned to a single-mode telephone design or a sequential web-telephone mixed-mode design. The study revealed four main findings. First, introducing the web mode significantly increased the response rate compared to the single-mode design. Second, despite the higher response rate, aggregate nonresponse bias was higher in the mixed-mode design than in the single-mode design. Third, the likelihood of web participation varied across certain employee subgroups, including occupation type and employment contract. Lastly, potential cost savings were evident under the mixed-mode design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employee panel surveys, which are essential for measuring ongoing labor market developments, are facing significant challenges of respondent recruitment and retention. Even interviewer-administered panel surveys, historically considered the gold standard form of data collection, are facing high costs and nonresponse issues that threaten their sustainability and inferential capabilities. Supplementing interviewer-administration with online data collection is a popular method of reducing costs and may improve contactability and reduce nonresponse in employee surveys. However, the effects of introducing online data collection in an ongoing panel survey of the employed population have received little attention. We address this research gap by analyzing a mode design experiment embedded in the fourth wave of a German employee panel survey. Individuals were randomly assigned to the standard telephone-only design, or a sequential web-telephone mixed-mode design. An invitation letter experiment was also conducted to test the effect of mentioning the telephone follow-ups in the web survey invitation. Introducing the mixed-mode design led to a higher response rate (59.9% vs. 50.1%), similar levels of nonresponse bias, and lower costs compared to the single-mode design. Mentioning the telephone follow-ups had no effect on participation in the web starting mode or the full mixed-mode design. Implications of these findings for survey practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]