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Auto-Updating Survey Participant Lists

Updated

Learn how to use the Auto-Update Participant List setting to ensure your survey data stays accurate to your org structure while seamlessly including new hires in your results.

 

  1. What Auto-Update Does
  2. When to use Auto-Update
  3. How to Change Auto-Update Settings
  4. What happens when Auto-Update is Off
  5. What happens when Auto-Update is On
  6. Implications and “Gotchas” of Auto-Update
  7. FAQ

 

What Auto-Update Does

The Auto-Update Participant List setting controls whether your Survey Participant List stays locked or if it auto-updates while the survey is running.

  • When the list is locked, only the people and metadata (manager, department, etc.) from launch are used in your results.
  • When the list auto-updates, new people who get added to your user file (or gain access in your rules) can see and take the survey while it is still open.

This applies to:

By default, Survey Participant Lists are locked at the launch of the survey. This ensures that the metadata and hierarchy remain the same throughout the survey period. This means that for an engagement program, even if you move departments or change managers, the results are consistently reflective of the hierarchy at the date of launch.

 

When to use Auto-Update

Use a locked list (Auto-Update off) when:

  • You want results to match the exact org structure on launch day.
    • E.g., Big annual engagement surveys

Use an auto-updating list (Auto-Update on) when:

  • You want new hires or newly eligible employees to join while the survey is live.
  • Your survey is more “always on” and you care less about a single frozen snapshot in time.
    • E.g., Always on anonymous HR feedback survey (“Share any Feedback with HR”).

 

How to Change Auto-Update Settings

Follow these steps to find and adjust the Auto-Update Participant List setting for a survey:

  1. Log in to your recognition platform.
  2. Select “Surveys” under “Engagement” from the left navigation menu.

 

 

  1. Click “Edit” on the survey you wish to edit.
  2. Go to the “Participants & Reward” tab.
  3. Scroll down to the “Advanced Settings”.
  4. Toggle on “Auto-update Participant List” to auto-update survey access when new or existing users are added to or removed from the participant metadata group - even after publish.
  5. Click “Save Changes” when finished. 

 

 

What happens when Auto-Update is Off

When Auto-Update Participant List is off, the participant list is locked at launch by default.

This means:

  • The people on the list do not change during the survey.
  • The manager and department info in your survey results stay tied to how things looked on the launch date, even if someone moves to a different team or gets a new manager mid-survey.

 

Special Cases when Auto-Update is Off

For surveys without an end date:

  • The hierarchy (who reports to whom, what department people are in) resets at the start of each month.
  • At the start of the month:
    • The system re-locks the hierarchy for that group.
    • New eligible people can start to see the survey from that month going forward.

For ongoing Pulse surveys:

  • The hierarchy resets at the start of each new pulse cycle.
  • For example, if you send out four questions every two months, after that cycle ends:
    • The hierarchy resets.
    • Newly eligible people can gain access at the start of the next cycle.

 

What happens when Auto-Update is On

When Auto-Update Participant List is on, the survey behaves like this:

  • If your survey audience is based on metadata (like department, location, or manager) or is open to “everyone”:
    • People who newly qualify (for example, new hires or new departments) can get access while the survey is still open.
  • These new people can see and take the survey once their user info is updated.

 

Important Behavior for Confidential or Non-Anonymous Surveys

For Confidential and non-anonymous surveys:

  • If a person gains access during the live survey window and responds:
    • Their answers are only included in company-wide aggregate results.
    • Their responses will not show up in manager views or in filtered breakdowns (like by department or location).

This keeps sensitive data safe when there are only a few new responses tied to one group.

 

Implications and “Gotchas” of Auto-Update

If Auto-Update is off

  • Good for: clean comparisons over time (same structure from launch to close).
  • Watch out for:
    • People who change teams or managers mid-survey still show under their old team in results.
    • New hires during the survey window may not see the survey until the:
      • Next month starts (for no-end-date surveys), or
      • Next pulse cycle begins (for Pulse surveys).

 

If Auto-Update is on

  • Good for: getting as many people as possible into the survey, including new hires.
  • Watch out for:
    • In Confidential and non-anonymous surveys, new people added mid-survey:
      • Only appear in all-company results.
      • Do not appear in smaller group breakdowns (by manager, department, etc.).

 

FAQ

  • Q: Does turning Auto-Update on change past results?
    • A: Generally, no. It mainly affects who can join and how results are grouped while the survey is currently running. For open-ended surveys, if a person’s metadata (like manager or department) changes later, their past text responses may show under the new group when you filter by that field.
  • Q: I want “clean” year-over-year engagement survey data. What setting should I use?
    • A: Keep Auto-Update off so your participant list and hierarchy stay tied to the launch date. This keeps the structure stable for reporting and comparison.
  • Q: I want new hires to answer a long-running survey as soon as they join. What should I do?
    • A: Turn Auto-Update on so new eligible users can see and respond to the survey without waiting for the next month or cycle.
  • Q: Why don’t some new respondents show up in manager or department views?
    • A: In Confidential and non-anonymous surveys with Auto-Update on, new people who join mid-survey are only counted in company-wide totals, not in filtered or manager-level views.





 

If you have any questions, please contact Awardco Admin Support.