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Creating and Managing Engagement Surveys

Updated

Our Engagement Surveys feature is a powerful tool for gathering frequent, actionable feedback from your workforce, allowing you to quickly gauge employee sentiment and track trends over time. This continuous approach to feedback helps you make data-driven decisions that foster a positive and engaged work environment.

In this guide, we'll walk you through setting up a recurring Engagement Survey, leveraging a library of standard questions, scheduling the distribution cadence, and managing the live survey.

Note: For a front-end user perspective, refer to the Taking Surveys article.

 

  1. Navigating to the Surveys Tool
  2. Creating an Engagement Survey
  3. Finalizing and Publishing Your Survey
  4. Managing Surveys
  5. Setting Survey Reminders
  6. Sharing Surveys Manually
  7. Viewing Survey Results
  8. Engagement Survey Best Practices
  9. FAQ

 

 

Navigating to the Surveys Tool

Note: Before proceeding, ensure you have “Survey Edit” and “Survey Results” permissions. Otherwise, you will not be able to access the Surveys tool.

To access the Engagement Surveys tool:

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

 

 

Creating an Engagement Survey

To begin, click the “Create Survey” button and select the “Engagement” option.

 

 

Engagement Surveys are configured using five main tabs: General, Participants & Reward, Questions, Schedule, and Communication.

Survey Info

Complete the basic information for your Engagement Survey:

  • Survey Name: The title that participants will see.
  • Description: A brief overview of the survey's purpose.
  • Image: (Optional) Upload an image to customize the look.
  • Long Description: (Optional) Provide more detail if necessary.
  • Completion Note: The message displayed on the social feed upon completion.

 

Click “Save Changes” when finished and proceed to the Questions tab.

 

 

Questions

Engagement Survey offer both standard, research-backed questions and the option to create your own.

 

  1. Click “Add Question,” then select: 
    • Standard: Utilizes a library of themed questions designed to measure tailored insights and trends.
    • Custom: Allows you to create and edit your own questions.

 

 

Standard Questions

  1. The Standard Question Library model will appear.
  2. Browse the available Themes to find what you want to measure.
  3. Check the boxes next to the questions you want to include.
  4. At the bottom of the model, specify the settings for the selected questions:
    • Required Response: Check this box to make the selected questions mandatory.
    • Optional Comment: Check this box to provide a space for users to add additional comments.
  5. Click "Add (X number) questions."

 

 

Note: Any settings selected in the modal (like "Required Response") will apply to all questions you are currently adding. To give questions different settings, add them first, then edit them individually on the main Questions overview page.

Custom Questions

If you select Custom, you can add any of the following question types. 

  • Scale Selection: Prompts the respondents to select a value on a scale (e.g., a Likert scale).
    • Enter the Question Text.
    • Enter the values for the scale (e.g., '1', '2', '3', '4', '5') by typing a value and hitting enter.
    • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
    • Click “Save.”
  • Single-Select: Similar to a multiple-choice question, a Single-Select question allows only one answer.
    • Enter the Question Text.
    • Add multiple answer options by typing an answer and hitting enter.
    • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
    • Click “Save.”
  • Multi-Select: Allows participants to choose multiple answers.
    • Enter the Question Text and the answer options.
    • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if needed.
    • Click “Save.”
  • Short Answer: Prompts concise written responses.
    • Enter the Question Text.
    • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if applicable.
    • Click “Save.”
    • Note: The character limit for a short answer is 600.
  • Long Answer: Invites detailed written responses.
    • Enter the Question Text.
    • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
    • Click “Save.”
    • Note: The character limit for a long answer is 4,000.
  • User Selection: Prompts respondents to nominate a user for a specific question.
    • Enter the Question Text.
    • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
    • Click “Save.”

 

 

Once all questions are added, organize them as needed, click “Preview” for a front-end view. Click “Save Changes” and proceed to the Participants & Reward tab.



 

Participants & Reward

Use this tab to define who is eligible to take the survey.

  1. Limit Eligibility: Toggle on to restrict the survey to specific groups or individuals.
    1. Eligible to Take Survey: Specify eligibility by entering names or metadata groups. Leaving the toggle Off makes the survey available to all users.
      1. Understanding Eligibility Logic:
        1. OR Statement: When you add multiple metadata within the same field (e.g., selecting both "Marketing" and "Client Success" under the "Department" field), the participants will be eligible if they match EITHER of those criteria.
        2. AND Statement: When you add metadata from different fields (e.g., selecting "Client Success" from "Department" AND "San Francisco" from "Location"), the participants will be eligible only if they match BOTH of those criteria.
  2. Maximum Number of Submissions: Set a limit or check the Allow Unlimited Submissions box.
  3. Anonymity: For Engagement Surveys, responses are always confidential to protect participant privacy. This field cannot be edited.
    1. For detailed information on data handling, please refer to the Data Rights and Confidentiality Statement available within the survey tool.

 

 

Click “Save Changes” when finished and proceed to the Schedule tab.

 

Note on Rewards: You may notice the tab is labeled "Participants & Reward." For Engage-only platforms, the Reward card will appear but the toggle will be disabled. This feature allows organizations to offer monetary points for survey completion; however, it requires a platform upgrade. If you hover over the disabled toggle, you will see a message confirming that this feature is not active on your current plan. Speak with your Awardco point of contact if you’re interested in monetarily awarding survey participation.

 

Schedule

Configure the following settings: 

  • How often does this Engagement Survey send?: Select one of the recurring cadences: Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannually, or Once.
  • Questions per Send: If a recurring cadence is selected (not "Once"), specify the number of questions each employee will see. To prevent survey fatigue, the system automatically rotates your question pool so that all questions are asked during every pulse, but distributed across different groups of employees.
    • Example: If you have 15 total questions and set "3 questions per send," the system divides eligible users into 5 groups. Each group receives a different set of 3 questions. This ensures you collect data on all 15 questions every pulse while only showing 3 to each person.
    • Recommendation: 3 or fewer questions sent weekly is recommended for optimal data collection and higher response rates.
  • When does the first Engagement Survey send?
    • On Publish: The date the survey is published
    • On Date: Specify a specific start date and time
      • If the survey is still in “Draft” status, ensure you publish the survey before the scheduled date and time of the first Engagement Survey. Otherwise, the survey will not release
  • Close Survey: Choose to close the survey manually or specify a specific date and time for the survey to close automatically.

 

 

Click “Save Changes” when finished and proceed to the Communication tab.

 

Communication

Configure how participants are notified about the survey.

  • Survey Invitation
    • Check the box next to "Send Invitation" to notify eligible participants via available channels once published.
    • Select either "Write Custom Message" or "Use Saved Template".
      • Write Custom Message: This message will be in a non-customizable generic email template.
        • Click "Preview Email" to view the generic email template.
          • Note: The "Write Custom Message" email template is not currently editable and will display: "New Survey Available: [Survey Title] [Survey Description]" and include a button to the survey.
      • Use Saved Template: Custom survey email template created using the Easy Email Editor.
        • This solves for multi-language variant notification needs.
        • Use the email template type "Survey Notification" in the Easy Email Editor.

 

 

 

  • Results Visibility
    • Survey results can be set to release automatically when the survey is completed or manually based on the survey creator’s timeline. When results are released, only users with the appropriate Survey Results permissions and eligible data visibility will be able to view them.
      • Note: You can only switch between Manual and Immediate result release options anytime before the survey is launched. Once the survey is launched this is not adjustable.

 

 

  • Reminders
    • Reminders can only be sent once a survey is Live (Open Status). To send a one-off reminder:
      • Go to the Communication tab of an active survey.

      • Under Reminders select "Create"

         


         

      • Select either "Write Custom Message" or "Use Saved Template".
        • Write Custom Message: This message will be in a non-customizable generic email template.
          • Customize the Subject, Body, and Link Text, then click “Send.”

 

  • Use Saved Template: Custom survey email template created using the Easy Email Editor.
    • This solves for multi-language variant notification needs.
    • Use the email template type "Survey Notification" in the Easy Email Editor.


 

 



 

Important Notification Settings: Review your company notification settings. If employees are allowed to disable invitation notifications, they will not receive the notification via some channels. To ensure users always receive the invitations, ensure the invitation setting is "locked on" in your platform's notification settings.

 

Click “Save Changes.”

 



 

Finalizing and Publishing Your Engagement Survey

Once you've configured all five tabs and have saved your settings, click “Review & Publish” at the top of the page (the button will display as Review & Schedule if you’ve set a start date and time in the future in the Schedule tab.) 

 

 

Note: Keep in mind the “Scheduled” settings you configured in the Settings tab before publishing. If you set the first engagement survey to be sent “On Publish”, the first survey will be sent as soon as you click “Review & Publish”. If you had the first engagement survey set to send on a schedule date, the first engagement survey will not send upon clicking “Review & Schedule”

 

 

Managing Surveys

Once a survey is published, it will appear in “Open Status” on the main Surveys page.

 

To easily organize and locate specific surveys, use the Filter and Search tools at the top of the page. You can narrow your view by:

  • Owner: Select "My Surveys" to see only the ones you created.
  • Type: Filter by Engagement or Simple surveys.
  • Status: Toggle between Scheduled, Open, Closed, or Draft.

 

 

By default, Survey Creators see only their own surveys on this page, unless they have ‘All Survey Access’ permissions.

 

Setting Survey Reminders

While the survey is in draft status, the option to send reminders is disabled. Once the survey is published (Open Status):

  1. Find your survey under the Manage Surveys section.
  2. Click the stacked three-dot icon (Actions) to the right of the survey.

  3. Click "Craft & Send Reminder."

     


     

  4. Enter the subject, body, and what the survey link text should be.
  5. Click “Send.” This sends a one-off reminder.

 

 

Open and Past Surveys

  • Open Surveys: Displays surveys that are currently running. Any Engagement Survey that had an initial invitation sent will display under “Survey Invites.” Engagement Survey in Open status will also display under the Manage Survey section, even if a survey invite email was not sent.
  • Past Surveys: Displays surveys in "Closed" status. Response data is still accessible by clicking "Results." You can also duplicate the survey or view settings by clicking the stacked three-dot icon.

 

Sharing Surveys Manually

To share a survey:

  1. Click the three dots next to the survey on the main Surveys page.
  2. Select Copy Survey Link to share the link.
  3. Choose QR Code to download a QR code that directs participants to the survey.

 

 

Viewing Survey Results

To view your survey data, click “Results” next to any survey in "Open" or "Closed" status under the Manage Surveys section. Survey Creators can view and manage only the surveys they have created, along with the results for those surveys. They cannot see surveys or results created by other users unless they have “All Survey Access” permissions.

 

 

The initial results page provides a high-level overview of employee sentiment, including:

  • Filter by: Use the dropdown menu to narrow data by metadata. If you have the correct permissions, you can use the Manager View to see results for your specific downline.
  • Response Statistics: View your overall response rate and the total number of participants.
  • Thematic Scoring: See how your organization scores in specific Indicator and Action Themes (e.g., Engagement, Collaboration, or Intent to Stay).
  • eNPS and eSAT: View your Employee Net Promoter Score and Employee Satisfaction scores.
  • Export CSV: Download the raw data for the current view you are filtered to.

 

Confidentiality Note: To protect employee privacy, results are only visible when the minimum confidentiality threshold is met (typically 5 or more responses per group). Platform admins and managers cannot identify individual respondents.

 

Go Deeper: This section provides a basic overview of how to access your data. For a comprehensive guide on interpreting theme scores, utilizing manager views, and drilling down into granular insights, please refer to our Viewing Survey Results: Pulse Surveys article.



 



 

Engagement Survey Best Practices

  • Ideal Cadence: Weekly or Biweekly pulses provide the most timely, actionable data. Monthly is a good alternative for less frequent measurements.
  • Question Quantity: Use the "Questions Per Send" feature. Fewer questions (2-4) per send increases completion rates and reduces survey fatigue.
  • Anonymity: Engagement Survey responses are always confidential. Communicate this to your workforce to encourage honest feedback and build trust.



 

FAQ

  • Q: What should I do after viewing the results?
    • A: Reviewing is only the first step. Share key findings with employees and communicate the actions you plan to take based on the feedback to close the loop.
  • Q: Why didn't some employees get the invite notification?
    • A: Check your platform's notification settings. If the Survey Invitation notification is not "locked on," users may have disabled it. Ensure this setting is correctly configured to guarantee delivery.
  • Q: How will Awardco protect my employees' privacy?
    • A: Individual responses are confidential, meaning that survey administrators will never see any personally identifiable information. Results are reported in aggregate and are only visible when the minimum confidentiality threshold is met (e.g., at least 5 responses per group). This is detailed in the Data Rights and Confidentiality Statement available in the survey tool.





 

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