Candid Feedback: Importance of Anonymous Employee Surveys

According to the founder of the Walt Disney Company, Mr. Walt Disney himself, “Employees will only complain or make suggestions three times on the average without a response. After that they conclude that if they don’t keep quiet, they will be thought to be troublemakers or that management doesn’t care”. In general, employee surveys are powerful tools that can help organizations gain actionable insight and accurately evaluate the progress of how their workforce is getting along. If conducted properly, surveys can help an organization make the changes necessary for it to improve and hold itself to a higher standard in comparison to its competitors. Bonus points for making the survey anonymous!  

Why are Anonymous Employee Surveys Important

Picture this – an employee is sitting behind a computer with a survey link afraid to open it and express their thoughts because they are worried about the consequences they could go through if they reveal too much. According to an article from Forbes, “Leaders worry that employees won’t be forthcoming with their opinions unless they’re anonymous”. An anonymous survey could negate that feeling of doubt and allow the leader and employee to breathe a sigh of relief so that the employee can freely express their thoughts and opinions. It is important for the employer to clearly communicate how the survey is created in order to gain traction from the employees to take it in the first place.  

Anonymity creates a sense of trust and security for employees when they take the survey. At the end of the day, the employee needs to feel safe and secure to openly talk about their thoughts and opinions without being judged or criticized by their superiors. Companies should get an honest opinion on where they stand. The best thing about this is that even if a company gets negative feedback, the person behind it will not be recognized.  

Another good thing about keeping surveys anonymous is increased participation. Spreading the word of anonymous surveys encourages more employees to take the survey in the first place. When taking surveys, the common questions at the end are related to the personal information of the employees, which instills the fear of their cover being blown and them being dishonest in the survey. Anonymity prevents that.  

Anonymity brings out honesty from the employee. This ensures that the employee feels heard after they take the survey. As mentioned previously, employees need to be assured that they are allowed to speak freely and express their thoughts without having to worry about the repercussions.  

Our Employee Engagement Product – PxidaEX  

Anonymous surveys are important for a company to improve their standing in the business world. Employees are the pillar of an organization. Their opinions matter whether anyone likes it or not. The idea is for them to be seen and heard. Organizations need to ensure that their employees are well-taken care of for them to receive compliments from them rather than negativity.  

PxidaEX is a powerful employee engagement survey tool that provides truly actionable insight to improve employee engagement. Employee engagement surveys can be made anonymous on this tool so that employees are free to openly express themselves.