Boost Engagement Survey Participation

Learn simple ways to get more employees to take your engagement survey.

A survey only helps if people take it, and a typical goal is 60% participation. This page digs into the specifics — for the overall timeline and a printable planning sheet, see plan your engagement survey.

Fix contact info first

Employees can't take the survey if Retain has the wrong email or phone number. Before you launch, hand out employee profile cards so people can update their own details.

Promise anonymity — and mean it

Employees take the survey when they trust it. Tell them it's anonymous and be clear about what you'll do with their feedback. See reassure employees about engagement survey anonymity for how to have that conversation.

Get the word out everywhere

Announce the survey early, then remind people through more than one channel so no one misses it. Retain also reminds anyone who hasn't taken it yet, so you don't have to chase people down. It helps to ask a few well-liked employees to encourage their coworkers, too.

Make it easy to do

Set aside a few minutes of the workday for the survey — like the first 15 minutes after lunch. People are far more likely to finish it when they don't have to find their own time.

Make it worth their time

A small reward or a bit of fun goes a long way. If you already use a reward system, tie the survey into that.

You can also reward participation without ever seeing how anyone answered. The rewards add-on gives employees points for completing a survey while their responses stay anonymous — a simple way to lift participation and keep trust intact.

Show that feedback leads to change

When employees see that past feedback actually changed something, they take the next survey seriously. Point to a specific improvement you made because of what they told you last time. For what to do once the results are in, see best practices for engagement survey results.