Can we run a contest for engagement survey participation?

Yes. Many organizations run contests to encourage participation, and it's a great way to get people involved.

A few things to keep in mind:

• The engagement survey is anonymous. Managers can't see who has or hasn't responded, so participation can't be tracked person by person — and that's on purpose.
• The eligible count is set on the 1st of the month. If someone is terminated during the month, they stay in the count, since they could have taken the survey before leaving. So the count may include people who have left.
• A simple way to encourage participation is to hand out profile access cards. Employees can scan the QR code or use the access code to reach their open survey.
• When choosing contest winners, consider the creativity and effort managers put into motivating their teams, not just the raw participation number. Winner selection is up to your management team.

Most of all, the point of the survey is honest, useful feedback. People give more thoughtful, candid answers when they don't feel rushed or pressured, so genuine participation matters more than hitting a specific percentage.