Surveys FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Retain surveys.
General
How much time does it take to complete a survey?
Retain surveys are short but targeted. Most employees spend three to five minutes, though it can take up to ten if they add a lot of comments. We recommend giving employees a 15-minute block during work hours. The engagement survey is open all month, so employees can also take it outside work hours if needed.
How long do employees have once they open the survey link?
Surveys don't have an overall time limit, but they can time out after a stretch of inactivity. How long that takes varies, and it can be affected by the employee's browser and device settings, and by caching, firewall, or VPN rules on a corporate network.
There's no error message when a survey times out. The employee can just refresh the page or reopen their link. Restarting loses any unsubmitted answers but doesn't stop them from completing and submitting the survey.
Can employees submit incomplete surveys?
Some questions must be answered before the survey can be submitted. These required questions are quick — they use a scale like strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree. Any extra comments are optional.
Do you need a code to take a survey?
No. Instead of access codes, surveys open through a unique link, which employees get one of these ways:
- An email or text from Retain
- A QR code or direct link to their employee profile
When employees open their profile, they're prompted to take or delay any open surveys. If they delay, the survey stays on their profile until they take it or it expires.
Note: sometimes a link wraps onto two lines in an email, so part of the URL can look like a code. Tell employees to copy and paste the full link into a browser.
If an employee deletes their invitation, will they get a new one? What if their contact info changes?
Reminders go out on a regular schedule whether or not an employee deletes the invitation, and each reminder includes a survey link. The exception is if they marked earlier Retain messages as spam or junk.
If an employee updates their contact preferences on their profile, or their info changes in your HRIS, the next invite or reminder goes to the new contact info. Open surveys can also be found on their employee profile, reached by access card or link.
Can you extend the deadline for an employee to finish their survey?
Individual deadlines can't be extended. Under special circumstances, company-wide engagement surveys can be extended.
What do the emails and texts from Retain look like? Is it clear they're from Retain?
Yes. Messages include your company name, which reassures employees the message is secure and not spam. "PQI" appears in the URL, the Pinnacle Quality Insight logo is at the bottom of emails, and the survey is labeled a Retain survey once the employee opens the link.
Note: some organizations prefer the invitation to come from the location or facility rather than the larger company. Your Retain account manager can set that up.
New-Hire Surveys
When will I be notified if a new hire skips a survey?
You're notified 14 days after an employee misses two surveys in a row. For example, if they skip the 30-day and 60-day surveys, you're notified 14 days after the 60-day survey went out. We wait for two skipped surveys in a row because that's when the risk of leaving is higher, so you can follow up directly.
Engagement and Follow-Up Surveys
How long is the engagement or follow-up survey open?
It's open for one calendar month, starting on the first. A survey in April runs April 1–30; a December survey runs December 1–31.
Which employees are eligible for engagement surveys?
Employees become eligible once they've been with the organization at least 100 days when the survey opens. Employees with fewer than 100 days are in the new-hire journey surveys, and they'll be invited to the next company-wide engagement or follow-up survey.
Do employees have to take an engagement survey first to get a follow-up survey? What about new employees versus those who changed locations?
No. Each time an engagement or follow-up survey begins, Retain invites all currently eligible employees, whether or not they took the last one. Being invited to the follow-up isn't based on taking the engagement survey first — it's based on who's eligible across all locations.
When will employees receive their engagement or follow-up invitation?
Surveys go out on the first business day of the month. Reminders are sent after seven inactive days, and again about five business days before month's end if needed. Reminders stop once an employee responds.
What's the difference between the engagement and follow-up surveys?
Mainly the number of questions. An engagement survey asks 15 to 20 questions; a follow-up asks about five. The engagement survey is more comprehensive, while the follow-up checks in between the broader annual surveys.
Exit Surveys
When are employees invited to take an exit survey?
Employees get an invitation three days after their final employment date is reported to Retain. You can set exit surveys to include only voluntary separations, or all types.
How many days do employees have to take the exit survey?
30 days from the day the invitation was sent. Retain sends a reminder seven days after the first invite, and a last-chance reminder the day before it expires.
How can we boost participation in exit surveys?
Ask current employees to add a text number or personal email to their Retain profile. Company email accounts are sometimes deactivated before the exit survey goes out, so employees with a cell number or personal email on file are more likely to get the chance to respond.
FAQ: How do employees receive the surveys?
Employees are automatically invited to take surveys via their preferred contact method (email or text). When necessary, reminders to take an open survey are sent in the same way.
Additionally, you can link employees directly to their unique profiles by either opting to print and deliver QR code cards or by sending a direct link URL. Either way, employees can effortlessly update their contact information and access open surveys they haven’t taken yet.
FAQ: Do survey respondents need a password?
Employees have profiles, which don’t require a password. This is different from the account that managers use.