FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We’ve done our best to answer the most common questions below – however please let us know if we’ve “missed a spot” or can help provide more detail on anything at all!

POPULAR FAQS

The survey package contains everything needed to run your survey:

Pre-Launch Meeting
Advice on Your Communication Strategy
Advice on Analysis
Development of the Survey
Participant Invitations & Communication
Resolution of any “Undeliverable” Email Addresses
Administration of the Online Survey
Progress Reports
Survey Report with Detailed Analysis
Report on Verbatim Comments
Year-on-Year Comparisons
Breakdown by one Subgroup
Presentation of the Results to the Leadership or Management Team

Full details are at Survey Details.

The base price is $6,900 with additional costs for options and if a dedicated HR consultant is required. Full details at Survey Details.

Note that we offer 20% off to not-for-profit organizations.

Yes we do!

We offer a 20% discount on all surveys, add-ons and options to not-for-profit (NFP) organizations and registered charitable organizations.

Full details on the survey package and options are available on the Survey Details page.

… or contact us for further details on these or our other services.

Yes we do, and some of our clients have offices or operations in both. Pricing is in the local currency.

Yes we do! … and per our not-for-profit survey pricing, the survey and all options are discounted by 20% for all registered NFPs.

PRIVACY & ANONYMITY

The data file containing the email addresses that we have been supplied with to run any survey is deleted once the survey is closed and the report signed off.

(This means of course that if we run a survey for this organization again next year, we would require a new email list.)

We use only secure (SSL/https) connections for all of our surveys.

This means that no one can intercept the information as it passes from the computer where the survey is being filled out to the servers that store the information.

Further, once the survey is finished no information is left behind on the local computer and the connection to the survey information is permanently broken. (For example hitting “Back” will have no effect.)

It would be hard to find a higher level of server security on the web.

As we work with extremely sensitive data for all of our clients, we use a Canadian server at Amazon Web Services (AWS) for all our web servers, survey applications and databases.

Because the server and all backups are in Canada, we satisfy all requirements of the Canadian Freedom of information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA / FOIPOP).

On the corporate side, Verita is a Canadian company, and only personnel retained by Verita and working directly on your project will have access to the database servers.

Respondents email addresses – which are the only identifying information we have on hand – are stored separately from the survey database.

Within the results database itself, survey responses are identified using a random and unique code that only we can match with a respondent and their email address – so that even were someone to see the raw data (which is not provided in the first place), they would have no way to determine who is who.

There are several things we do, and will not do, to ensure that your responses stay confidential:

A client will never be provided access to a database of results. Period.
Results are only reported in the aggregate, and any group smaller than a certain size (usually 7 responses) is not reported out.
In the extraordinary case where a client might somehow gain access to the database (this has never happened), there would still be no way for a client to make a connection between a record in the database and a respondent, as the connection between the ID in the database and who that person is is retained in a separate file in a separate, secure location.
The connection between responses to each question for each person is broken, as we only report out statistics (counts and averages etc. over a group) but not individual responses. In other words, as client I may know that “9 people of 13 answered Strongly Agree to question Q1“, but there is no way to know “If they answered Strongly Agree to Q1 what was their response to Q2?” The only caviat to that is when there is a filter question such as “Are you a manager?” (Yes/No) “If yes, … etc.”

There are times when, rather than ask for your “Department”, “Location” or “Years of Service” (for example) in the survey itself, the organization will send that information on to us as part of the email list that we then use to send out the invitations.

So then how can we use that information in our response rate reporting while the survey is running, and in the final report itself, without compromising anonymity?

Here’s how we do that …

When reporting response rates:

We never report out which individuals have answered a survey and which have not.
We won’t report response rates across demographics – so while the survey is running we may let the organization know that we have (for example) 17 responses from Location X, and 37 from Department Y – but not that there are 9 who are from Location X and from Department Y.
We won’t notify the organization if only one person has responded to the survey within a given demographic – we will wait till there are 2 to 5 minimum (depending on the circumstances).

In the final report to the organization:

Regardless of all other considerations, we won’t provide results for groups smaller than 7.
Individual question results are provided in the aggregate, and are unlinked from the other question responses. (Unless we are referring to filter questions of course, such as “Are you X? If so please answer the following:”)
Finally, we will of course never provide individual records to the client organization – with or without demographics.

One of the greatest advantages we provide as a third party is our ability to keep survey results confidential. Without that we can’t do our job.

So if you are currently taking one of our surveys, we hope this explains everything in a way that gives you more confidence in responding, however if you have further questions please do contact us and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.

PRODUCTS & PRICING

The survey package contains everything needed to run your survey:

Pre-Launch Meeting
Advice on Your Communication Strategy
Advice on Analysis
Development of the Survey
Participant Invitations & Communication
Resolution of any “Undeliverable” Email Addresses
Administration of the Online Survey
Progress Reports
Survey Report with Detailed Analysis
Report on Verbatim Comments
Year-on-Year Comparisons
Breakdown by one Subgroup
Presentation of the Results to the Leadership or Management Team

Full details are at Survey Details.

The base price is $6,900 with additional costs for options and if a dedicated HR consultant is required. Full details at Survey Details.

Note that we offer 20% off to not-for-profit organizations.

Yes we do!

We offer a 20% discount on all surveys, add-ons and options to not-for-profit (NFP) organizations and registered charitable organizations.

Full details on the survey package and options are available on the Survey Details page.

… or contact us for further details on these or our other services.

Yes we can, and in fact we’ve written a blog post on the subject if you’d like to take a look at Pro Tip Series 21 – Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) questions – what are they and should I add them to my survey?

Otherwise contact us if you’d like further detail.

Yes we do! … and per our not-for-profit survey pricing, the survey and all options are discounted by 20% for all registered NFPs.

GETTING STARTED

Yes we do. We provide advice on your communication strategy and can provide assistance in drafting your communication to participants if needed.

The following are the top success factors:

Set clear survey objectives: We help you determine your survey objectives and critical metrics. You do not want to ask questions merely for curiosity or interest sake. You should be prepared to respond to what you hear back from your participants. If you are not prepared to respond to what you hear, you shouldn’t ask the question.
Use well-crafted questions: Questions should be written in plain language, be unambiguous and ask about only one item – no double-barrelled questions! We have a database of well-crafted survey questions about all aspects of the work environment. If you need custom questions written, we have the expertise to write custom questions that will meet your objectives.
Include at least one or two open-ended questions: Survey participants appreciate the opportunity to provide an explanation or opinion that’s important to them.
Protect participants’ privacy: Participants will be reluctant to respond to surveys if they fear their identity will be revealed. This is one reason to use an experienced external service provider.
Participant preparation: Participants should know why you are conducting a survey, what you will do with the responses and how you are protecting their privacy and individual confidentiality.
Encourage participation: A survey participant’s time is valuable. Ensure you let participants know that you need and value their feedback and participation. Send reminders during the survey period.
Thank participants: Thank participants for their involvement and feedback.
Close the loop :Tell participants what the survey revealed and what your plans are for responding to the survey. If there are some ideas or suggestions that can’t be actioned, be sure to tell employees why.

Absolutely. Advice on your communication strategy is part of our service, and we can assist you in writing up your communication.

Further details available on our Survey Details page.

Yes we can work without them, and this is not an absolute requirement and for running a survey.

However our preference is to have a list of the email addresses of participants who will be participating in the survey so that we can send each a personal and unique link to the survey.

We prefer this, as opposed to leaving the survey “open” to anyone with the link, in order to:

ensure that only valid respondents are able to respond to the survey.
ensure that each respondent is able to fill the survey in only once.
allow participants to return to the survey to complete or edit their responses before the end of the survey period.
enable us to provide you with an ongoing count of completion rates overall and by subcategory if we have this information in the list you provided).

Again it does not have to be done this way, and if a list of emails is not available we are happy to run the survey “open” to anyone with the link.

Please contact us for further discussion on what will work best for you.

Absolutely. We prefer individual email addresses for the reasons mentioned above – but if this is not viable, we can open the survey up to anyone, and then provide a single anonymous link (or multiple links by for example Department) for internal use.

Note that this means that:

Employees will have to fill out the survey in one sitting. As we don’t know who they are, we can’t return them to their partially-completed form.
It is harder to prevent an employee filling the survey out multiple times.

There are ways around these issues, however they tend to either involve more work on the part of the employee (ex. a sign in process or request for an email address), or may involve saving information on the employee’s computer through browser “cookies” (with the associated security implications).

Contact us and we’d be happy to review the pros and cons of each, and suggest how it might be best to proceed given your particular circumstances.

Yes we do, and some of our clients have offices or operations in both.

Yes absolutely – every survey we administer is set up to be “responsive”, meaning that they will adjust their layout to match screen size, device or operating system.

In other words all of our surveys will work seamlessly on:

all devices (PCs, tablets and phones)
all modern web browsers (Edge, Firefox, Chrome & Opera)
all operating systems (Mac/PC)

One caveat to keep in mind is that older and unsupported versions of Internet Explorer (IE) can cause issues, and it’s best to update to a more recent web browser for the sake of usability and security.

Yes we can.

If you have data from a previous survey run with another provider, we can use this in a year on year comparison assuming that the questions and scales are in any way comparative.

Contact us and we will take a look at what you have (at no charge) and suggest how we might use this data in a new report.

Absolutely.

Contact us to set up a free appointment or phone call where we can review your results and provide you with options on how we might help out.

Yes all of our surveys are “WCAG 2“and “Section 508” compatible – i.e. they conform to the standards used for screen readers and other accessibility devices.

Yes we can, and we are commonly asked to set up a paper version of a survey (including some form of anonymous collection method) in cases where a group of participants:

cannot access the survey through an email invitation from us.
do not have easy access to a computer set up for their use at work.
are shift workers where a large group of employees are only available in certain locations for a short period of time.
are unlikely to use a their (or any) computer or phone for survey completion.

Contact us for further details on this and we’d be happy to review how this might work best in your environment and we well then provide a quote on the cost to deliver, collect and data-enter the results.

TIMING

About five to six weeks from planning to report, though we can usually work within any additional time constraints as needed.

It usually takes about one week to conduct the initial planning meeting, work out the details, and finalize the survey structure and questions.
Once the survey is finalized, we will have it up and running within the week.
Surveys are generally open for two to three weeks, though in consultation with you we may adjust as needed.
We can then have the final report delivered within one week from the close of the survey.

All in then, the project can be completed within five to six weeks of the go-ahead, however we might also recommend adding in time to prepare employees for the survey before it opens.

Not at all.

Generally two to three weeks is sufficient time for a survey to stay open to ensure that anyone who wishes to participate has had sufficient opportunity.

This is flexible however – and we will work with you to determine if the survey should be extended beyond the initial “closing date” in order to capture additional responses.

DESIGNING THE SURVEY

Absolutely. It all depends on your survey objectives, which we will discuss this at our (free) pre-launch meeting.

The Full Service survey package itself includes one questionnaire for all employee groups, with “Separate Management/Employee Questions” added as an Option.

Again we will discuss pricing at the pre-launch meeting, as it will partially depend on the nature of the difference between the two surveys.

Absolutely – and we will provide you with advice and recommendations on the wording of your questions to ensure best results.

There is no lower limit to the number employees participating – however our survey package may not be a cost-effective way to survey a population of fewer than 20 employees.

There are two aspects to this question:

The validity and reliability of your results. The statistical validity and reliability of the results depends on the number of responses (the sample) compared to the number of those invited to participate (the total employee population). Best practice is of course to encourage as much participation as possible in order to be able to rely on your results.
Breakdown of the results into smaller reporting units. There are best practices about reporting results for small groups as well, especially if you ask a number of demographic questions such as age or gender in addition to say, department. We recommend that you do not break down results by very small group, as it can make employees nervous that you might be able to identify them. In general, we recommend not reporting results for groups of less than 7. We will work with you in the planning stages to determine the right number for reporting results by department or demographic.

Not at all. All of our surveys allow for an unlimited number of responses.

Yes we certainly can.

If you have in-house translation services, you can provide the translation(s) to us and we will take it from there.

If you don’t have in-house translation, we can provide translation services, and the fee for translation would be billed to you at cost without mark-up.

DURING THE SURVEY

Assuming we have the list of emails for all the employees and managers who will be asked to complete the survey, we assign each a random ID, and then send each a personalized email with an invitation to participate along with their own unique link to the survey. (They are warned that is critical that they not share this email with anyone else as the link is their own.)

See Why do you ask for a list of respondent email addresses? Do we need it? for the reasons why we prefer to use individual addresses over an open survey.

If we don’t have a list of participant emails, the most common method if for us to provide a single link to the survey that is then sent on to all employees.

An example invitation email to survey participants is available here” (PDF)

This is only a sample however, and we will work with you to customize your own email invitation as recommended and desired to match your internal culture and get the highest possible response rate.

We will let you know immediately.

If we sent out the invitation emails ourselves and an email is undeliverable due to a typo or otherwise, we will notify you (usually within the first day) so that the email address can be corrected and the invitation resent.

We will also report on any “Out of Office” or “Vacation” notifications that we receive so that you can make decisions on the appropriate survey close date.

Contact us for a free review of other options for small employee groups.

Yes they can – IF we sent the invitation directly to them by email.

The unique link in their personalized email will allow them back to their survey at any time before “close”, complete with all their responses to date.

If we didn’t send the invitation emails ourselves however (i.e. we didn’t receive a list of participant email addresses), then as we don’t know who the individual participants are and they cannot return to their copy of the survey. In this case they would be required to complete the survey in one sitting.

There are some ways around this however – and we would be delighted to discuss these during our free Pre-Launch Meeting.

Regardless of survey type, if you have provided us with a list of employee email addresses, the survey link that the participant receives from us within the invitation email is unique, and will only allow them access to their own personal record in the database until the survey is closed.

If we didn’t receive a list of employee email addresses and the same survey link was sent out to everyone, ensuring that there is only one submission per employee becomes more difficult and a matter of reviewing the results.

We can review this in more detail in the Pre-Launch Meeting or contact us for further information.

REPORTS

Survey example reports including example survey invitation emails and Department/Dashboard reports are available on the Survey Details page here.

Our survey package includes one breakdown of results, by for example department, position, or years of service.

Each additional breakdown is available as an added Option.

In our planning meeting, we will discuss your survey objectives including the need to break-down results by different groups.

Note that we tend not to break results down into very small groups (say less than 7), as it can make employees nervous that they can be identified if there is too much personal and demographic information.

Some examples of Employee Survey reports:

Full details and options are available on the Survey Details page or download the brochure here (PDF).

Yes we do.

We call them as “Department Reports” (sometimes referred to as “Dashboards”, “Summary Reports” or “Score Cards”) and they provide a summary of results for each organizational unit and for the organization as a whole.

An example is available on the Survey Details page here.

Yes we can. After consultation with you to determine your objectives, methodology and areas of interest, we can analyze the verbatim comments for themes and parse them into categories to produce either simple frequency reports or correlation of response with other criteria (ex. department or location).

This is an option on all of our surveys, and now with our expertise in AI in the way of Anthropic Workbench we can do this at a fraction of the cost of just a year ago. Let us know if you’d like to add this in and we’ll provide a quote.

Contact us for more information on this, or to arrange a free one hour consult to discuss your needs and how we can help.

Yes we can.

If meeting within the Vancouver lower mainland we will present the results to you and to your leadership team on-site as part of the package – or if outside of the lower mainland, we will bill travel expenses at cost with no mark-up.

You may also choose to have us present the results in a conference call or Zoom session in lieu of a face-to-face meeting.

Yes definitely! In fact this is already included as part of the base Survey package if we were involved in running your survey in the previous year.

An example report is available on the Survey Details page here.

Absolutely.

Assuming that the data supports it, we can produce additional statistics in the way of cross-tabulations, correlations, regressions, factor analysis (i.e. variable reduction where multiple questions are measuring the same thing), T-Tests, ChiSq, etc.

Contact us if you would like further detail or information.

SECURITY & COMPLIANCE

Yes they do.

Our web application and data servers, including all backups, reside in and are administered on a Canadian server run by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and as such satisfy FIPPA/FOIPOP (“Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act“) requirements in regard to the storage and access of “personal” data.