Increase participation rates in employee and customer surveys

Tips for employee surveys

Employee surveys are a sensitive topic, as employees often weigh up carefully whether to express their honest opinion.

Trust is therefore the most important foundation.

Tip 1: Open communication

Transparency is crucial.

Company management should clearly explain:

The purpose of the survey: Is it about improving working conditions, leadership culture, or internal processes?
The benefits for employees: Employees will only see the point in participating if it is clear that their feedback will lead to concrete improvements.
Follow-up steps: Communicate when and how the results will be evaluated and measures implemented.

A common mistake is to announce surveys “secretly” or at too short notice.

Employees need to understand that their voice counts.

Tip 2: Advance notice

A survey should not suddenly appear in employees’ inboxes.

It is better to communicate this in advance, for example:

via announcements on the intranet,
through emails from managers,
or in regular team meetings.

This allows employees to plan their participation and feel that they are being taken seriously.

In addition, attention increases when the survey is announced as an important event.

Tip 3: Ensure anonymity

Many employees fear that their answers could be traced back to them.

It is therefore essential to credibly demonstrate that anonymity is guaranteed:

Use external tools or service providers that anonymize responses.
Avoid overly small group reports (e.g., no evaluation per team with only three people).
Emphasize several times in the invitation that no conclusions can be drawn about individuals.

The stronger this trust, the more honest and meaningful the responses will be.

Tip 4: Consider the timing

Even the best survey is useless if it is conducted at the wrong time.

Avoid:

Holiday and vacation periods,
Times of high workload (e.g., year-end closing in controlling or Christmas business in retail),
Waves of illness.

A good time is a “quieter” phase when employees have their minds free.

Tip 5: Keep it short

Paradoxically, longer periods do not increase the participation rate, but rather decrease it.

If the duration is too long, employees put off participating and often forget about it. Ideal are:

1–2 weeks duration,
a clear deadline with reminders,
a “participate now” character that creates commitment.

Tips for customer surveys

While employees are more motivated by trust, convenience and brevity are the main priorities in customer surveys.

Customers give companies very little time, so the process must be as simple as possible.

Tip 1: Direct entry

Every additional hurdle lowers the participation rate.

Long welcome or explanatory texts often result in customers not even starting the survey.

Start immediately with the first question.
If explanations are necessary, keep them extremely short (one to two sentences).

Tip 2: Keep the survey short

Customers are not willing to invest a lot of time in a survey.

Recommendations:

A maximum of 5 – 10 questions,
a completion time of 2 – 3 minutes,
clear feedback at the end on how many questions are left.

If the survey appears to be “quick to complete,” the completion rate increases significantly.

3. Tip: Simple introductory questions

Start with questions that are easy to answer, e.g.:

“How satisfied were you with your last purchase?”
“How would you rate the delivery time?”

More complex or open-ended questions should only be asked later on.

This creates a “flow” that makes customers more likely to stick with it until the end.

Tip 4: Avoid repetition

Nothing is more frustrating than having to answer the same question multiple times in slightly different forms.

This comes across as unprofessional and unnecessarily time-consuming.

Examine each question critically: Is it truly new, or does it overlap with others?

5. Tip: Encourage participation through contests

Small incentives can significantly increase willingness to participate.

Examples:

Raffle of vouchers or product packages,
discount codes for the next purchase,
exclusive chances to win for participants.

It is important that the effort required to participate remains low and that the competition is clearly communicated: “Your opinion counts – and with a little luck, you could win a $50 voucher.”

Conclusion

Whether employees or customers: the motivation to participate differs, but the goal is the same—meaningful feedback.

Employee surveys benefit from transparency, anonymity, and well-thought-out communication.
Customer surveys work best when they are short, clear, and motivating—with a direct introduction, simple questions, and additional incentives if necessary.

Following these tips will significantly increase your response rate and provide you with valuable data that is truly representative.

More tips & tricks for surveys

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Tips for increasing participation rates in employee and customer surveys