Employee Surveys, Pre-survey, Survey Design
At Great Place To Work®, we know that earning employees’ trust is the key to getting honest feedback. That trust — and the data it generates — is also what gives leaders the insight they need to build better workplaces.
That’s why we’ve designed our employee survey process with confidentiality and de-identification at its core — protecting employees while delivering meaningful results for you.
What we mean by confidentiality
In plain terms: when employees complete the survey, their individual responses are kept confidential. That means:
- No one — not leaders, managers, or survey admins — gets access to raw individual data
- Responses are only reported in aggregate — so what you see are themes and patterns, not names or verbatim responses tied to individuals
This protects employees while giving you the insight you need.
De-identification — and why it has limits
We work hard to protect the identity of survey respondents or individual employees, but it’s important to understand its limits.
Our system prevents anyone — including you — from identifying individual employees through the survey data on its own. That’s why we only display results where five or more people have responded in any group or filter. Fewer than that? You’ll see a message saying the data isn’t available to protect confidentiality.
Despite these protective measures, we do not promise true anonymity because someone could, for example, self-identify in their comments (e.g., “As the only llama wrangler...”). We do remind employees upfront to avoid including identifying details.
How we protect survey data (so you don’t have to worry)
We go beyond industry standards when it comes to data protection:
- De-identification — Five days after closing the survey, we remove names, emails, and personal identifiers
- Encryption and secure storage — Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, stored on Microsoft Azure’s cloud servers
- Access controls — Only authorized team members may access systems, which are backed by audits, security protocols, and disaster recovery plans
What this means for you — and your people
- For you: Reliable data you can act on — without risking anyone’s privacy
- For your people: The psychological safety they need to speak honestly, knowing their voices won’t be singled out
That’s how you build trust — and get the kind of insights that truly help your culture thrive.
Confidentiality and communication support
Your employees might be nervous to participate or want more context. We have a library of templates and resources to help prepare your messaging and communications for a successful survey launch. If you need more comprehensive information on our confidentiality measures, please request a full packet from your Customer Success Manager.
When people feel safe to speak, you get the insights that matter. If you have questions about how we protect confidentiality — or want help communicating that to your team — your Customer Success Manager is here to support you reach out now. If you’re exploring our Trust Index™ Survey, we’d be happy to walk you through how it works. Get in touch.Elevate employee experience
Ensure your best people thrive and stay. Benefit from continuous culture support and our proven model to keep your team committed.
