Different survey types
The anonymity rules below apply to both Pulse and Periodic surveys. The only difference is that Periodic survey comments are held until the round closes, and anonymisation is calculated once at close.
See Comments and anonymity in periodic surveys for the Periodic-specific timing and behaviour.
All comments are anonymous — usernames are never visible to managers, system administrators, or anyone else.
Comments are a great way to get insights about your team, but user privacy always comes first. In certain scenarios, the information showing which team a comment came from will be anonymised. Anonymised comments are only visible to the system administrator at the top of the organisational hierarchy, and are always shown without usernames or personal information.
There are three scenarios where team affiliation will be anonymised:
1. The team doesn't meet the anonymity threshold
To protect employee privacy, comments only become visible once at least 5 unique team members have responded to a survey. If fewer people respond, the team affiliation is hidden from the manager; otherwise, it could be easy to guess who wrote what. A system administrator can change this threshold in the Settings page.
2. The user has no team
If a user isn't part of a team, their team affiliation is anonymised, and the comment is only visible to the system administrator at the top of the organisational hierarchy. To resolve this, add the user to a team. Keep in mind that the team still needs to meet the anonymity threshold outlined in scenario 1. Read more:
Read more:
How to add a user to a team
3. The user belongs to multiple teams
This scenario adds some complexity. Here's an example:
- Mats works in Sweden and Norway.
- Sara works in Sweden and Denmark.
- Peter, Amanda, and Olivia work in Sweden.
If Mats writes a comment, it would appear to come from someone in Sweden or Norway. Since Mats is the only person working across both those teams, a manager could easily identify who wrote it. To prevent this, the team affiliation is anonymised.
How is this resolved?
When a user belongs to two or more teams that all meet the anonymity threshold, Winningtemp anonymises all team affiliations. In Mats' case, his comment will be visible but without any team affiliation attached.
Good to know
- Comments are always anonymous as long as you don't include any identifying information. If you choose to speak with someone about a comment related to bullying or discrimination, you will no longer be anonymous — the person you contact will know who you are.
- Anonymisation cannot be reversed once a comment has been anonymised.
- Winningtemp sends comments in batches once a day, so a manager can't link a comment to a specific person based on the time it was submitted, for example, if only one person is working a night shift. This only applies to Pulse surveys.