Overview
SMS survey invites and reminders will help you communicate with employees and drive participation across a distributed or deskless workforce.
Note: Please be aware that the information in this article does not constitute legal advice and that we encourage you to understand your own applicable legal requirements and / or attain your own advice.
Generally speaking, before enabling SMS on your account you should consider:
Employee consent: You must obtain consent from employees before sending SMS communications.
Opt-outs: All SMS communications will include an opt-out.
Right to Disconnect: There are laws that differ from jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction that govern when employees can receive SMS messages related to work.
This document will provide an overview of those areas, as well as possible steps to address these areas.
Note: Please note per clauses 7.3(b) and 7.3(k) of Culture Amp’s General Terms these requirements are the responsibility of customers who choose to utilise SMS functionality within our platform.
Employee Consent
To send SMS invites and reminders, you will first need to gain consent from your employees. Consent will often require direct, documented permission from the individual to send them the specific type of messages you plan to send.
Before uploading mobile numbers to Culture Amp, you will need to:
Obtain explicit agreement from employees to receive SMS messages about engagement surveys
Document this consent with timestamps or signed forms
Send the first message within a reasonable timeframe after receiving consent (what’s considered ‘reasonable’ will change between jurisdictions)
Some examples of how you might gain consent are:
Add a checkbox during onboarding: "I consent to receive survey SMS notifications"
Create a quick digital opt-in form for existing employees.
🇺🇸 US Carrier Requirements (Mandatory Verification)
To complete your SMS campaign registration, US carriers are required to provide evidence of how you collect employee consent for text messages. Please review Twilio's requirements here and then provide Culture Amp the following:
Screenshot of your opt-in process - Upload to Google Drive or OneDrive (set to "anyone with link can view") and share the link
Privacy Policy URL - Must be live and publicly accessible
Terms of Service URL - Must be live and publicly accessible.
Your Opt-in process must meet these carrier standards:
Checkbox is NOT pre-selected
Consent language includes company/brand name
Consent language includes message frequency (e.g., "Message frequency varies")
Consent language includes "Message and data rates may apply"
Consent language includes opt-out instructions (e.g., "Reply STOP to cancel")
Privacy Policy link works and is publicly accessible
Privacy Policy states mobile info won't be shared with third parties
Terms of Service link works and is publicly accessible
Opt outs
SMS survey invites and reminders are required by law to include the option to opt out. When an employee replies ‘STOP’ to an SMS from Culture Amp, we will capture that opt out and won’t send them SMS messages in the future. For our pilot release, opt outs won’t be documented on-platform, however, you will be able to request this data from our Support team.
Right to Disconnect Laws
In certain jurisdictions there exists legislation (commonly known as ‘Right to Disconnect’ legislation) that governs when employees can receive SMS messages for work purposes. These are different from jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction.
To reduce legal risk, your survey invites and reminders will:
only send SMS during standard business hours (10am-4pm, Monday to Friday) in the employee's timezone
make it clear in the copy of the SMS that employees can respond at a time that suits them.
Culture Amp won’t be able to take into account situations including personal time off, parental leave, shift work etc.
Note: It is important that you seek your own legal advice about when it is appropriate for your company to reach out to your employees via SMS.
💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.