Who can use this feature?
Available on:
All Culture Amp subscriptions that include Engagement
Learn how to launch an unattributed survey, where to find the survey link and authorization code once it's live, and how to manage the survey while it's running. If you're not sure whether you need an attributed or unattributed survey, see Attributed and Unattributed Survey Formats first.
Before you start
Launching a survey requires administrator-level survey permissions. For the full breakdown of which roles can create and launch surveys, see Role Permissions Breakdown.
This article covers unattributed (shared-link) surveys. If you're launching a survey where each participant gets their own tracked invite, see Launching an Attributed Survey instead.
What Happens When You Launch
Unlike an attributed survey, Culture Amp doesn't send individual invites for an unattributed survey. Instead, launching activates a single shared survey link that you distribute yourself.
To launch:
Open the survey.
Go to the survey's Launch Plan page.
Click Launch Now
Once the survey is launched, its status changes to active and the shared link starts accepting responses.
Find your survey link, authorization code, and invite text
After you launch, Culture Amp shows you everything you need to distribute the survey yourself:
The survey link: the single shared URL that all participants will use.
The authorization code: the code participants enter to access the survey (see Create an Authorization Code for Unattributed Surveys for how the code works and how to set it up).
Suggested invite text: wording you can copy and adapt for your own email, message, or announcement to participants.
Culture Amp does not send or track any communications for unattributed surveys. You're responsible for distributing the link, the authorization code, and any invite text to participants yourself, using whatever channel you choose (email, chat, printed materials, and so on).
How Participants Access the Survey
Participants can access an unattributed survey in one of two ways:
Enter the authorization code manually: the participant opens the survey link and is prompted to enter the authorization code before they can start.
Use a link that includes the code: you can generate a version of the link that has the authorization code built in, so the participant skips the code-entry step entirely.
For the how-to steps on generating and managing authorization codes (including the version with the code built in), see Create an Authorization Code for Unattributed Surveys.
Once a participant successfully enters the authorization code (or uses the link with the code already built in), Culture Amp takes them to a personal, one-time link for their response.
If someone uses the link before you've launched
If a participant opens the survey link before you've launched the survey, they'll see a message letting them know the survey isn't available yet, rather than being able to start it.
For confidentiality, reporting, and other participant-facing questions, see Unattributed Survey Guide for Participants.
Close and Reopen the Survey
When you're ready to stop collecting responses, you can close the survey from its launch page by selecting Close Now.
Once a survey is closed, the shared link stops accepting new responses. Anyone who tries to use the link after that point will see a message that the survey is closed rather than being able to respond.
If you need to collect more responses later, you can reopen a closed survey from the same launch page by selecting Reopen Survey. Reopening it reactivates the shared link so it starts accepting responses again.
About Participation Numbers
For an unattributed survey, a response record can be created as soon as someone enters a valid authorization code, before they've actually submitted any answers. Because of this, the number of people who've started the survey (entered the code) can be higher than the number who've completed and submitted it. If your participation numbers look higher than the number of completed responses you're seeing in reporting, this difference is generally why.
Troubleshooting/FAQs
Issue / Question | Guidance |
The survey link isn't working for participants | Confirm the survey has actually been launched (not still in draft) and hasn't been closed. |
A participant says their authorization code isn't accepted | Double-check they're using the current code for this specific survey. See Create an Authorization Code for Unattributed Surveys for how codes are managed. |
A participant sees a "Thank You" or already-submitted page instead of being able to answer | This usually means they've gone back to their personal one-time link after already finishing (for example, by reopening a bookmark or a previous browser tab) rather than starting fresh from the shared survey link. Have them use the shared survey link and authorization code again if they need to start a new response. |
Participation numbers don't match what you expected | See About participation numbers above. |
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