Onboard and Exit Surveys are great tools for gauging employee perceptions. They help you understand how new hires view your organization and gather insights from those departing.
Culture Amp offers two workflow types for these surveys: basic and full. You can easily identify your survey's workflow type by visiting the surveys launch plan page. If you can change the invitation method to "automatic," you are using the basic workflow (survey only). If the invitation method is set to "manual" with no option to switch to "automatic," then your survey follows the full workflow (survey and interview).
Note: If you need to change your survey's workflow, simply reply with "ask a person" in a support conversation to connect directly with a support specialist who can assist you.
Survey only (basic) workflow
The basic workflow is the most common setup. In this approach, an administrator initiates the onboard or exit process, sending a survey email invite to the employee.
Once the employee submits their response, the results are immediately available in the dashboard, completing the process. Here's how it works:
Create the process: The authorized admin starts an onboard or exit process from the Activity reports page. Surveys can also be launched automatically based on the start date (for onboarding) or end date (for exits) in the employee’s user profile, provided automatic launch is selected in the launch plan.
Set parameters: The admin configures the survey parameters, including the employee receiving the survey and the due date for submission.
Send invite: The employee receives an email with instructions to complete the survey.
Classify the exit (if applicable): For exit surveys, the admin can classify the exit (voluntary/involuntary, regrettable/not regrettable), which is important for identifying trends in employee turnover.
Send reminders: If the employee hasn’t submitted the survey by the day before the due date, a reminder is automatically sent.
Access results: Once submitted, results are available in the dashboard.
Note: Employees can still complete the survey after the due date; reminders are based on the due date only.
Survey and interview (full) workflow
The full workflow includes an optional follow-up interview after the survey is completed, allowing for deeper insights into employee responses. This offers the opportunity for direct intervention or action based on the feedback received.
In this workflow, the role of the Interviewer is introduced. The Interviewer, typically the employee’s manager or a member of HR, is responsible for managing and reviewing responses from the onboard or exit process. Both Interviewers and Administrators can access the employee’s individual responses prior to the interview to take notes and prepare effectively. Here's how it works:
Create the process: The admin initiates the onboard/exit process from the Activity reports page.
Set parameters: The admin specifies the survey parameters, including the employee and interviewer details, and the submission due date.
Send notifications: The employee gets an email with survey instructions, while the interviewer receives an email detailing the process.
Classify the exit (if applicable): Similar to the Basic workflow, the admin can classify the exit for better trend analysis.
Send reminders: If the employee hasn’t submitted the survey by the due date, they receive a reminder.
Review responses: After survey completion, the interviewer is notified and can view the employee's responses to prepare for the interview. Interview notes can be printed or typed directly into the system.
Complete the interview: If the interview isn’t completed by the day prior to the due date, a reminder is sent to the interviewer. After the interview, notes can be added, classifications reviewed, and the process finalized.
Workflow comparison
To help you decide between the basic and full workflows, here's a quick comparison of their features:
Feature | Basic workflow | Full workflow |
Purpose | Simple survey process | Survey followed by optional interview |
Initiation | Admin initiates survey manually or automatically | Admin initiates survey manually; no automatic option available. |
Interviewer role | Not applicable | Available; designated individual conducts interviews |
Survey parameters | Admin sets parameters for survey only | Admin sets parameters for both survey and interviewer |
Response review | Responses available immediately after submission | Responses available immediately after submission; Interviewer prompted to review before the interview |
Classification | Possible for exit surveys | Possible for exit surveys |
Reminders | Sent to employees who haven't submitted by due date | Sent to employees and interviewers as needed |
Interview process | Not included | Follow-up interview is standard |
Process variations
There are several possible process variations including:
Skipping the Survey: For sudden exits, it's still important to capture and classify the departure.
Sending Survey on behalf of employee: Sending the survey to the interviewer on behalf of the employee. This is useful if the employee cannot access the survey directly.
Switching interviewer: Change the interviewer mid-process if needed.
Canceling the process: You can cancel at any time.
Automatic Survey trigger: Surveys can be triggered based on start/end dates (basic workflow only).
Note: If you use the interviewer role and opt to send the survey to the interviewer on behalf of the participant, the email invitation won't be sent to the participant. However, the participant will still see the survey task on their homepage.
Classifying an Exit Survey
To classify an exit survey, follow these steps:
Go to your Surveys page and click Edit survey to open the configuration page.
Click on the Workflow page.
Click on the Classify tab.
Click Add question and type in your classification question and description.
Add select options for responses, such as "Voluntary/Involuntary" or "Regrettable/Not Regrettable."
Click Save to update
Once your classification question is set up, admins can view individual responses by clicking View response next to a participant's name on the Responses page (this applies only to surveys with Allow individual responses enabled). From there, navigate to the Classify tab to answer the classification question.
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💬 Need help? Just reply with “Ask a Person” in a Support Conversation to speak directly with a Product Support Specialist.