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Removing participants from a live survey

Culture Amp auto-removes inactive users from live surveys if they haven't submitted a response. Learn more about this platform behavior.

Jessie Walsh avatar
Written by Jessie Walsh
Updated over 2 months ago

Who can use this feature?

  • Account Admin

Available on:

  • All Culture Amp subscriptions that include Attributed (Snapshot)surveys.

Culture Amp will automatically remove any users who are invited to an Attributed type survey, such as an Engagement Survey, if they become inactive while the survey is live. This platform behaviour comes in handy if you need to remove an employee from a live survey, such as when an old team member is mistakenly included or employees are on extended leave.

Note: If a user has already submitted a response, making them inactive will not remove them from the survey.

When you remove users from the platform, you can mark them inactive as either a former employee (with an end date) or deactivated (with no end date). Both options work to remove a user from a live survey when a response has not been submitted.

Now, let's explore the different ways you can make users inactive.

Update individually


If you're only dealing with a handful of users, manually marking them inactive in the platform is one option you could use. Check out the instructions in our add or update users individually article to learn more.

Tip: Just a heads-up: any individual changes you make here might be overridden by your HRIS data if you've set up a data integration or SFTP connection. So, if you're synced up, it's smoother to manage user updates directly in your HRIS or via SFTP.

Bulk or individually update users in your HRIS


If you have an integration set up, whether it's a native HRIS integration, Merge API, or SFTP connection, we recommend updating your users directly in your HRIS. Follow the steps below for more guidance.

Native HRIS integration

The default behavior for existing users left off your HRIS file is to set their end date to the import date, categorizing them as inactive former employees. Check out the specific guides for each supported HRIS below, on how you can mark users inactive with a native Integration:

Merge API

When you import data into Culture Amp through the Merge API, it uses the full import process. Like our native HRIS integrations, individuals not in your uploaded file will be marked inactive as former employees in the platform, with their End Date set to the import date. Check out our Sync Culture Amp with Your HRIS Data article to learn more.

SFTP

If you're using an SFTP connection, you can refer to the articles below for each supported HRIS. These guides detail steps on how to make employees inactive directly within your file and upload to Culture Amp:

Update users via manual import


If you do not have an employee data integration then you can mark employees inactive by manually uploading your user file. Individuals not in your uploaded file when you upload via a full import will be marked as former employees in the platform, with their End Date set to the import date.

If you want to instead mark users as deactivated employees through a manual user upload, check out the steps in our import employee data article.

FAQs


How soon after making an employee inactive are they removed from the survey?

After deactivating the user, you'll see changes reflected in the survey participation report, but the timing can vary. Generally we recommend waiting 10-30 minutes or more for everything to settle properly.

Is the person notified when they are deactivated?

No, individuals are not notified when they are deactivated. Whether they are made inactive as a deactivated or former employee, no notification is sent. However, when they try to log in, access to the Culture Amp platform will be denied. Similarly, they won't be able to access any attributed type surveys linked to them via email.

Is there another way to remove an employee from a live survey without making them inactive?

Unfortunately, no. The best workaround is to make the user inactive using the steps in this article. After doing so, wait approximately 10-30 minutes to ensure the platform registers the change, which will remove the user as a survey participant if they haven't submitted a response. You can then reactivate the user profile if needed.

Can I remove employees who were mistakenly included in a survey that has closed?

Yes, but you'll need to reopen the survey first. Then, follow the steps in this article to make the users inactive. This will remove any participants who haven't already submitted a response. After making the users inactive, give the survey some time (approximately 10-30 minutes) to register the change before closing the survey again.

Will employees be notified if I reopen a survey?

No, there is no notification triggered automatically when you reopen a survey.

Can Culture Amp remove participants for me once the survey is live without deactivating the employees?

Unfortunately Culture Amp do not have any superuser functionality to remove participants individually or in bulk once the survey is live. The best approach is to follow the steps outlined in this article.

Will deactivating users remove their submitted responses from other surveys?

No, any submitted responses will remain in any live or closed surveys even after the person is made inactive.

Why is the user still showing up as a participant after I made them inactive?

It usually takes 10-30 minutes for the update to take effect on the participants page of the survey. Make sure to refresh your page before checking. If the user is still listed after this time, they are likely to have already submitted a response.


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