Skip to main content
Revert Survey Hierarchy to Launch State

Learn how to revert your survey hierarchy to its original state after a survey has launched.

Jessie Walsh avatar
Written by Jessie Walsh
Updated over a week ago

What can I learn from this page?

Learn how to revert your survey hierarchy to its original state after a survey has launched.

Who is this page for?

Account Admin

When you launch a survey, demographic information for all participants is copied from your employee data at the account level, to your survey. This process, called the snapshot process, means your survey will reflect employee data from that specific point in time and won't update in your launched survey even if you make changes to your overall account-level data.

The same applies to your hierarchy demographic, typically based on Manager Email or an equivalent like Supervisor Email or Manager ID. But there's a catch! If you invite additional participants after the survey launches, the hierarchy structure in your launched survey will be updated to reflect your current account level structure, not the one at the time of the survey launch. This also occurs if you ask our support team to update your hierarchy demographic in a launched Attributed Survey.

This article explains why this happens and how to revert your survey's hierarchy to its original state.

πŸ’‘ Tip: To check which demographic is tied to your survey's hierarchy, visit your account demographics page and look for the hierarchy symbol.

Account Demographics Page: Example of the hierarchy symbol showing the validated hierarchy demographic

☝️ Account Demographics Page: Example of the hierarchy symbol showing the validated hierarchy demographic

Why Does the Hierarchy Structure Update?

The hierarchy structure updates when participants are added to the survey after it launches because new participants need to be integrated into the hierarchy. This ensures an accurate representation of the organization's structure as it changes. Unlike static demographics that remain fixed at the point of survey launch, the hierarchy adjusts to accommodate new participants.

Think of the hierarchy as dynamic, adapting to the participants added throughout the survey. If there have been changes in reporting lines since the survey launched, these updates will be reflected in the survey hierarchy when new participants are invited.


How to Revert the Hierarchy to Reflect the Time of Survey Launch

If you prefer that the survey hierarchy structure be reflective of the survey launch date, follow these steps to revert the hierarchy:

Step 1: Return Your Account Level Hierarchy Data to the 'Time of Survey Launch' State

  1. Export Your Current Employee Data File:

    • Go to Settings > Users.

    • Select Export Users to download your current employee data file.

    • Save two copies of this file. One will be used to revert the account data back to its current state later, and the other will be edited to update the survey's hierarchy.

  2. Edit the Employee Data File:

    • In one of the saved employee data files, update the hierarchy demographic (typically Manager Email) by assigning all users/participants their manager email/id values as per the time of the survey launch.

  3. Import the Updated File Back into the Platform:

Step 2: Contact Our Support Team

  • After completing these steps, reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist. Provide the name of your survey and the demographic to be refreshed (e.g., Manager Email). They will refresh the hierarchy demographic in the survey to reflect the hierarchy at the time of the survey launch.

Step 3: Verify the Hierarchy Data in the Survey

Once the hierarchy has been refreshed, double-check to make sure the hierarchy data in the survey is showing correctly in the reporting.

Step 4: Return Your Account Level Hierarchy Data to Its Current State

  • Use the unedited version of the user file you exported in Step 1 to revert the account level data back to its current state.

  • Go to Settings > Users > Import Users > Full Import and upload this file to restore the data to its original state.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your survey hierarchy accurately reflects the time of survey launch. If you have any further questions or need assistance, just reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.


πŸ“š Related Articles


πŸ’¬ Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.

Did this answer your question?