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Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

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21–30 of 62 posts

Re: Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

#21
There's not nearly enough context here to give a meaningful answer.

Is this a 10 person company and you have a personal relationship with the CEO? Then say whatever you'd feel comfortable saying in a private meeting (within reason).

Is it a 200 person company and the CEO doesn't know your name? Probably safe to keep it that way, keep the answers bland and the scores 4s and 5s.

The safe thing to do is default to being bland and only deviate if you think it will be received well. I've worked with a CEO that I trusted not to use my honest feedback against me, but gossip travels fast. It's not like you're going to get a raise out of anything you say so what's the point?

Re: Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

#23
post #9

Just answer everything is great, five stars, top job, couldn't be happier! It's still 0 information, but more convenient for you

Is it actually more convenient if it’s not true? Because if things actually suck, but you lie and say things are great, aren’t you just consenting to the status quo and even giving permission for things to suck more in the future? I’m the long run this sounds less convenient than dealing with it up front or just finding another job.

Re: Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

#26
Do not tell your bosses what they want to hear unless it is true or unless you desperately need the job until you find a new one. If you lie and tell them things are great when they aren’t, things will continue to suck. You are enabling poor work environments. But absolutely be humble and diplomatic with your criticism. You also don’t want to hurt their ego because that won’t go well either.

Re: Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

#27
post #21

There's not nearly enough context here to give a meaningful answer. Is this a 10 person company and you have a personal relationship with the CEO? Then say whatever you'd feel comfortable saying in a private meeting (within reason). Is it a 200 person company and the CEO doesn't know your name? Probably safe to keep it that way, keep the answers bland and the scores 4s and 5s. The safe thing to do is default to being…

YMMV, I got promotions and leadership roles because I wasn't afraid to rock the boat, within reason.

Re: Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

#28
My company been doing this for years. My company administers the survey via a 3rd party who anonymizes the data (in fact there's no way to trace the responses back to you). Once the survey is taken, it's primarily 1-5 gradings, the gradings are made available to everybody, while written responses are not. You don't even have to write a response, you can just do the 1-5 gradings. Written responses are only used to clarify an issue - don't treat it as an opportunity to gripe and complain, you're being constructive!

All the teams then get a summary of their results and go over them and decide what would be best for them to focus on in the upcoming year.

The big thing for us has been discussing what the 1-5 mean, especially the 4 or 5. A lot of people are hesitant to grade something at a 5 because they can think of ways to make that better - but you should already be in an environment of continual improvement so you know you can always make something better. Therefore for us a 5 means it's going well and there isn't anything to address that the normal continual improvement process wouldn't address. A 4 then means mostly well, but it's not quite where it should be, a 3 means its well enough, and a 2 or under means here's an opportunity to improve things that will have a big impact on our processes.

It's all about identifying your sore spots and where to expend your effort at getting better.

Re: Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

#29

It's better to assume incompetence than malice. Some bosses legitimately want to follow up on feedback. But yeah, it's pretty dumb - he won't actually get honest answers this way. I would shoot straight. Not once in my career have I ever suffered for an honest assessment given humbly. And you'll sleep better at night for it.

> Not once in my career have I ever suffered for an honest assessment given humbly

Same here. People also learn they can trust you to tell them the truth and help them figure out a solution.

However, I have a low tolerance for bad work environments so YMMV but if you can't be honest with people or trust them, you probably want to look for an exit.

Re: Ask HN: CEO wants us to fill out NOT ANONYMOUS survey that only he can read

#30
Just so you know, surveys are rarely truly anonymous at companies. Feedback may be anonymized, so, for instance, a manager can receive more honest feedback from their direct reports. But if you include a racist tirade in your feedback, it's very likely HR will be able to track you down.
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