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

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

#31

Post by thrill »

Avoid personal accusations of incompetence ("Dave in Marketing is a waste of a coveted cubicle seat!") and give your honest opinions backed up where possible with data ("The attached measures indicate our marketing effectiveness ranks in the bottom quartile per dollar spend compared to similarly sized companies in similar markets"). Reality will exist somewhere between those extremes since you likely don't have extensive data and likely know quite well of personal incompetence.

Treat this as an exercise in clear thinking and expression.

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

#32

Post by cardiffspaceman »

blihp wrote: post #8

Tell him what he wants to hear. There's likely no upside to doing anything else.

Tell him: I like how surveys are done in a format that discourages upsetting, time-consuming churn in company policies. Stay the course!

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

#33

Post by taffronaut »

I was once asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire at work for a personality type test administered by a 3rd party (Taibi Kahler model). We were told the result would be confidential. Then my boss asked to see my report - telling me that all the rest of his team had shared theirs.

I gave him the report. He was surprised when he read it because he didn't think it was like me at all. But then I had answered every question as if he was reading the answers. This kind of situation is entirely predictable unfortunately.

At least in your case he's not pretending it's anonymous.

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

#34

Post by normalhappy »

> I find this odd and suspicious.

I would too. What's the point of not sharing the results with anyone.

>Should I be worried?

Depends on the survey questions, and what your perception of the survey results will do. Can you share some more details here? Are they all manadatory. All in all, you are likely a good person so I would advise, dont worry.

>How should I handle the situation? Read the survey, understand how it makes YOU feel.

Sometimes I feel that it is always best to "not say anything, if you don't have anything good to say"

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

#37

Post by bendbro »

lovingCranberry wrote: post #12
legitster wrote: post #6

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.

> I would shoot straight. Not once in my career have I ever suffered for an honest assessment given humbly Same. It is frightening how many comments point to the exact opposite, presumably with the ulterior motive that this increases the chance of self-preservation. But at the same time nothing can be improved by this. Although a team should have exactly this as a goal: improvement of the product/service.

> Although a team should have exactly this as a goal: improvement of the product/service

Your personal goal should be to satisfy whoever writes your performance review.

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

#38

Post by smegsicle »

whalesalad wrote: post #7

you're an employee being asked to provide feedback, not sure how this is suspicious

being asked to provide accountable, non-anonymous feedback that only the ceo will read sounds a bit more honest than being asked to provide 'anonymous' feedback that hr and also all of the managers will be able to read

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

#40

Post by mywittyname »

lovingCranberry wrote: post #12
legitster wrote: post #6

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.

> I would shoot straight. Not once in my career have I ever suffered for an honest assessment given humbly Same. It is frightening how many comments point to the exact opposite, presumably with the ulterior motive that this increases the chance of self-preservation. But at the same time nothing can be improved by this. Although a team should have exactly this as a goal: improvement of the product/service.

People can have opposite experiences from the same situation, and all of them are equally valid. People are complicated and social structures are even more so.

It's valuable to provide people with context when giving advice from personal experience. The person hearing the advice needs to understand how the situation you presented mirrors theirs and also have an idea of how similarly they are going to be perceived compared to how you were.

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