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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

#51

Post by neilv »

I'd guess the CEO is creating opportunity for employees to say things to the CEO that they wouldn't be willing to say to some others.

(Maybe employees have feedback on mid-managers, their team, or something else the company is doing, and don't feel they can raise it lower on the org chart, or haven't been successful at that.)

If it turns out employees do have something to say, and not comfortable with everyone hearing it, then they have to ask themselves how much they trust the CEO to honor the confidentiality commitment, and not throw the messenger under the bus.

I'd guess intent of not-anonymous might be that be CEO wants people willing to stand behind what they say, which would be a desirable property of an organization. Or maybe it makes the information more actionable.

Also be aware that company staff might be able to determine what individuals say, due to "endpoint security" mechanisms, other IT implementation, trivial traffic analysis, etc.

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

#54

Post by silicon2401 »

ShakataGaNai wrote: post #46

As someone who works in security and has sent out anonymous surveys in a corporate environment. * Never trust a survey to be truly anonymous * Sure, you can send google surveys that will tell you they don't collect your username and you can trust that. However, a lot of surveys still collect information like your IP address. Unless you're sitting in the office and know for a 100% certainty that your reported IP addre…

Can't second this enough. If you get a survey at work, assume all your personal info will be attached to this. At my current job, I've had a coworker let me and some friends know that they were reached out to by HR due to certain concerns. Basically, work surveys are 100% not anonymous, so be mindful of that when you're answering. Answer boldly when you feel confident doing so (like if you're answering questions around work life balance, etc), but don't share more than you feel comfortable sharing.

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

#55

Post by lovelearning »

Depends on what you think of this CEO from their past behavior and actions. If they were great, it's unlikely you'd come here and write words like odd and suspicious. So perhaps there's good reason to be suspicious. Better be diplomatic rather than direct.

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

#57

Post by legitster »

bendbro wrote: post #37
lovingCranberry wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

This is like saying an athlete should try to impress his coach more than win games.

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

#58

Post by legitster »

kibwen wrote: post #42
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.

Incompetence, when exercised by people in a position of power, is indistinguishable from malice.

Says who? I certainly don't believe this at all.

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

#59

Post by bendbro »

legitster wrote: post #57
bendbro wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

This is like saying an athlete should try to impress his coach more than win games.

This is exactly what you should tell athletes, especially ones in team based games. Going to the coach and demanding more play time will usually get better results than just silently being a good player.

Obviously this doesn't apply in individual pursuits like swimming [edit] or in situations where the coach is beholden to other parties (a paying audience).

[edit] To clarify: A coach should incentivize things they believe win games. An athlete should do those things so that the coach gives them playtime. An athlete should also promote the fact that they are doing those things to the coach.

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

#60

Post by kibwen »

legitster wrote: post #58
kibwen wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incompetence, when exercised by people in a position of power, is indistinguishable from malice.

Says who? I certainly don't believe this at all.

The possession of power implies a social obligation to use that power responsibly. Incompetence while exercising power is harmful to those forced to suffer such incompetence, and therefore tantamount to malice.
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