Create or Edit a Survey Template

Employee Surveys provide organizations the ability to get a quick pulse on a topic like employee engagement and commitment to company values. Utilize industry-led pre-built templates or create custom templates to match your own organization's needs. This article will give a brief description of the survey templates available and how to create, edit and copy templates to build engaging surveys. 

  You must have the Survey Admin user permission in order to view, create, or edit survey templates.

In this article:
Creating a Custom Survey Template
Create a Survey Scale
Create a Survey Section
Create a Survey Template
Copying a Standard Template
Editing an Existing Template

Please note:

When launching a survey, the email and text notifications to employees can be customized. For more information, refer to Send a Survey to Employees.

Creating a Custom Survey Template

Custom survey templates can be designed to your organization's brand, creating a fully-customized experience for your employees. For example, managers can launch a custom survey to address specific topics within their team and offer a safe space for team members to express their views honestly. 

There are 3 parts to developing a survey template, the survey Scale, Section(s), and final Template. The sections below detail the definitions of and how to create the individual parts. 

Create a Survey Scale

A survey scale describes the response options and rating scale that will be used to evaluate each question.

1. Navigate to Tools > Setup and select Templates under the Performance Setup column.

2. Click the Scales tab, then click Create New Scale and select Survey Scale.

3. Enter the details of the scale, such as the name and scale items. Use the Add Another Scale Item button to create as many scale items as needed.

   Scale Name: Give a name for the scale so that it can be referenced later. 

   1. Value: This is the number value of the response. 

        Scale item numerical value typically corresponds directly with the qualitative value. In other words, the higher the number value, the more positive the qualitiative label.

   2. Label: The qualitative value of a scale item (such as Strongly Agree).
   3. Description: A brief description of the label.
4. Click Save when done.

Create a Survey Section

Survey sections are a group of questions, commonly relating to a single topic.

1. Navigate to Tools > Setup and select Templates under the Performance Setup column.

2. Click Sections, then click Create New Section and select Survey Section.

3. Give your section a Title (required) and Description/Instructions (optional).

4. In the TYPE dropdown, select the type of section you would like to create. Open the menus below to learn use cases and view examples of each section type.

   Standard Section

   In a Standard Section, questions are presented to the survey participant(s) with a response scale for evaluation and an optional text box for comments.

   Example:

   

   Use Case:

   Create custom questions that participants should evaluate their opinions and perceptions against.

   Q&A Section

   In a Q&A section, questions are presented and answered with free-form comments. Note, Survey Scales cannot be applied to Q&A Sections. 

   Example:

   

   Use Case:

   To ask open-ended questions where you only want to collect feedback in the form of comments, and do not need to capture an evaluation.

   Give a name to the section and click Applied Scale to select the rating to be used.

5. If using a Standard Section Type, select the Applied Scale that respondents should use to answer the included questions.
6. Type the questions that should be included in this section. Use the Add Another Question button to create as many questions as needed. 

7. Set the appropriate settings, such as completion requirement and comments, by toggling the requirement On or Off for each question.

     Comments cannot be required for questions marked as 'Optional'.

8. Click Save Section when complete.

Create a Survey Template

A Survey Template consists of both a Scale and Sections, representing the outline of the final survey that employees will complete.

1. Navigate to Tools > Setup and select Templates under the Performance Setup column.

   

2. On the Templates tab click Create New Template and select Survey.

3. Enter a Title (required) and Description/Instructions (optional).

4. Select the survey sections you'd like to include in this template. Use the Add Section button in the bottom right to include additional sections.

   To directly edit the details of a section, click the pencil icon next to the section selection. To remove an added section, click the minus icon.

5. Optional: Click Preview to review the format of the template from the participants perspective.
6. Click Save when complete.
7. Now that you have created your survey template, it can be used to send a survey to employees. 

Copying a Standard Template

You can copy a standard template to use as a base and then customize the contents to fit your organizational needs. 

1. Navigate to Tools > Setup and select Templates under the Performance Setup column.

2. On the Templates tab, scroll down to the ClearCompany Standard Survey Templates section.

3. Click Copy next to the standard templates.

   The template will automatically appear under the SURVEYS & ENGAGEMENT section by the name of Copy of [Standard Template Name].

4. Use the instructions below to edit the template as desired.

Editing an Existing Template

Sometimes, you may want to add or adjust the questions on an existing survey you've created. When editing a template, you can remove, add, or edit the sections listed and update the title or description.

  Please note that updating an existing custom template will prevent your ability to compare the results of surveys previously launched using this template. 

1. Navigate to Tools > Setup and select Templates under the Performance Setup column.

2. On the Templates tab, scroll down to the survey template you wish to modify. Click Edit.

3. Make the modifications to the template contents. Enter the updated Title or Description. Use the Add Section button to include a new section or click the minus button to delete an existing section.

4. Once satisfied with your changes, click Save.

     If you are editing a template that has been used in previously launched surveys, you'll be prompted with a warning. Modifying used templates will prevent your ability to benchmark past survey results.

   Either click Save to proceed with saving your edits or Cancel to exit.

5. Now that you have modified your survey template, it can be used to Send a Survey to Employees.