How to Collect Anonymous Employee Feedback

True – Most employees would say they’re happy to provide feedback. 

But do they really mean it? Well, judging by the usual response rates, no, they don’t. 

It makes sense, though. Many employees do not feel comfortable to share opinions and concerns. Some fear retaliation. Others fear being labeled troublemakers or challenging to work with. 

Yet you need their feedback. It’s your best way to engage and connect with your teams continuously. 

So, what can you do? Simple: Start collecting anonymous employee feedback. 

Anonymous feedback removes all concerns about potential retaliation, labeling, and other repercussions of sharing honest opinions. It’s also incredibly easy to collect anonymous responses. 

In this guide, you’ll learn everything about how to do it. 

What exactly is anonymous employee feedback?

When we use this term – anonymous employee feedback – we refer to any type of response you collect without acquiring personally identifiable data or information that would help you determine the person behind it. 

In other words, anonymous feedback is exactly what it seems – opinions, concerns, ideas, and more that arrive without any means of identifying the author. 

Here’s one example of an anonymous reply. Note that there is absolutely no way to determine who posted it. 

In fact, the only thing I can see here is the person’s opinion, in this case, about a new project management system the company has implemented.

Such is the power of anonymous feedback. Since no one knows who posted the reply, the person writing it doesn’t need to fear any repercussions for stating their opinion. 

This brings me to the next point…

What are the benefits of collecting anonymous feedback from employees?

I want to share with you the pros and cons of anonymous employee feedback so that you can fully understand what this strategy can and cannot do for you. 

Let’s start with the pros

#1. Better and honest insights

This benefit directly results from eliminating the fear of retaliation or ridicule. When employees feel safe sharing ideas or feedback, they truly do share their best ones. They don’t have to be afraid that what they say might turn against them after all. They can share what they really think, and they do, just like in the example I shared above. 

#2. Greater engagement and higher response rates

Similarly, people are more likely to even take a survey or fill in a feedback form when they know that their response is 100% anonymous. As a result, you collect more replies, and your people engage with you more. 

#3. A greater chance to uncover severe issues

Not long ago, I discovered a shocking report. A joint study conducted by the University of Greenwich and Public Concerns at Work called “Whistleblowing: The Inside Story” found that for the majority of whistleblowers, their personal position within the organization actually worsened.   

In other words, people who attempted to notify their organization of any inappropriate or illegal behavior faced severe repercussions. As many as 10% of them even had to resign.

It’s no surprise that many employees choose not to notify their employers of any such issues they encounter.

Anonymous feedback removes that fear completely, ensuring that you hear about any such issues while your people do not feel anxious about the consequences of telling you about them. 

Now, these were pros. 

However, there are some cons of anonymous employee feedback, too.

#1. Lack of context

Anonymous feedback might entice more employees to share their opinions. However, being anonymous means that you might not have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions and better understand the context of the feedback. 

Here’s the example of the anonymous reply I shared above again.

Note how it clearly states the person’s concerns about the new system the company introduced. Based on this feedback, we know that the person isn’t fully satisfied with the new system and finds implementing it in their workflow challenging.

But that’s all we know. The feedback doesn’t reveal any specific details. It doesn’t say anything that would help a manager reading this feedback to understand it better.

In other words, it lacks context. 

And since it’s anonymous, the manager can’t just ask the person for more information. 

So, this is one thing to remember about anonymous feedback. Sometimes, you might need to dig deeper but do not have the opportunity. 

Luckily, there is a way around this.

Anonymous employee feedback tools like Suggestion Ox (disclaimer: this is my tool) allow you to conduct 2-way anonymous conversations with employees. 

The entire conversation remains anonymous, of course. You cannot tell whom you’re speaking with. But at least, with this feature, you can respond to employees anonymously, ask follow-up questions, and gain a better understanding of their responses. 

This is what this option looks like in the app. 

Here is what the employee sees when they receive the reply. Note that they also can’t tell who replied to their feedback.

#2. Potential for abuse

Unfortunately, because of the anonymity, some employees might feel that they can use the feedback form to simply vent off on colleagues or managers. It doesn’t happen too often but it might, resulting in you having to review tons of inappropriate or even potentially abusive comments. 

Four ways to collect anonymous employee feedback

We’ve covered what anonymous employee feedback is. We discussed its pros and cons, too. So, let’s not look at how you collect it. 

And as it turns out, there are four ways to collect anonymous feedback from employees.

#1. Anonymous feedback software

These tools (like my platform, Suggestion Ox) have been built from the ground up to facilitate anonymous feedback. 

In the case of these platforms, the option to collect anonymous feedback is turned on by default. In many cases, you can’t even switch it off.

(A setup dashboard in an anonymous feedback software.)

With anonymous feedback tools, you can set up different types of surveys; suggestion boxes, surveys inquiring about specific issues withing the company, and even open a whistleblowing hotline. 

Many such tools also allow you to post replies and conduct anonymous 2-way conversations without revealing the person’s identity.

#2. Traditional survey software with the option to anonymize replies

The other option is to use traditional survey software but ensure that you don’t collect any personally identifiable information in the process. 

Full disclosure – This option can never guarantee 100% anonymous replies. 

• Such software might still record the person’s IP address
• It can collect other information that could help identify who they are, too.

So, with clever IT engineering, an organization could still identify the authors of the feedback. 

But note I said clever engineering. As long as you don’t ask the person for their employee number, name, email, or other information that would help you identify them, and don’t plan on using server logs to uncover their identity, it’s a good option to consider. 

#3. Shared email inbox

This is, probably, the most time- and resources-consuming method but it’s also your only option if you don’t want to utilize a third-party software. In this method, you set up a shared mailbox (i.e., anonymous@yourdomain.com) in the Exchange server admin, and configure permissions so that anyone can use it. Anyone sending messages from this shared inbox will have the shared inbox email as their reply address, protecting their anonymity. 

Worth to note – This method requires a person to deliberately send the message from the shared inbox email. If an employee forgets to select it before sending, the feedback will come from their actual email, revealing their identity. 

#4. Webform

Another option if you can’t implement a third-party tool is to set up a simple form based email on a web server. The form would not collect the sender’s email address. Instead, when they click submit it would send the message to a dedicated email account for collecting submissions (i.e., anonymous@yourdomain.com).

How does a dedicated anonymous employee feedback software work?

If you examine the four options above, it becomes clear that dedicated tools offer the best value and the greatest opportunity to collect anonymous feedback. 

So, let me show you how they work, based on my own product – Suggestion Ox.

First things first…

At first glance, anonymous feedback software looks very much like any other survey or feedback tool. 

• It allows for creating feedback forms, just like any other survey tool.
• With such tools, you can distribute your surveys to employees or clients. Again, this is pretty much a standard feature of any feedback application.
• Naturally, you can alsoreview, and analyze feedback, and so on.

However, anonymous feedback platforms are different for three reasons. 

They Offer Built-in Privacy

For those tools, privacy is not a setting you turn on or an option you include in a particular survey. 

This happens with many traditional survey tools that offer the option to anonymize replies. 

However, anonymous feedback tools have privacy turned on right out of the box. Plus, their privacy capabilities typically extend beyond not recording the person’s IP address or name. 

Suggestion Ox, for example, does not have the option to turn privacy off. Any suggestion box you create is automatically anonymous, and no personally identifiable information is recorded. 

(Set up window in Suggestion Ox. See how it allows you to specify just the basic information and has no option to disable privacy. Every form you create with the tool is 100% anonymous.)

These Tools Also Facilitate Anonymous Replies and Conversations

Disclaimer: Not every anonymous feedback tool offers that option. But many do, and allow companies to post replies to respondents anonymously, without ever learning the identity of the person they’re speaking to. 

This is a hugely useful feature when you need to either respond to or follow-up on a feedback, notice, or even allegation but do not want to break the person’s trust. 

They Offer Features to Manage Cases and Feedback, Too

As feedback begins to roll in, features like these help you manage each entry and all the different intake forms you might be running.

• You can assign each case or response to a relevant manager. 
• You can track progress with specific feedback and more. 

5 Tips for Collecting Anonymous Employee Feedback

Not sure how to collect anonymous feedback? We’ve gathered the best tips and tools to help you.

1. Tell Your Employees The Survey Is Anonymous

Assuring your employees of their anonymity will make them give unbiased and sincere answers. You wouldn’t want them holding back relevant information that can help your survey.

Your employees will want to be sure that their identity will not be leaked (whether through their IP addresses, emails, or other details they provide).

Feedback is most valuable when it’s honest and unbiased. Making it clear that their identity will not be (even better, cannot be) revealed will make your team more willing to leave honest feedback.

2. Communicate Why You Need Feedback (Your Goals)

The usual goal of collecting anonymous data is to get your employees’ perspectives on a subject or decision. Explain the reason for the survey to make your team more relaxed around the questions and more open to providing honest answers.

Let your employees know why you need their feedback. And be specific. This will help your employees stay focused on the feedback they provide, keeping it in alignment with your goals for the survey.

A typical scenario would be gauging the satisfaction level of your employees on a recent process improvement, new system, or a recently finished campaign. Ask questions around the event and let your team know that you’ll use the responses to improve future operations.

3. Make the Questions Clear and Comprehensive

Don’t assume that your staff members will understand your questions. You need to be as clear as possible. If the focus of your questions isn’t clear, your team might give you answers that are outside of scope. Those replies might be nice to know but not effective for achieving your goals.

If possible, write the questions just as you would for someone with little or no understanding of the topic. Use simple terms and avoid using lengthy paragraphs. Make your sentences clear, brief, and concise.

Also, ask a friend or member of your staff to read your questions and provide an extra set of eyes. This can help you get another perspective, reducing the chance that your team will be confused or answer incorrectly.

4. Don’t Make Your Survey Compulsory

As important as it is that your employees respond to the survey, you shouldn’t make them feel coerced to do it. It’s enough to explain the importance of the survey. This should make them see why they need to provide their opinions.

If you make it compulsory to give feedback – even anonymously – it might make them uninterested. They may rush through the survey or give incorrect answers as a way of retaliating.

Remember: Give your team the option to opt-out of the survey. Knowing they’re not being forced to complete it will empower more people to fill it out honestly.

5. Use an Effective Method for Collecting Anonymous Feedback

Choosing an effective method will provide your employees with an avenue to answer your feedback questions comfortably and without hassle. Plus, it makes data collation easy. In short, you’ll have all your answers in one place and in one format.

Keep in mind that the method you choose to collect anonymous feedback can impact the accuracy of the responses recorded.

An unsuitable method may have respondents simply filling in random answers simply to get the survey over with. On the other hand, using a method that aligns with your team’s preferences makes it seamless to collect anonymous feedback.

The method you choose should depend on the information you need. A survey will bring you different answers than a poll. Exploring these methods and selecting the right fit will help you generate valuable responses from your employees.

There are many tools you can use for collecting anonymous feedback. These methods are effective, tested, and tried. Ultimately, you can rest assured that you’ll get results you can use if you use any of these tools to collect anonymous feedback.

Email

Emails are a great way to collect feedback. This may involve sending questions in form of a questionnaire or as the body of the email. However, it doesn’t provide anonymity to your employees.

Polls

Polls are usually quick and fast but are limited to about six to seven responses at a time. The questions included in a poll are usually closed-ended. You must ensure that each question conveys the message you want it to pass across to the respondents.

Online Forms

While some online forms are anonymous, others don’t guarantee privacy. Still, it’s often a better option than polls because respondents get to write out their opinions and elaborate.

Physical Suggestion Boxes

Using physical suggestion boxes is an old method of collecting anonymous feedback. It typically involves writing suggestions on paper and slotting them into a physical box.

Although other new methods have almost replaced this tool, some organizations still use it. The boxes can be placed anywhere around your organization. As easy as this method seems, it is manual and quite tedious. So, collecting responses can be difficult.

Software Solutions

There are so many software tools with dashboards that make it easy to collect anonymous feedback. These tools aren’t just easy to customize. They also guarantee privacy.

This is why they’re the most effective for collecting anonymous feedback.

Introducing Suggestion Ox

Our name might suggest that Suggestion Ox (again, this is my tool) is a suggestion box software. Well, it is but I like to describe it as a “candid conversations platform.” 

That’s because our platform facilitates more than just collecting feedback. You see – Suggestion Ox empowers employees and organizations to have two-way, anonymous communication.

It starts with a suggestion box, of course. With my tool, you can create and customize suggestion boxes and distribute them to your employees via a shareable link, a QR code, or on Slack or MS Teams. 

The tool collects all feedback anonymously, so you never know who provided it. 

But then, you can also respond to employees’ feedback with Suggestion Ox while protecting their anonymity. Even though you and they would converse about it, you wouldn’t know with whom you’re conversing.

As a result, with Suggestion Ox, you can receive honest and unbiased feedback as your people know their identity is protected and are more willing to share ideas.

Here’s a closer look at what Suggestion Ox offers:

• The most powerful way to collect 100% anonymous feedback and reply anonymously to employees.
• Delivery through several channels, such as shareable links and QR codes, or use Slack or MS Teams integrations, and your employees can post suggestions on both the web and their mobile devices.
• Case management capabilities that allow you to assign and track issues, from intake to investigation to resolution.
• AI assistant helps you write more thoughtful responses.
• Data and analytics dashboards to evaluate responses quickly, and more.

In short, with Suggestion Ox, employees feel empowered to share their ideas or suggestions without fearing ridicule, and they never feel like they’re just shouting in the void.