Imagine, if you will, a world where a survey can give a clear view of improvement or decline in how employees view leadership and the overall health of a company.
Imagine that the survey responses are collected by Gallup, who has been in business since 1935 and is widely recognized as one of the most credible analytics and advisory firms in the world. A company that tracks individual survey links or access codes on the backend to prevent duplicate submissions and route data correctly and any identifying data is permanently walled off from the submitter's employer. That company's reputation would be destroyed if they identified who submitted the surveys.
If Gallup didn't know who you were then people could put as many surveys in as they want and stuff the ballot box like mail-in votes. Oops... better stop there. They have to be able to tell the company that an entire organization or department has so little care that they haven't submitted 7 out of 10 possible surveys. How would they know that? Because the employer says here is our email list and the departments they work for, please tell us the percentage of surveys submitted so we will know by their silence if there are leadership issues.
If Gallup exposed the individuals then a nearly 100 year old company's reputation would be ruined.
The work around is for an employer is to ask for optional long form answers that are only shown to managers with more than 10 direct reports.
But who do those managers show it to? I have been personally asked if I submitted certain answers. It has also been suggested that I submitted answers over the years that I would think I had submitted because they sounded like something I would have written.
Oh, did I forget to mention that some of the directors have read the long form answers on All Hands calls? I don't think I'm the only one who had slack and jabber start pinging with people claiming to know who the submitter was.
And Gallup has formatted the survey to isolate questions to each level of management to target which levels are declining and which are in improving.
They also group good and bad responses by organizations. So bad customer service managers don't affect good supply chain managers and vice versa.
If I am a manager at any level, I want you to think we know who you are and that "straight fives will keep you alive" and other BS answers to dupe you into thinking you're saving yourself.
Wake up!! Straight fives saves the leadership that needs to be gone.
And if I am a company sycophant then I am going to go on every forum and tell everybody that "straight fives will keep you alive".
I have given honest detailed surveys for years. I know there is a character count in the long form because others have said in meetings that they had too carefully edit them to get under the limit. And I am still here and they are still here. But all of our managers at the top are gone or moved and the direct manager, who is good, is still there.
That rips apart any of the claims that people are posting right now to the contrary. You don't have to believe it but it's a fact.
Think about it. Do they need a survey to get rid of you? They don't need any reason other than your name came up in the layoff lottery. And because they get a chance to review and provide feedback on the list, if you are kissing your boss's Southern Ring, they will make sure your name is removed from that list. Or will they?
They are afraid you will answer in a way that exposes them for the shams they are.
So remember:
"Straight fives keeps leadership alive"
MVGA