Quick Summary: Surveys let administrators collect structured data from employees — feedback, certifications, skill information, and more. Create a survey from a template, target specific groups, track response progress in real time, and view individual or aggregate results.
Overview
Surveys in SkillsDB are configurable questionnaires that administrators send to employees to collect structured data. Common uses include gathering feedback, capturing certification details, confirming skill proficiency, and running periodic engagement checks. Surveys are built from templates — reusable question sets that can be shared across multiple surveys. Once a survey is created from a template, it is distributed to a target audience: the entire organization, specific departments or teams, or a manually selected group of individuals. Administrators can launch a survey immediately or schedule it for a future date, then track response progress and view detailed results as responses come in. Surveys integrate with SkillsDB’s certifications system. When a survey includes a Certification Update question type, responses captured during the survey flow directly into the respondent’s certification record, eliminating the need for separate data entry. Administrators can create and manage all surveys. Managers can view survey results for their direct reports. Employees receive surveys via their My Profile section and respond from there.Prerequisites
Before creating a survey, you need:- Permission level: Administrator role
- Survey template: At least one survey template created in SkillsDB, or the ability to create a new one during the survey creation wizard
- Target population: Employees imported and organized in SkillsDB so you can target by department, team, or org structure
Note: The Surveys feature must be enabled for your SkillsDB account. Contact your account manager if you do not see Surveys in the Manage sidebar menu.
Understanding Survey Templates
A survey template is a reusable collection of questions that forms the basis of one or more surveys. Templates let you define a question set once and use it across multiple survey instances — for example, a quarterly feedback template that gets re-launched each quarter.Template visibility
Templates are either Private (visible only to the creator) or Visible to all administrators. When creating a new survey, you can select any template that is visible to you.Question types
Templates are built from individual questions, each with a defined question type. The following question types are available:| Question type | Description | Supports multiple responses |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Choice | Respondent selects one or more options from a predefined list | Yes |
| Drop Down | Respondent selects one option from a dropdown menu | No |
| Yes / No | Binary choice | No |
| Likert Scale | Agreement scale (e.g., Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree) | No |
| Rating | Numerical or star rating | No |
| Short Text | Single-line free-text response | No |
| Long Text | Multi-line free-text response | No |
| Certification Update | Captures certification details and supporting attachments | No |
| File Request | Prompts the respondent to upload a document | No |
Note: Certification Update questions capture the respondent’s certification ID, issue date, expiration date, and supporting attachments (up to five files per response; accepted formats: .jpg, .png, .pdf, .docx, .xlsx, .txt, .csv; maximum 10 MB each). Responses from Certification Update questions automatically update the respondent’s certification record in SkillsDB.
Creating a Survey
Surveys are created through a five-step wizard. Navigate to Manage > Surveys and select Create Survey to begin.Step 1: Select a template
Choose an existing template from the list, or create a new template to use for this survey. Templates marked as Visible to all appear alongside any templates you created personally. If you are creating a new template, define the template name, visibility setting, and add the questions you want to include. Questions are added in order and can be reordered within the template.Step 2: Enter basic details
Enter the core information for this survey instance:- Name (required) — Up to 100 characters. This name appears in the survey list and in the email notification sent to respondents.
- Description (optional) — Up to 1,000 characters. Provides context to respondents about the purpose of the survey.
- Due Date (optional) — The date by which responses are expected. The survey remains open after this date unless manually ended.
Step 3: Choose your target audience
Select who will receive this survey. Three targeting methods are available: All people — The survey is sent to every active employee in the organization. Org structure — Target one or more segments of the organizational hierarchy. Available org dimensions include:- Department
- Business Unit
- Division
- Team
- Country
- City
- Site
- Shift
- Business Region
Step 4: Review questions
Review the questions carried over from your selected template. You can reorder questions, adjust required status, and confirm question types before finalizing the survey.Step 5: Preview and create
Review a full preview of the survey as respondents will see it. Select Create to save the survey in Draft status. A draft survey is not visible to respondents. You can continue editing the survey name, description, due date, and audience from the survey detail page before launching.Launching a Survey
A survey in Draft status must be launched before respondents can access and complete it. Navigate to Manage > Surveys, select the survey, and select Launch. The Launch Survey modal offers two options:Launch now
Select Launch Now to make the survey immediately active. The survey status changes to Launched and respondents can begin responding right away. SkillsDB sends an email notification to all assigned respondents.Schedule for a future date
Select Schedule to pick a future date and time for the survey to go live automatically. Enter the scheduled launch date and confirm the due date.- The scheduled launch date must be in the future.
- The due date must be after the scheduled launch date.
Managing Survey Respondents
After a survey has been created or launched, you can adjust the respondent list and send reminder emails to people who have not yet responded.Adding or removing individuals
To add a specific person to a launched survey:- Navigate to Manage > Surveys and select the survey
- In the respondent list, select Add Person
- Search for and select the person to include
- Select Save
- Locate the person in the respondent list
- Select the Remove option next to their name
Sending nudge reminders
If some respondents have not started or completed the survey, you can send a nudge reminder email directly from SkillsDB.- Navigate to Manage > Surveys and select the survey
- Select Send Nudge
- Confirm the action
Viewing Survey Results
Response summary
Each survey displays a real-time summary of response progress. Navigate to Manage > Surveys and select a launched or ended survey to see:| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Assigned | Total number of people assigned to the survey |
| Not Started | Respondents who have not yet opened the survey |
| In Progress | Respondents who started but have not submitted |
| Completed | Respondents who submitted their response |
Viewing individual responses
To view a specific respondent’s answers:- Navigate to Manage > Surveys and select the survey
- Select View Results
- In the results table, locate the respondent by name or filter by status
- Select the respondent’s row to open their full response
- Status — filter by Completed, In Progress, or Not Started
- Name — search for a specific respondent
- Response values — filter by specific answers to multiple choice or dropdown questions
Exporting results
Select Export from the survey results page to download the current results table as an Excel file (.xlsx). The exported file includes all respondents, their response status, and their answers to each question.Understanding Survey Statuses
Every survey has a status that reflects its current state in the lifecycle. The status determines what actions are available and whether respondents can access the survey.| Status | Description | Respondents can respond? |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Survey created but not yet launched. Fully editable. | No |
| Scheduled | Survey set to launch at a future date and time. | No |
| Launched | Survey is active and accepting responses. | Yes |
| Ended | Survey has closed. No new responses accepted. Results remain accessible. | No |
| Cancelled | Survey was cancelled before or after launch. Results (if any) remain accessible. | No |
- Draft → Launched when you select Launch Now
- Draft → Scheduled when you select Schedule
- Scheduled → Launched automatically at the scheduled time
- Launched → Ended when the survey is manually closed or the end date is reached
- Any status → Cancelled when you cancel the survey
Common Questions
Can I edit a survey after it has been launched?
Can I edit a survey after it has been launched?
Partially. After a survey is launched, you can update the Name, Description, Due Date, and the respondent list (add or remove individuals). The question set is locked once the survey is launched and cannot be changed. If you need different questions, cancel the current survey and create a new one.
Can I reuse a survey for a future period — for example, a quarterly check-in?
Can I reuse a survey for a future period — for example, a quarterly check-in?
Yes, but not by re-launching the same survey instance. Each survey is a single instance. To run the same survey again, create a new survey using the same template. The template and its questions are preserved and available for future use. Response data from each survey instance is tracked separately.
What is the difference between a survey template and a survey?
What is the difference between a survey template and a survey?
A survey template is the reusable definition of a question set. A survey is a specific instance created from a template — it has its own name, audience, launch date, and response data. One template can be used as the basis for many different surveys.
Who can see survey results?
Who can see survey results?
Administrators can view results for all surveys created within the organization. The person who created the survey always has access to results. Managers can view results scoped to their direct reports. Standard employees cannot access aggregate or individual results — they can only submit their own response.
Can I target a survey to only part of an org structure — for example, one department?
Can I target a survey to only part of an org structure — for example, one department?
Yes. During the audience targeting step, select Org Structure and choose the specific department, team, business unit, or other dimension you want to target. Only people within the selected segment receive the survey.
What happens if a new employee joins the organization after a survey is launched?
What happens if a new employee joins the organization after a survey is launched?
New employees are not automatically added to a launched survey, even if they belong to a targeted department or team. To include them, manually add them to the respondent list using the Add Person option on the survey detail page.
Can survey responses be anonymous?
Can survey responses be anonymous?
The current version of SkillsDB surveys does not support anonymous responses. All responses are tied to the respondent’s identity and are visible to administrators in the results view.
What happens to certification data collected through a Certification Update question?
What happens to certification data collected through a Certification Update question?
Responses to Certification Update questions are captured as part of the survey response and automatically update the respondent’s certification record in SkillsDB. This eliminates the need for a separate certification submission workflow. Attachments submitted as part of the certification response are stored and accessible from the respondent’s certification record.
Related Articles
Analytics & Reporting
Broader reporting capabilities for workforce data
Import/Export
Bulk data management across SkillsDB
Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization’s SkillsDB administrator or contact SkillsDB Support.