The benefits of online surveys, when compared to paper, are compelling; higher response rates, faster reporting turnaround, the ability to pre-assign workplace demographics and a smaller price tag. For employees who have corporate email addresses, it’s a near certainty that the best survey administration method is via email invite from your survey provider. When your workplace includes employees without corporate email addresses or computer workstations, however, it can be unclear how best to use an online format for your employee survey.
Some employee survey vendors solve this problem with the use of access codes, such as in this sample of our Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey. When you supply an employee list, we generate a unique access code for you to distribute to each of those employees along with instructions for how to access the survey. Online surveys can typically be accessed using any internet browser, so providing stations for survey administration can be as simple as setting up computers in a handful of semi-private areas for employees to use at will.
What Is an Access Code?
Access codes work similar to a personal identification number (PIN). An access code is a unique number that enables employees without company email addresses to use our online survey. It’s simple! They visit the employee survey website, enter their unique access code and complete the survey online.
Because we cannot guarantee survey receipt when using personal email addresses, we strongly recommend that you only submit company email addresses and use access codes for the segment of your workforce without company addresses.
Methods of Distribution
A few days before the survey begins, your survey project lead will receive a spreadsheet with all assigned access codes as well as the letter containing survey login instructions. S/he’ll then prepare the login instruction letter and unique access codes for distribution. Here are some of the most common methods of distribution:
- Send through interoffice mail (recommended);
- Send with company paychecks, if the timing is right;
- Mail access codes to employees’ homes; or
- Have supervisors or the survey project lead hand-deliver to each employee.
A Final Note On Access Codes
Access codes are unique and may only be used by the employee to which they are assigned. After that employee has completed his or her survey, that survey will no longer be accessible. Employees will need access to a private computer workstation to complete the online survey.
The distribution of access codes is the responsibility of your project lead and in the case of our awards programs, we require each company to submit a checklist of its selection and distribution method of access codes.
Learn More
You need to know what your employees think. Are they happy? Are they engaged? Do they plan to leave? Would they go the extra mile to see you succeed? That’s where we come in.
When you’re ready to learn more about employee survey timelines, process and pricing, schedule a time to meet with one of our employer coaches. We’ll get all your questions answered.
Article by Best Employee Surveys
With nearly 15 years of experience and collected data, Best Employee Surveys administers recognized survey tools and delivers comprehensive reporting you can trust. Our customizable options ensure that your organization is capturing data in the most effective way for your reporting needs. Because we survey 5,000+ companies and their 700,000+ employees each year, you can feel good about using our extensive database as a comparative benchmark for your results; it is of the highest quality and is also used to support trending analyses and ongoing research performed by a number of scholars, authors, and presenters worldwide.
