FAQ

IMPORTANT! How to edit this file so all the content is displayed correctly in vibecatch web site!
All content must be inside the one big ordered list located below. Odd items in the list make the "accordion sections" (the text in that item is the "accordion section title") and the even line following the item is the actual content (=shown when the accordion is clicked).

The actual item numbers of the ordered list are not shown in VibeCatch, they are simply here so that you know you're actually editing the correct ordered list instead of (accidentally) creating two ordered lists etc... 

There's no need to publish this article. Simply saving it will do. VibeCatch fetches this article from HubSpot about once per hour so your changes won't be visible immediately.

Ok, so here we go, the visible content starts from here:

1. Questions about anonymity

2. Why is VibeCatch anonymous?

   VibeCatch polls are anonymous by default on purpose.  This anonymity is crucial to gathering good feedback, as it gives the employee the confidence to answer these questions with honesty.  The problem with old school annual surveys, is that it never actually captures the employees true feelings or stance on any given topic or company issue, primarily due to the fact that these employees fear getting fired, or reprimanded for speaking up or speaking out against another colleague.  Honesty in the workplace is important for building better culture, as it has a direct impact on the quality of a team, and their ability to work cooperatively and efficiently.  

   It is, however, possible to create non-anonymous polls, if you so require.
   
   

   How is VibeCatch anonymous?

   VibeCatch does not, by default, show company leadership exactly who the employee is that answered the poll.  This is why we created Categories.  When you create a poll, create customized categories such as “Location” or “Department.”  By doing so, you are allowing your leadership to differentiate where the data is coming from, which makes it easier to understand the data and solve problems effectively in real-time.
   
   

   Can we prevent user from answering more than once?

   Yes. If the poll is configured to use personalized email links or your organization's authentication system, then the poll can be configured so that each user can only answer once. However, the poll results will not show (unless so configured) user identifying information, so the poll results will remain anonymous to report viewers.
   
   

   What can be done if there is a mass of "invalid" answers? (For example if there are 3 times more answers than number of employees in specific department) 

   This has occurred only a couple of times out of our hundreds of clients, where some employees have not known in which department they work for and have choosen incorrect department.  By "department," we are referring to the custom categories that you can create when setting up your poll.  In this particular case you can drop answers from the "invalid" department(s), brief users in those deparments about their mistake, and then ask those users to answer again.

3. Tips on what kind pulse polls to create

4. How many questions are ideal for my poll?

    

   With QWL polls we recommend to ask all 15 questions.
   

   When you are creating a custom poll, you may add as many questions as you like.  However, we highly suggest making sure that even if you have multiple questions in your poll, that you only send out one or two questions at a time.  You can select this option when you are creating your poll, and you will have to option of sending out the questions in random order or in sequential order.  The purpose of a VibeCatch custom polls is to act exactly like a Pulse Poll.  If you send out too many questions at a single time, it becomes an inconvenience for your employee.  You should try and make this easier for your team, not harder. 

   
   What exactly happens if I choose to randomize my questions in a poll?

   If you have 100 employees, and you send out a poll with 10 questions that are sent out in random order, this means that each one of your 100 employees will receive one of the 10 questions by random.  This does not mean that all 100 employees receive the same random question.  This way, you get data from feedback on all of your questions, instead of just one.  This is very important for gathering complete data throughout the year.  

5. Tips about organizing poll answers by utilizing categories

6. What are poll categories and how do I use them?

   Categories are used to help leadership filter the data from their employees, to get a better understanding of where this data is coming from and how it can be used to make better decisions in the workplace.  These categories are fully customizable.  Good categories to use, for example, would be Location and Department.  By creating these categories in your polls, you will be able to see where the data is coming from, which helps you make better decisions.  For instance, if John Doe works in the IT department at the San Francisco HQ, and has a complaint about team cooperation, it would be crucial for company leadership to know that this feedback in particular is coming from the IT department in San Francisco, vs the marketing department in New York City.  Feel free to customize these categories as you see fit.

   
   What should I take into account when creating categories?

   Creating categories are VERY IMPORTANT for understanding where the data is coming from.  Because VibeCatch is anonymous by default, you need to create categories in order for you to know where the data is coming from so that you can make the right decisions.  For example, if you have 1,000 employees, in 5 office locations, with 10 departments, you really need to know where the feedback is coming from so that you know in which office and in which department the changes need to be made.  

   Just make sure your employees have the knowlege to choose the correct option from the categories.  Do not assume that your employee knows what department they work in.  There may be instances where an employee stradles both Sales and Marketing, or even another department.  In order for categories to work effectively, your employees just need to know what category is the right one for them.

   Also, we highly recommend to make sure your categories don't "break" the anonymity.  For instance, if you only have one team member in the IT department in your NYC office, and you decide to require your employees to specify which department and office they are in, then in a way you would be breaking the anonymity because you would know exactly who it was that answered.
   
   

   Can I get my organization (business lines, business units, teams etc) automatically imported?
   
   We can certainly help you with setting up the categorization in your poll(s), however, importing an organizational structure as a self-service is not provided, as using your current organizational structure as-is would most likely compromize the anoymity for some of your poll recipients. (see "What should I take into account when creating categories?")

7. QWL - Quality of Work Life analysis

    

8. Who is Marko Kesti?

   Marko Kesti, the person who developed the Quality of Work Life method, is a leading academic and adjunct professor of University of Lapland, specialized in HRM-performance. QWL is the most essential factor of human capital productivity. It determines the workforce performance using approved scientific method and is a scorecard for improving utilization of human intangible assets.  Learn more about Marko Kesti by reading his dissertation here, and please download the QWL White Paper via our homepage.
   
   

   In the Quality of Work Life Poll (QWL), what if I we need to increase both Quality and Quantity?

   If you were able to select a rating for both quality and quantity, it wouldn't make sense logically.  For example, let's say you are asking your employees their feedback on internal communication.  If communication is nonexistent, then there would be no way to measure the quality of it if there is nothing to actually measure, therefore the quantity must be increased.  You must choose either one, so that you come to the conclusion which deficiency is the most severe.   

    
   Why did my QWL score go down after implementing changes? 

   That is actually a good sign, because it means that changes really were implemented. You're on the right track. QWL will be temporarily lower when your workplace re-organizes itself, but eventually your QWL score will be higher than before.

   
   Should I aim for 100% QWL?

   No.  Consider if your QWL score is at 90% or higher.  If it was ever this high, it would create the illusion that nothing needs to be changed.  There is always room for improvement, and with turnover, and changes to strategies or even partnerships, the overall dynamic of your company can change.  Any time there is change, there is a direct impact on the company culture, and there will be more room for improvement.

9. Sending polls

10. Is there an app that users must install on their computers or phones?

    No.  We do not have a mobile app, and this is for good reason.  Imagine if you have 10,000 employees, and you need to start collecting data on them immediately, but the only way to start collecting feedback from your employees was through a mobile app that they need to download.  As you can see, a mobile app creates a barrier, and creates a time delay in the adoption of VibeCatch.  Therefore, VibeCatch is purely web-based so that no one ever has to install anything.  Instead, we deliver polls directly via email, Slack, or Yammer and many other channels.  If you like, you may also deliver the polls via SMS, by copying and pasting the poll URL into a group message. 
    
    

    How often do you recommend sending polls?

    We highly recommend sending your custom polls to your employees once a week or once every two weeks.  However, this entirely depends on your own company culture and your own employee engagement strategy.  Here is a helpful tip:  The more frequently you send polls, the less questions you want to use.  We recommend only sending 1-2 questions to your employees at a given time.  
    
    QWL polls - being a more complex and time consuming to answer - should be only few times per year. With QWL we recommend you to send all 15 questions at the same time.
    
    

    I want to ask the same questions (QWL or not) again, do I have to create a new poll every time?

    No. Simply deliver the same existing poll to your users. That way your reports will be enriched by very useful trend data. 
    

    Can I send out a poll one-time only?

    Yes.  In the poll creation page, edit how often you send you polls.  You will see a drop down menu that says, “Send to recipients.”  Click on this menu and select “-- never --.” Then, click the green “Save Changes” located at the bottom of your screen.  This will bring you back to your dashboard.  Find the poll that you would like to send, and click the envelope icon located to the far right.  By clicking this button and confirming your action, you will send our your poll immediately, one-time. 
    
    

    How can I make the poll "open" and when does a poll get "closed"?

    In the poll settings, there is a section "Deadline for feedback". There you can define if your poll is always open (the deafult setting), closed, or how many days and hours it will be open.

    If you specify days and hours and save your poll, it will be closed. Then, when you send the poll to your users, the poll will be open and will remain open the specified number of days and hours.

     

    How do I connect to Slack, Yammer or other similar service?

    Connecting to different communication platforms is easy.  When you are creating a poll, scroll to the bottom of the poll creation page and you will see sections for Slack and a button for Yammer. If you are not using either of those services but a different one (such as FlowDock), choose "Connect to other systems". Click on the one you would like to setup, and some simple instructions will pop up, showing you how to connect to your account.  Once your account is synced to that specific poll, the link to your poll's form will then be sent out directly via the communication platform that you chose.
    
    

    Will the polls say that they are from VibeCatch when I send them to my employees?

    Yes and no.  It’s up to you!  Our polls are fully customizable.  You have the ability to customize the email copy, the subject copy, and even all of the text in the poll itself.  We highly encourage our clients to take the time to customize their polls to reflect their own company branding, which helps employees recognize that the polls are a true part of the company employee engagement strategy.

11. Result comparison and custom analysis 

12. Can I compare various teams / departments / countries to the company average?

    Yes, at the top of your poll results page, you will find filters that allow you to view specific data based on time frame and categories.  Just choose each team and click compare-button to add it to your comparison. If you want to see all teams at once, choose the last option in the pull-down menu to automatically add all items into one big comparison.

    
    Can I compare teams / departments / countries to industry average?

    No.  With the customizable polls, it would be impossible to compare your own custom questions with the industry. With the QWL Polls, you should not benchmark your scores to other companies.  While some may think that it would be beneficial, the QWL is about finding ways to improve your own company, rather than comparing your company to others.  As a leader in your company, it is wise to understand that your company culture will never be exactly the same as your competitor, or any company for that matter.  Spend more time focusing on your own company, and using tools like VibeCatch to create better culture within your company, rather than trying to mimic someone else's company, which has different employees, different teams, and different strategies. 
    
    

    How can I get the poll answers to excel if I want to crunch the numbers myself? 

    Log into your VibeCatch account dashboard.  Go to the poll results of your poll, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "download as excel file."
    
    

    Is it possible to have a custom dashboard for, for example, my intranet home page that shows my custom-defined KPIs based on the data I have collected with VibeCatch?
    

    Yes. If you go to your poll's result page and scroll down, you will find an "Open API"-button. Click that button to turn on the integration endpoints that your organization can then use to easily implement custom dashboards, no matter what technical platform you use.