Create and Launch a Lifecycle Survey

Lifecycle surveys are designed to help gather valuable employee feedback during key moments in the employee journey, like onboarding, exit, milestones, and more! You’ll find essential lifecycle surveys ready to launch out-of-the-box with insights from leading HR experts and customer feedback, or customize your own survey to fit your organization’s needs!

In this article, you will learn...

• Create Lifecycle Survey using a 15Five pre-built template
• Create Lifecycle Survey from scratch
• Trigger a Manual Survey
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Create Lifecycle Survey using a 15Five pre-built template

15Five has a collection of professional proven, pre-built templates that you can use as is, or add your own questions in addition to our recommended questions.

1. Click on 'Lifecycle Surveys' in the left-hand navigation bar
   
2. Click 'Customize' on the template pre-built template for the survey you are creating. We have an onboarding survey, 90-day check-in, and exit survey template available.
   
3. Update the name of this survey (if desired) and click 'Continue.' Note that the name will be visible to those employees who participate in the survey.
   
4. Determine whether this survey is triggered manually, or automatically at a specific time from the employee's start date. Then, click 'Continue' to advance to next step.
   
5. Review the pre-populated questions, and/or add your own to the template. If creating your own questions, be sure to add them in the employee questions section, but if you want the question to be asked to their manager as well, create the question in the manager questions section.
6. Review your input settings on the summary tab, and click 'Save survey' to create the survey.

Upon creation, automatic surveys will launch around 10am ET on its scheduled date, and participants will be notified via email. For manual surveys, continue to the "trigger a manual survey" section to learn how to launch the survey when applicable!

Create Lifecycle Survey from scratch

The ability to create a lifecycle survey from scratch allows you to gather insights and feedback on what matters most at the right point in their journey with your organization.

1. Click on 'Lifecycle Surveys' in the left-hand navigation bar.
   
2. Select 'Start from scratch' underneath our pre-built templates.
   
3. Enter a name for the survey and click 'Continue.' Note that the name will be visible to those employees who participate in the survey.
   
4. Determine whether this survey is triggered manually, or automatically at a specific time from the employee's start date. Then, click 'Continue' to advance to next step.
   
5. The questions section is where you will input the question(s) that will be answered by the employee participating in the survey, their manager, or both! You can create an opinion scale or open-ended question type.
6. Review your input settings on the summary tab, and click 'Save survey' to create the survey.

Upon creation, automatic surveys will launch around 10am ET on its scheduled date, and participants will be notified via email. For manual survey, continue to the "trigger a manual survey" section to learn how to launch the survey when applicable!

Trigger a manual survey

Unlike automatic lifecycle surveys, manual surveys need to be triggered by an account admin. By setting up the survey in advance, you can save time when it comes to launching these lifecycle surveys, and capture key feedback on what matters most, when it matters most.

1. Click on 'Lifecycle surveys' in the left-hand navigation bar
   
2. Scroll down to the surveys section, and click on the ellipsis in line with the survey you want to send manually.
   
3. Click on the participant(s) to whom you want to send the lifecycle survey, and then click send!
   

After clicking send, a notification will be sent to employees and/or their managers via email, based on the questions configured in the survey. Participants in the survey will have 14 days to respond before the survey expires.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who can create and trigger lifecycle surveys?

Only account admins can create and trigger lifecycle surveys.

Who receives notifications when a lifecycle survey is triggered?

It is based on the questions being asked in the survey. An employee is notified if they are assigned to complete a survey with employee questions included. Managers of employees assigned to complete a survey will be notified if the survey included questions for the manager to answer.

Who has visibility into the results of a lifecycle survey?

Only account admins can view results. Many HR leaders we spoke with expressed concerns that giving managers visibility into their direct reports’ feedback from onboarding and exit surveys might result in less candid responses.

Are the results from lifecycle surveys confidential like 15Five's engagement surveys?

Results from lifecycle surveys are not confidential. Account admins will be able to see who completed an assigned survey and who didn't, as well as individual responses from said survey. When completing the assigned lifecycle survey, participants are made aware that their answers will be shared with the HR team.

How long do participants have to complete an assigned survey?

Participants will have 14 days to complete the assigned survey.

If a survey expires, can it be re-sent to the participant?

This is not possible at this juncture. To re-send it, you will need to manually send them the survey again.

Can I delete a lifecycle survey?

You will have the ability to delete a survey by clicking on the ellipsis, and selecting delete. Upon deletion, all associated questions, triggers, and reporting will be permanently deleted, and none of this information can be recovered.

Can an automatic survey be sent to someone manually?

Yes! You can click on the name of the survey, and the resulting screen will have a button in the upper right to send the survey manually. You can also click on the ellipsis to the far right of the survey's name, and click send manually.

How can we utilize lifecycle surveys alongside our regular cadence of engagement surveys?

Instead of relying solely on your engagement surveys every quarter/six months/year, lifecycle surveys give you the opportunity to gather important employee feedback during key moments in the employee journey. HR Leaders can now access a treasure trove of feedback at key milestones, like onboarding and exit, in conjunction with your regularly scheduled engagement survey cadence.