Engagement Admins and Organization Admins can replace the default terms 15Five uses in engagement surveys with custom terms that appear to survey participants. When complete, your custom terms are saved and visible in the Survey Terminology section of Engage feature settings.
Required access: Engagement feature settings Packages: Engage, Legacy Perform, Total Platform
Before You Begin
- You must have Engagement Admin or Organization Admin permissions.
- Engagement feature settings must be enabled for your organization. See Engagement survey settings overview (Admin) for instructions.
> Warning: Changing a term alters the meaning of associated survey statements. Participants may respond differently than on previous surveys, causing score shifts. Results stabilize after one survey cycle.
Steps
- Click the Settings gear in the bottom-left corner of your 15Five account.
- Select Features from the dropdown menu.
- Click Engage to open Engage feature settings.
- Click Survey Terminology.
- Locate the term you want to replace: organization, leaders, coworkers, work group, manager, or employees.
- Enter your custom replacement term in the field next to the default term.
- Click Examples below a term to preview how it appears in survey statements.
- Click Save.
Success state: Your custom terms appear in the Survey Terminology section immediately after saving. Survey participants will see the custom terms when the next campaign launches.
If Something Goes Wrong
| Issue | Check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Custom term does not appear after saving | Confirm you clicked Save — navigating away before saving discards changes | Return to Survey Terminology, re-enter the term, and click Save |
| Survey Terminology section is not visible | Confirm your role is Engagement Admin or Organization Admin | Ask an Organization Admin to verify your role in account settings |
| Engage option does not appear under Features | Confirm the Engage feature is enabled for your account | Contact 15Five support with your account name and the missing feature name |
| Custom term not visible to survey participants | Confirm the campaign launched after the terminology change was saved — changes apply to future campaigns only | Re-verify the save state in Survey Terminology, then relaunch or create a new campaign |
Survey Statement Reference by Term
Use the examples below to evaluate how each default term appears in survey statements before choosing a replacement.
organization
- I have a good idea of what this {organization} is trying to accomplish.
- I have opportunities to increase my influence in the {organization}.
- I know why this {organization} exists.
- I understand how my role fits into the purpose of the {organization}.
- Overall I feel this {organization} is just and fair in the way it treats and rewards employees.
- There is a great support system at this {organization} that helps me achieve my work goals.
leaders
- The {leaders} in this organization follow through with what they say they are going to do.
- The {leaders} of this organization are often connecting with people at work.
coworkers
- My {coworkers} value my input.
- I have shared work values with my {coworkers}.
work group
- I feel a shared sense of purpose with my {work group}.
manager
- My {manager} treats me fairly in the way they interact with me.
- My {manager} helps me develop confidence in my own ability to do my job well.
employees
- Overall I feel this organization is just and fair in the way it treats and rewards {employees}.
- The leaders of this organization make themselves available for the {employees}.
Not Covered Here
This article does not cover other Engage feature settings. See Engagement survey settings overview (Admin).