# Anonymous Employee Survey Trust Index 2026 Method

Published: 2026-09-08

Source review date: 8 September 2026

Publisher: Candora

License: CC BY 4.0

## Research question

Could HR see, export, reconstruct, or accidentally expose what one employee said in an employee survey?

## Scope

The index reviews public documentation for employee listening platforms, HCM engagement modules, and general survey or form tools commonly used as employee-survey workarounds.

Products reviewed:

- Candora
- Workleap Officevibe
- Lattice
- Culture Amp
- 15Five
- Qualtrics Employee Experience
- Typeform
- SurveyMonkey
- Jotform
- Google Forms
- Dayforce Engagement

Candora is included for context and is explicitly self-assessed. The remaining entries are based on public vendor documentation available on the source review date.

## Score criteria

The score is out of 100 points:

1. Employer cannot view participant-linked answers: 30 points.
2. Anonymity is fixed rather than a fragile setting: 20 points.
3. Small groups and indirect identification are protected: 20 points.
4. Written feedback is protected: 15 points.
5. Completion tracking is separated from answers: 10 points.
6. Participant-visible explanation: 5 points.

The score compares privacy posture for sensitive employee-survey use. It does not rate product quality, analytics depth, benchmark coverage, ease of use, integrations, security program maturity, customer support, or commercial value.

## Bands

- Strong: 80-100
- Good: 70-79
- Configurable: 45-69
- Fragile: 0-44

## Evidence rules

- We favored primary documentation from the vendor.
- We scored documented behavior rather than marketing claims alone.
- Missing public information was treated cautiously, not as proof of unsafe design.
- Configurable protections scored lower than fixed protections when an HR administrator, dashboard editor, or form owner could weaken the employee-facing promise.
- Employee-survey-specific protections scored higher than general form privacy options because sensitive workplace feedback carries re-identification and retaliation risk.

## Limitations

This is not a security audit, penetration test, legal opinion, procurement recommendation, or contract review. Vendor features, plan availability, admin roles, exports, thresholds, and help documentation can change. Some controls may differ by plan, region, legacy account, implementation, or enterprise agreement.

The report should be used as a buying and communication aid. Before making an employee-facing anonymity promise, verify the exact product configuration, respondent experience, administrator permissions, export options, and contract terms that apply to your organisation.

## Reuse

You may reuse the dataset under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Candora and a link to:

https://candora.app/reports/anonymous-employee-survey-trust-index-2026