Choosing the best anonymous employee feedback tool in 2024

The pros and cons of anonymous employee feedback

Anonymous surveys can become a contentious topic in work environments – and that’s because there’s a lot of suspicion and hesitation around how anonymous surveys are, and are they really worth it?

Let’s explore the key pros and cons together.

PROS

• Honesty and feelings of safety – With anonymity, it’s proven that employees feel more comfortable expressing their true thoughts and feelings without fear of consequence. This helps organisations to gather more candid feedback, helping leaders to resolve issues effectively and quickly.
• Better participation rates – Similarly to the above, employees are usually more likely to participate in feedback-focused surveys if they know their responses are anonymous. This means a higher survey response rate, and a more representative (and inclusive) sample of opinions across your organisation. 

• High-level trends and patterns: Anonymity allows you to see trends and patterns in feedback without singling out individuals. Rather, it helps you to identify larger, systemic issues that are potentially going unaddressed within your organisation.

CONS

• Lack of context: Without specific feedback, it can be challenging to fully understand the context behind certain comments or suggestions.
• Risk of misuse: Unfortunately, there is always a risk that employees may misuse anonymity to air grievances without providing constructive feedback. This could potentially undermine the purpose of the survey and create unnecessary tension within the team.
• Difficulty following up: Since responses are anonymous, it can be challenging to follow-up with employees who have provided feedback to gather more details or clarify their responses. Unless you have the ability to add Follow-up questions and messages like we do at Stribe, this can hinder your ability to address concerns and implement meaningful changes.

Read about how we overcome the common concerns and challenges around anonymous surveys.

How to choose the best anonymous employee feedback tool for your team

Before you choose an anonymous feedback tool, there’s a few key things you’re going to want to compare and check off between your top choices.

• Guaranteed anonymity: It may seem obvious, but first and foremost you’re going to want to make sure the tool has a strong commitment to anonymity (without any hidden loopholes), so your team feels safe to share their honest thoughts without worrying about being identified.
• Diverse feedback options: Next up, look for a tool that offers different channels for feedback – like surveys and instant anonymous messaging – to cater to everyone’s communication styles.
• Integration capabilities: Your job will be made 10x times easier if the anonymous tool you’re working with can integrate with the HR system you’re already using. Don’t forget to ask this question, and any other questions about ease of setting up!
• User-friendliness: It seems like a no-brainer, but make sure you find a tool that’s as easy to use, so both you and your team can provide feedback without needing a tech manual.
• Mobile accessibility: It’s the 21^st century, so your team should be able to access anonymous feedback tools on their phones if they want to! This kind of accessibility also ensures people without access to computers, or in deskless roles, are included and able to provide feedback too.

• Insightful reporting: Great reporting means you won’t be spending hours elbow-deep in spreadsheets. Pick a tool that does the heavy lifting for you, so you can focus on turning feedback into action that makes a real difference.

• Customer support: Choose a tool that comes backed by a friendly support team and handy training materials, so you’re never left scratching your head or left typing to a chat bot when you need a hand!

Stribe’s Anonymity Commitment

Protecting employee identities is something we take very seriously at each step of the journey. Stribe has been built to put the power of anonymity in the hands of employees – and we won’t ever waver on that.

We understand there are plenty of questions around how anonymity works, and how it can be guaranteed. So we’ve created our anonymity commitment to help you and your teams feel confident about how it all works!

Anonymity Commitment

Stribe’s Anonymous Messenger

Face-to-face conversations don’t suit everyone. And that’s ok!

Stribe’s anonymous messenger feature was created to help employees have conversations with their employers they wouldn’t usually be comfortable having in a traditional meeting or office setting.

It’s a place for your team to have open and honest conversations, while remaining fully anonymous and getting help to support them in their challenges.

Anonymous Messenger

Stribe’s Anonymous Surveys

Our surveys are always anonymous, simple as that! Admins only ever receive feedback, never employee identities.

When it comes to reporting and viewing survey data, admins are able to segment responses into demographic groups – such as departments and locations – but we restrict segmentation of results to a minimum number of five responses to ensure anonymity is maintained even during data processing.

What this means is that unless there are at least five responses from any given demographic group or segmentation, the results will be hidden.

Anonymous Surveys

What companies use Stribe for anonymous feedback and surveys?

We’re on a mission to build happier and healthier teams, working with some of the best businesses in the UK including the NHS, Bolton Council, Newcastle United Foundation and the UK Space Agency.

Read our customer case studies.