Introduction
While Zensai provides a range of check-in questions that are prepared by employee experience and Human Success experts, you can also create your own questions and include them in your check-ins.
In this article, we describe how Super admins manage check-in questions and question groups, and how they can configure the questions for each type of your organization's regular check-ins.
Watch this video for an overview of some of the steps in this article.
In this article:
- View check-in questions and question groups
- Create a question group
- Manage question groups
- Create a question
- Create a new question for an existing check-in schedule
- Manage check-in questions
- Next steps
View check-in questions and question groups
Required role: Super admin.
Before you configure your check-in schedule (define what this is), you should set up the questions you want to ask.
1. Open the Questions page. The way you open this page depends on your role:
- Super admins go to Organisation > Questions. The Questions page opens on the Organisation tab.
- Super admins can also open this screen by selecting the Questions screen link on the Check-in Schedules page when configuring check-in schedules. The Questions page opens on the Organisation tab.
- Managers go to My Team > Questions.
All question groups, included archived ones, are displayed in the named tabs near the top of the page. The tabs you can see depend on your permissions.
- Organisation. Manage the questions in check-in schedules that apply to everyone at your organization to submit.
- Department. Manage the questions in check-in schedules that apply to specific departments.
- Team. Manage the questions in check-in schedules that apply to specific teams.
- Person. Manage the questions in check-in schedules that apply to specific people. This would be particularly useful if this person worked on a project and you want to gather specific feedback.
Each tab shows all the questions in each question group.
To show all archived questions, select the Include archived checkbox.
Super admins see a link to the Check-ins screen, where you can set the frequency of your check-ins. For more information about configuring the check-in schedule, see this article.
2. On the relevant tab, scroll down to the question group for which you want to configure questions.
3. Expand the group to show all its questions.
You can expand and collapse all the groups on the page by selecting Expand all and Collapse all (the double arrow icon) above Create a new group.
As you scroll down the page, you can quickly return to the top by selecting the up arrow icon, which is displayed in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
Create a question group
Required role: Super admin.
1. Open the Questions page. The way you open this page depends on your role.
Here, you can configure the questions you want to include in your check-ins.
Depending on your permissions, you might be able to add question groups at organization level (these questions will be sent to everyone at your organization). Additionally, you can add questions for specific departments, teams, and individual employees. Only Department admins can add questions for specific departments. Managers can add questions for their teams and individual employees in their teams.
1. From the Questions page, select the relevant tab.
2. Select Create a new group. The add question group dialog opens. The name of the dialog differs depending on the tab selected. For example, when adding a question group for one or more people, the Add Person Question Group dialog opens.
Most of the information you can enter is available for question groups at all levels (Organisation, Department, Team, and Person).
3. Enter the Name of the group.
4. Select the scope.
- Departments. Select the departments you want to include in this question group. This option is available for question groups you create on the Department tab.
- Team managers. Enter the few few characters of a team manager's name then select them to include all their direct reports in this question group. This option is available for question groups you create on the Team tab.
- People. Select the people you want include in this question group. This option is available for question groups you create on the Person tab. If you've configured person properties, you can use them as a filter. Select the relevant person property then the value you want to match with. To remove person properties from the question group, select the bin icon.
NOTE
Only responses to organization and department level questions can be pre-populated in conversation templates. Add a link
5. Choose the questions you want to include in the question group by selecting or deselecting any of the checkboxes.
- Select the Included in ad hoc Check-ins checkbox to include questions in this group in ad-hoc check-ins as well as regular check-ins. This option is available in question groups you create on all tabs.
- Select the Exclude organisation level questions checkbox to exclude organization level questions from this group. This checkbox is available when creating question groups from the Department, Team, and Person tabs.
- Select the Exclude Department level questions checkbox to exclude department level questions from this group. This checkbox is available when creating question groups from the Team and Person tabs.
- Select the Exclude Team level questions checkbox to exclude team level questions from this group. This checkbox is available when creating question groups from the Person tab.
6. Choose the date from which you want the questions to start showing in check-ins by selecting Start date and then the relevant date from the calendar. This defaults to today's date but you can change it. If you want to stop asking the questions in this group on a specific date, you can record this by selecting a date from the End date (optional) calendar.
7. Select when you want employees to answer the questions in this group from the Type drop-down list.
8. Select the Advanced link to show more options.
NOTE
The Schedule Type and the display of some other options here depend on the option you previously selected from the Type drop-down list. For example, selecting Every 2 weeks lets you choose options including Every Check-in, Day of the week, and so on from the Schedule Type drop-down.
9. Select the relevant Schedule Type and any other related options.
10. The value in the Valid for in days ('0' means forever) field controls how long after the question groups are ready they show in check-ins. Enter 0 to leave this open ended.
11. To record a date range between which you don't want to ask employees to answer questions from this group, for example around public holidays, select Add an excluded date range in the Excluded dates section.
Here, you can select date range from the Start and End date calendars, then select + to add the exclusion date range. Select the bin icon next to an exclusion date range to delete it.
12. Select any of the checkboxes that apply.
- Select the Max number of occurrences checkbox if you want to stop asking the questions in this group after a specified number of occurrences. Once selected, enter a value in the Max number of occurrences field. This option is available for every Schedule Type, except for Every Check-in.
- Select the Include weekends checkbox if you want to ask the questions in this group at weekends. This option is available when you select Daily as the Schedule Type.
13. Select Add to save the question group and return to the Questions page.
Once saved, you can add questions to the question group. For more information, see the next section.
Manage question groups
Required role: Super admin.
Once created, you can manage question groups by hovering over the relevant one on the Questions page, selecting the ellipsis (...) menu, then the relevant option.
Edit a check-in question group
You can't edit an archived question group.
1. Select Edit. The edit question group dialog opens.
The name of the dialog differs depending on the tab selected. For example, when editing a question group for one or more people, the Edit Person Question Group dialog opens.
2. Edit any of the properties.
3. Select Save.
Archive a check-in question group
If you archive a question group, all the questions in the group will also be archived and you won't be able to include them in any they will be included in future scheduled check-ins.
Select Archive.
Restore a check-in question group
You can restore a previously archived check-in question group. Restoring a question group doesn't restore any of its archived questions.
Select Restore.
Create a question
Required role: Super admin.
Once you've created a question group, you can add the relevant questions.
For information about creating a question group, see this section of the article.
1. From the Questions page, select the relevant tab.
You can add questions for specific departments, teams, and people. These questions will be shown alongside organization questions when employees complete their check-ins.
2. You can change the order in which questions are displayed in check-ins. To do this, hover over the question then select the blue up or down arrows on the left-hand side.
3. Next to Create a new question on most tabs, you can see the number of people who will see these questions, for example Users: 30. On the Person tab, the names of the selected people are displayed instead of this number.
4. Also near Create a new question, the number of questions in the group is displayed. This number includes any archived questions.
5. Scroll down to the question group to which you want to add questions.
6. Expand the group to show all its questions.
7. Select Create a new question. The Select to add from question library or create a custom question dialog opens.
Here, you can choose the source of the question.
- Add from question library. Predefined, categorized check-in questions that are prepared by employee experience and Human Success experts. You'll find questions that span various areas so you might choose to browse these questions to see what is possible and use them as a template for your own questions. We encourage you to implement these questions in your check-ins. While you can't edit these questions, you can add them to check-ins.
- Create a custom question. Questions your organization has created.
You can add questions to a question group from both sources.
Add from question library
To add a question from a set of predefined, out of the box questions, follow these steps.
1. Select Add from question library. The Add question from question library dialog opens. All the predefined questions are displayed.
2. You can filter the list to show questions from a particular category. Select All Categories and choose the relevant category from the drop-down. All the questions for the selected category are displayed.
3. Select a question you want to add. When you select a question, it's displayed in the Selected questions section on the right-hand side of the screen. To remove the question, select it again or select the x icon in its bottom right-hand corner in the Select questions section.
4. Repeat this process to select any other questions.
5. As you choose questions, the button in the Selected questions section changes to show the number of selected questions, for example Add 3 questions. Select this button to return to the Questions page, where the chosen questions are added to the bottom of the selected question group.
Create a custom question
To create your own questions, select Create a custom question. The Add question to <question group name> dialog opens.
The options available depend on the Question type selected.
Options available for all question types
The following options are available for all question types.
- The Default language is the same one defined in your browser settings but this can be changed by selecting from the drop-down.
- Enter the Question text.
- Select the Question type.
- Select the checkboxes of the relevant Options.
- Responses only viewable by admin. Choose whether you want responses to this question to be visible only to admins. Managers won't see these responses.
- Allow private responses. Choose whether you want to let employees mark their response as private, meaning it will be visible only to their manager. Managers can't pass up or pass across these responses. Employees see a padlock icon next to questions that have this option selected when they complete their check-in.
- Required. Choose whether you want it to be mandatory for employees to submit a response to this question before they can complete their check-in.
- Anonymous. Choose whether you want responses to this question to be anonymous, meaning their response can't be traced back to them. Super admins and managers can't see these responses. Responses are anonymized in related reports.
- Share in responses card. Choose whether you want responses to this question to be included on the Shared responses card on the user dashboard in Microsoft Teams. This care is used to share positive experiences. All responses given will be displayed in that team's environment. All employees can see all the responses shared as part of their check-ins.
- Allow attachments in responses. Choose whether you want to let employees add document attachments as part of their response.
- Select any related Question Tags. Question tags drive the accuracy of the 10Pulse and sentiment data so you should select at least one related tag. They are predefined and can't be added to, edited, or deleted.
- If you Share responses to app, you can choose a connected Microsoft Teams channel to which you want to post responses from the drop-down. Select the Question text included checkbox, if required. To stop sharing responses in this channel, select the bin icon.
- Select any Attachments, if required. Admins can add any additional relevant information to the question by uploading a file. Either drag files into this section or select the link to find and upload them. When employees respond to this question, they can open the attachment.
Text
Employees will enter text to answer this type of question.
1. Select Text from the Question type drop-down list.
2. In the Options section, select the relevant options from the list in the Options available for all question types section of this article.
3. Select any of the following checkboxes, if required.
- Multiple responses allowed. Choose whether you want to let employees give more than one response.
- Mentions enabled. Choose whether you want to let employees include @mentions as part of their response.
- Manager facing question. Manager-facing questions enable managers to provide more specific and targeted feedback to their team members, as well as any coaching advice. Choose whether you want to ask managers this question instead of employees. If selected, managers will be asked this question while they review employees' check-ins. Manager-facing questions are displayed at the bottom of each employee's completed check-in. When managers review check-ins for their team, they can choose to leave additional feedback, unrelated to any question answered by the employee. Employees don't see manager-facing questions. If managers have no additional feedback to share, they can leave the response blank.
4. Select Add to save the question and add it to the selected question group.
Choice
Employees will select one or more answers from a list to answer this type of question. You can add between 2 and 10 answers for employees to choose from.
1. Select Choice from the Question type drop-down list.
Add a label for each choice you want to offer.
2. Select + to add choices or (the bin icon) to delete them.
Employees can select as many of the answers as they want.
3. In the Options section, select the relevant options from the list in the Options available for all question types section of this article.
4. Select any of the following checkboxes, if required.
- Comments allowed. Choose whether you want to let employees add comments to their responses.
- Multiple responses allowed. Choose whether you want to let employees give more than one response.
5. Select Add to save the question and add it to the selected question group.
Rating
Employees will select an answer from a rating scale, for example 1 to 5, to answer this type of question.
1. Select Rating from the Question type drop-down list.
You can add custom labels for each rating on the scale.
2. Select + to add labels for each rating on the scale. Select (the bin icon) to delete a label.
3. If you want employees to see both the rating numbers and the custom labels in the published survey (that is to say, they'll see Never as the label and 1 in the adjacent box, Sometimes as the label and 2 in the adjacent box, and so on), ensure you keep the Hidden checkbox in the Rating number input section deselected. To hide the rating numbers, select the checkbox.
4. In the Options section, select the relevant options from the list in the Options available for all question types section of this article.
5. If you want to let employees add comments to their responses, select the Comments allowed checkbox.
6. Select Add to save the question and add it to the selected question group.
Yes/No
Employees will select Yes or No to answer this type of question.
1. Select Yes/No from the Question type drop-down list.
2. In the Options section, select the relevant options from the list in the Options available for all question types section of this article.
3. If you want to let employees add comments to their responses, select the Comments allowed checkbox.
4. Select Add to save the question and add it to the selected question group.
Recognition
Employees can give kudos to colleagues by tagging them. They will use the @ symbol, enter the first few characters of a colleagues name, then select them.
1. Select Recognition from the Question type drop-down list.
2. In the Options section, select the relevant options from the list in the Options available for all question types section of this article.
3. Select any of the following checkboxes, if required.
- Comments allowed. Choose whether you want to let employees add comments to their responses. This option is available for Choice, Rating, Yes/No, and Recognition questions.
- Multiple responses allowed. Choose whether you want to let employees give more than one response.
4. Select Add to save the question and add it to the selected question group.
Manage check-in questions
Required role: Super admin.
Once created, you can manage check-in questions by hovering over the relevant one on the Questions page, selecting the ellipsis (...) menu, then the relevant option.
Edit a check-in question
You can't edit an archived question.
1. Select Edit. The Edit question dialog opens.
2. Edit any of the properties.
3. Select Save.
Report on question responses (Data Analysis)
You can view and download question reports.
Select Data Analysis. The Question History page opens.
Here, you see a chart of responses to a question over a specified period, together with the data used to build it.
The information displayed on the chart depends on the question type. For example, for rating questions, you see the average response value, while for text questions, you see the number or responses. You can apply one or more filters (Set filters) to show data for specific people, teams, and departments. You can also choose how data is grouped on the chart (Set grouping). The options are by Person, Team, or Department. There are also options to download the chart in .pdf and .png format.
Below the chart is the data used to build it. Here, you see two tabs: Summary and All Responses. The All Responses tab shows a more detailed view of the underlying data. Select Export to CSV on the relevant tab to download the data shown.
Archive a check-in question
If you archive a question, you won't be able to include it in future scheduled check-ins.
Select Archive.
Restore a check-in question
You can restore a previously archived check-in question. If you restore a question, you can include it in future scheduled check-ins.
Select Restore.
Next steps
Once you've configured your questions, you can set up your check-in schedule. For information about how to configure a check in, see this article.