Employee engagement software for companies with 2,000 or more people

What changes when 2,000 or more people take the survey

A survey for 2,000 people or more is more than a bigger version of a small one. Size alone rarely rules a tool out. Coles has 125,000 employees on Culture Amp. Kroger has nearly half a million on Qualtrics. Three other things change at this size.

Where the answers are stored

If your staff work in several countries, the region that stores their answers matters. You set the region once, and some products do not let you move it later. Ask for the region in writing before the first survey. Check the region again in each contract before you sign.

Staff representatives may need to agree first

In some countries a survey cannot start until employee representatives agree. That can set your launch date. German law requires the works council’s consent for personnel questionnaires. French law requires the staff committee, called the CSE, to be informed and consulted before new technology arrives. Microsoft tells Viva Glint customers that in some countries the works council must agree before deployment. Perceptyx advises adding a labour relations colleague to win approval from works councils and bargaining units. The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution involved its works council before its Effectory survey. Ask your employment lawyer which of your countries need agreement for an engagement survey. Do that before you set a launch date.

Results by team need your employee list

Reports by team only work when the vendor has your employee list and reporting lines. Loading them takes time. Qualtrics calls the reporting structure the key to useful reports. It wants the employee list and structure final two weeks before launch. Perceptyx puts onboarding at about six weeks, including the HR system link. Culture Amp recommends six to 12 weeks for a first implementation. Add this time to your plan before you promise staff a date.

What the price looks like at 2,000 people and above

At 2,000 people or more, the price is a large yearly fee. It can grow at renewal, so see the numbers first. Most vendors set the price by headcount. Culture Amp bills by employee count and plan tier. Qualtrics prices by the number of employees. Medallia is different. It prices by the volume of survey responses, each counted together with its linked data. Ask each vendor for a written price at your headcount.

Viva Glint publishes a plain price of $2.00 a user a month, billed yearly. At 2,000 users that is $48,000 a year at list price, before your Microsoft plan.

UK public-sector prices show how the cost per person changes with headcount. Workday Peakon charges £14.58 to £50.10 per user a year, in bands that start at 600 employees. In Hive’s G-Cloud 15 price list, its Employee Survey Service costs £22,605 a year including 2,000 employees. Each extra employee costs £4.49. Its Employee Voice Service costs £29,300 including 2,000, and £5.99 for each extra. In WorkBuzz’s sample contract, 1,001 to 2,500 users cost £10 each a year. At 5,001 to 10,000 users the price is £5. Under NTT DATA’s public-sector price list, Qualtrics has ten tiers. The first costs £25.32 per employee a month and the tenth £2.17. Ask which tier your headcount falls in. These prices are for public-sector buyers, so ask each vendor for the private-sector price.

Some of these prices assume a longer term. In Hive’s earlier price list, annual prices are for a three-year contract. Those prices may vary for shorter terms. In Workday Peakon’s price document, the prices are for guidance only and are not part of the contract. In WorkBuzz’s sample contract, the term starts at two years. Check the term your quote assumes.

Extras add to the bill. In its public-sector price list, Qualtrics sells Core, Guided and Advanced help packages. They cost £25,000, £50,000 or £65,000, or 10%, 20% or 25% of annual software spend. In its public-sector price document, Workday Peakon leaves training, deployment services and extra set-ups out of the subscription price. Setting a retention period shorter than five years for Peakon data needs a custom add-on. Culture Amp can charge extra fees if you go over your plan tier.

Prices also rise at renewal. NTT DATA adds 3.3% to Qualtrics prices on each contract anniversary. In WorkBuzz’s sample contract, prices rise each year by the greater of 5% or UK inflation. Unless the order form differs, Perceptyx may raise renewal prices by up to US inflation plus five percent.

Six things that go wrong in a large rollout

A large rollout fails in ways a small one does not. More countries, bigger fees and many managers raise the cost of a wrong choice. Each of the six below is easier to fix before you sign.

What should you ask each vendor before signing?

Use these questions on your calls. Each one has a good answer, so you can tell a clear vendor from a vague one.

1. Culture Amp: Which data region will you set for us before the first survey? Good answer: A named region in the order form.
2. Workday Peakon: Which hosting region will you set for us, and when does the UK region start? Good answer: A named region and a written start date for the UK region.
3. Perceptyx: What fixed price rise will our order form set for each renewal? Good answer: A fixed percentage, agreed before signing.
4. Qualtrics: Which help package is in our quote, and what share of software spend is it? Which price tier does our headcount fall in? Good answer: One named package at a fixed price, and a named tier.
5. Viva Glint: Is raw response export switched on for every survey programme we plan? Good answer: Yes, set before the first survey launches.
6. Medallia: How many survey responses, each counted with its linked data, will our plan create in a year? Good answer: A count from our plan, with the tier it falls in.
7. Effectory: Which of our survey languages has a person checked? Is all our data held in the EU or EEA? Good answer: A list by language with machine-translated ones marked, and one written answer on hosting.
8. EngageRocket: What will our fees be at each renewal? Good answer: A fixed rate or cap in the order form, not a change on 30 days’ notice.

Where to go if this is not your size

Companies under 2,000 people should read the mid-market guide. If your HR system already runs surveys, read the HR system owners guide. It covers Dayforce, Oracle, UKG and ADP.

The comparison puts every product side by side. The employee engagement software guide covers the whole market.