OVERVIEW

As part of your enterprise plan, your organization can create custom follow-up questions. Custom follow-up questions are reviewed by the Spot team before being added to your dashboard, in order to make sure they meet our standards for open-ended, unbiased interviewing. All custom questions should be reusable and relevant to multiple reports.

By following these guidelines, you’ll avoid leading questions and write questions that work properly in the bot experience for employees. Ultimately, writing such questions will:

decrease the approval time for your submitted questions,
maintain the trust of your employees,
and increase the chances that employees are comfortable answering your questions.

Keep in mind that, in response to custom follow-up questions, employees will always be able to enter a freeform answer or choose to skip, as shown below.

GUIDELINES

Ask open-ended questions

Open questions are intended to elicit more detail than yes/no questions. Yes/no questions often begin with “is,” “do,” “did,” “are,” and “were.” Open questions often begin with “what,” “when,” “how,” “who,” “where,” or “tell me about.”

Not OK: Do you remember when the incident took place?
OK: Please tell me when the incident took place.

Not OK: We have had other reports about John. Was it John?
OK: We have received other reports of a similar nature. Please tell us more specifics, such as the name of the person involved, if you’re comfortable doing so.

Not OK: What, if anything, has happened since your report?
OK: Please describe anything else that has happened since your report.

Don’t ask leading questions

If the employee has not mentioned a piece of information, don’t make assumptions about who was present, where or when it happened, or other important specifics.

Not OK (if witnesses were mentioned, but the team/department was not mentioned): Tell me more about the witnesses who are on your team/department.
OK (if witnesses were mentioned): How do you know the other witnesses?

Ask only one question at a time

Avoid incorporating multiple questions into a single custom follow-up question. It’s easier for employees to provide one answer at a time.

Not OK: Where did the incident place, and who was involved?
OK: Where did the incident take place?
OK: Who was involved in the incident?

Phrase questions as optional

Avoid phrasing questions in a way that sounds mandatory. Employees shouldn’t feel forced to give identifying information.

Not OK: Please enter your email or phone number, so HR can contact you directly.
OK: If you're open to direct contact from HR, please enter a phone number or email below.

Not OK: Give more detail about the clients you mentioned..
OK: Please give more detail about the clients you mentioned, if you’re comfortable doing so.

Add questions you could use for multiple reports

Questions won’t be approved if they’re only relevant to a single report.

Not OK: Does Lisa know about this incident?
OK: Do you know if anyone else is aware of this incident?