Employee Engagement Survey Builder
Lead Product Designer • Push Operations • 4 Quarters
Overview
Several of our clients were relying on external platforms to run employee engagement surveys — a clunky workaround that risked churn. They asked us to bring this workflow in-house. The goal was clear: create a native survey-building tool that was simple to use, flexible to manage, and insightful to review. As the lead designer on this initiative, I owned the entire design process: from initial research and concepting, to stakeholder alignment, wireframing, and delivery.
Problem
Clients were frustrated by having to leave our platform to manage surveys — and many were referencing a similar tool they had at their last company. This was a churn risk and a feature gap. The challenge was to build a robust but intuitive survey tool that worked within the constraints of our lean dev team, reused existing patterns, and fit into our complex HR ecosystem.
Goals
- •Create a native survey-building tool within our platform
- •Design an intuitive interface that's simple to use
- •Develop flexible management options for administrators
- •Provide insightful data review capabilities
- •Reduce churn risk by eliminating the need for external tools
Constraints
- •Limited development resources (lean team of 3 developers)
- •Need to reuse existing UI patterns and components
- •Complex integration with existing HR ecosystem
- •4-quarter timeline for complete implementation
- •Balance between robust functionality and ease of use
Process
Research & Discovery
I conducted calls with key customers to understand their expectations and existing workflows. This helped identify pain points and feature priorities. I also performed a comprehensive audit of competitors like SurveyMonkey, Typeform, and legacy tools to understand industry standards and opportunities for differentiation. Additionally, I gathered feedback from Customer Success Managers about common pain points and frequent requests to ensure we were addressing real user needs.
Design Strategy
I started with low-effort flows and visual brainstorming to validate direction before investing in detailed designs. Throughout the process, I ran frequent check-ins with stakeholders using lightweight slide decks to maintain alignment. I also employed a self-dialogue process I call 'brain dumping' — essentially writing Q&A logs with myself based on user feedback to preempt objections and align vision. This approach helped identify potential issues early and build consensus around the design direction.
Wireframing & Collaboration
I created low-fidelity and mid-fidelity wireframes to explore different approaches to the survey builder interface. Throughout this phase, I worked closely with engineering to ensure we were reusing components where possible and staying within scope. The Product Manager served as a key liaison with business stakeholders while I maintained design-engineering alignment. This collaborative approach ensured that our designs were both user-friendly and technically feasible.
Challenges & Solutions
We faced several challenges during the project. Originally planned features like user-based assignment were trimmed for v1, and we shipped with a sharable link flow first, knowing we could iterate later. Our design called for polished data visualizations, but development constraints meant leaning on Flexmonster tables already used elsewhere in the product. Rather than build the question builder from scratch, we reworked existing components through creative styling. One major challenge was allowing users to compare survey data across departments, which we solved by integrating GoodData for a flexible and powerful solution.
Final Solution
The final product delivered on both business goals and user needs while keeping engineering effort lean. It included a survey builder for adding custom questions, reordering, and previewing before sending; settings for deadlines, anonymity, and naming conventions; distribution via link (v1) with group assignment planned for v2; a results dashboard for analyzing and exporting data, powered by GoodData; and a mobile survey experience with lightweight iFrame implementation to allow completion on mobile devices.
Results
- •Successfully launched the survey builder, now being piloted by some of our largest enterprise clients
- •Eliminated the need for clients to use external survey platforms, reducing churn risk
- •Generated active usage data to inform v2 development
- •Received positive feedback from both internal stakeholders and external clients
- •Laid the foundation for a new wave of in-platform tools
“The survey builder has been a game-changer for our team. We no longer need to juggle multiple platforms to gather employee feedback, and the insights we're getting are more actionable than ever.”
Reflection
This project taught me several valuable lessons. First, collaborating early with engineers and data science teams could have saved weeks of rework. Design storytelling through my 'brain-dump' approach and stakeholder slides helped maintain clarity and trust throughout the project. I also learned that reusing components creatively is a strength, not a weakness — if framed correctly. Despite time and resourcing trade-offs, the feature has been praised internally and externally and has laid a strong foundation for future development.