How Joyous approaches Employee Experience and Engagement

An overview for HR leaders about the Joyous HR Engagement Model and approach

Welcome! If you’re an HR leader and new to Joyous for Employee Experience (EX), this article will help you understand how we approach employee experience and engagement - what makes our method unique, and why it works.
You’ll also learn how to explain our approach internally if you're transitioning from a more traditional tool.

Key Topics covered in this article

  1. Why Joyous is Different
  2. Survey Approach: From Broad to Specific
  3. Types of Visibility
  4. Setting Expectations
  5. Survey Design: The Joyous Way
  6. The Joyous HR Engagement Model
  7. A Brief History of The EX Genome Project
  8. Types of Questions
  9. Templates
  10. Conclusion

1. Why Joyous is Different

Traditional HR surveys are often poorly written, lengthy, and infrequent. Instead Joyous uses shorter, more conversational check-ins to gather actionable feedback at scale. Our approach helps HR and other leaders move from mainly passive measurement to incorporating active listening and identifying actionable improvements - with almost no human effort!

TL;DR: We focus on:
  • Large, dispersed workforces who are mostly not desk-based.
  • Creating psychologically safe, action-oriented conversations.
  • Using clear and specific questions to provide more granular insights.
  • Striking the right balance between measurement and action.

2. Survey Approach: From Broad to Specific

For new customers who are switching over from a different engagement model, your Joyous account manager will design your survey and pulse experiences for you. This will be based on your steer - ensuring that important topics and questions from your previous model are mapped or carried over for you as part of launching your annual baseline.

Step 1: Annual Baseline Survey (10-15 min)

  • 25 rated statements + 4 open text questions, including eNPS.
  • Covers a broad range of engagement topics.
  • Helps identify initial focus areas across the workforce.
  • Usually confidential or anonymous and non-conversational.

Step 2: Quarterly Pulse Check-Ins (2-5 min)

  • 5 rated statements + 1 open text, including eNPS.
  • Track progress on the most important categories identified in the baseline.
  • Usually confidential or anonymous and non-conversational.

Step 3: Quarterly Targeted Campaigns (1-2 min, 5 days to action)

  • To inform an action plan for a specific issue or opportunity.
  • Offset from the quarterly pulse check-ins.
  • Includes only the relevant cohort of people with 1 rated statement + 1 open text pair per week, for two weeks.
  • Usually open or confidential and conversational.
This cycle repeats annually, keeping engagement efforts tightly aligned with what matters most - without fatiguing people.

3. Types of Visibility

Response Visibility

We support a range of visibility models to suit different comfort levels and maturity stages within your organization:

1. Open

  • What it means: All participants' feedback and names are visible to the campaign stakeholders (e.g. campaign sponsors, leads, facilitators, line managers or project leads).

  • When to use it: Great for change or improvement campaigns where transparency supports human conversations, building momentum and collaboration.

2. Confidential

  • What it means: Feedback is attributed by name, but only a limited set of people can see the responses—typically the campaign owner, HRBP, or another designated leader.

  • When to use it: Perfect for engagement or culture surveys where you still want to follow up 1:1 but need tighter controls on visibility.

3. Anonymous

  • What it means: No one sees individual attributed feedback, only aggregated themes and scores are visible in the dashboard.

  • When to use it: Suited for sensitive topics or early-stage cultural readiness.

Dashboard Visibility

We support advanced visibility options by survey, campaign, planning board, and organization based on your preference and structure:

  • Reporting line leaders can be given access to view results from the people who form part of the hierarchy below them.

  • Matrix leaders (e.g. HRBPs) can be given access to view results from their patch only.

  • Functional or geographic leaders can be assigned to see feedback from relevant teams or regions.

  • Targeted stakeholders can be given access to see all feedback for a specific survey or campaign, they can be defined as: Executive sponsor, Campaign Leads or Facilitators.
  • You can also limit visibility of individual responses entirely, so only system admins or Joyous support can access the raw data if needed.


4. Setting Expectations

The best way to build trust for people participating in a Joyous survey or campaign is by clearly setting expectations at the start. Joyous makes this easy by letting you customise the opening message with a simple statement like:

“Your feedback is confidential. Only the HR team can see your individual responses. The rest of the leadership team, including your direct manager, will only see themes and average scores.”

Being clear about visibility builds confidence, improves participation, and ensures feedback is used responsibly.

Email Template: Launching Joyous for the first time

From: [Chief People Officer] 

Audience: All people

Subject: Help us improve your experience at [ACME]

Body:

Dear [Valued Team Member],

[CEO Name] and I are reaching out to you today with an important request - we would like to ask for your feedback on how we can improve your experience working at [ACME].

As valued employees, we believe that your perspectives and ideas are critical to informing how we improve [ACME].

To support this we are launching a new employee experience program, with a partner called Joyous. 

What to expect:

  • Every [three months], starting from [Date], you will receive an [email or SMS] including a link to a short survey from Joyous.
  • The first one will be longer, and may take up to 15 minutes to answer, after that they will be shorter, and only take 5 minutes to complete.
  • Your feedback will be [confidential/anonymous/open].(links to an explainer web-page)
  • Based on your feedback we may also use Joyous to run targeted, chat-style campaigns on a specific topic. These only take a minute or two and feel similar to a quick chat using Whatsapp or Messages.

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,

[Chief People Officer]

Sample Confidentiality Webpage Template

Link location: joyoushq.com/confidentiality-[ACME]

Note: Joyous can publish and tailor a page to suit your particular requirements as requested. Your logo will be included on the heading of the page.

Body:

For the Joyous [engagement] surveys, only [description of people] will see your feedback, along with your name. This enables them to reach out to any particular individual for more clarity or support if needed. They will treat your feedback confidentially.

Your direct manager will not see your individual feedback, nor will your feedback ever be shared with them by others.

Once the survey is closed, only the overall results (including average scores and top themes) will be shared to a broader audience in a Joyous report. No names or any other identifying information will be associated with scores or themes inside the report.

If you have any concerns or questions about confidentiality, please do not hesitate to reach out to [Chief People Officer / nominated HR champion] for more information on [contact information].


5. Survey Design: The Joyous Way


1. Keep it short and prioritize the most important questions. 

Industry averages for employee survey drop-off rates - representing the percentage of participants who begin but do not complete a survey - can vary significantly based on factors such as survey length, design, and the organization's sector.

While specific benchmarks for drop-off rates in employee surveys are not extensively documented, general survey data provides some insights:​

  • Completion rates: Surveys typically see completion rates ranging from 20% to 50%, indicating that drop-off rates can be as high as 50% in some cases. ​QuestionPro

    In 2022, Joyous ran a split test with 500 employees in the Utilities sector. One group received two question pairs in a single campaign, while the other received one pair per week over two weeks. The group receiving both pairs at once showed a 50% higher drop-off rate, and their responses to the second open text question were, on average, 50% shorter - indicating reduced engagement and insight quality. 
  • Survey length impact: The number of questions plays a crucial role in participant retention. Notably, the sharpest increase in drop-off rates occurs with each additional question up to 15 questions. Beyond this point, the drop-off rate tends to plateau, suggesting that participants willing to answer 15 questions are more likely to complete longer surveys. ​SurveyMonkey

To mitigate drop-off rates and enhance completion:​

  • Prioritize essential questions: We recommend leading with the eNPS question. Why?Place the most critical questions at the beginning to ensure they are addressed even if participants do not complete the entire survey.​

  • Consistency: eNPS remains in the same place in every baseline and pulse, making results more comparable.
  • Optimize survey length: Aim to keep surveys and campaigns concise whenever possible. While a longer baseline is warranted once a year, regular long surveys should be avoided. 

By implementing these strategies, organizations can improve survey completion rates and gather more comprehensive employee feedback.


2. Make It Conversational
Our surveys feel like a chat, not a chore. We use:
  • Clear, friendly messages to set context and flow.
  • Conversational language to lower the barrier to participation.
  • A concise, structured pattern to increase user comfort. For example: The Long Culture Survey consists of 29 questions starting with eNPS and then repeats a pattern for each of the 4 engagement categories (intro message => 3 topics per category @ 2 rated statements each => 1 open text question => closing message).
3. Prioritize Clarity and Psychological Safety
Good design = more accurate and useful responses. Every question:
  • Avoids jargon and reads at a Grade 5 reading level. Increases the chances that people will correctly understand the question. Also improves the quality of automatic translation (for multi language organizations).
  • When possible and appropriate refers to “the thing”, not “the person” (e.g. “The training is effective” instead of “I understand the training”). Increasing the chances that a person will feel more comfortable answering honestly without it reflecting negatively on themselves.
  • Ask about just one thing at a time (no “and/or” confusion). Reduces the lack of certainty about what the person's score for a rated statement is referring to.
  • Flows logically from previous questions. Helps the person comfortably move through questions in the order a real person would naturally talk about it.
And yes, skipping a question is always an option. This keeps participants in control and increases survey completion rates.

6. The Joyous HR Engagement Model

The Joyous HR Engagement model is based upon an Open Source project that was released by Joyous in 2019, namely the EX Genome Project. This engagement model has continuously evolved and been regularly updated and revised since. 

In 2025, the Joyous HR Engagement Model consists of a library of assets, including survey and campaign templates, all of which are available directly from the tool in the People & Culture category of the Campaign Templates Gallery.

These templates are highly customisable and configurable:

  • The Long Culture Survey (10m). A 10 minute assessment (29 questions) of work experience, suitable for annual measurement across engagement, well-being, culture & environment and fairness & inclusion.
  • The Medium Culture Survey (5m). A medium length (13 questions) assessment of work experience, suitable for six monthly or annual measurement across engagement, well-being, culture & environment and fairness & inclusion. 
  • The Short Culture Survey (2m). A short assessment (6 questions) of work experience, suitable for quarterly measurement.
  • Action focused campaigns. Targeted conversational campaigns focused on specific improvements on topics such as: Environment, Growth, Role Support & Strategy.


7. A Brief History of the EX Genome Project

The Employee Experience Genome Project V1.0 was first released in 2019 after 18 months of research. Since then Joyous has incorporated the feedback and analysis of millions of responses in Joyous. 

The purpose of the Employee Experience Genome project is to demystify the science of measuring employee experience and engagement - enabling a more transparent, productive workplace. And importantly: to make that science easy to understand and accessible for all.

The premise of the model is that Employee Experience is everything people encounter, observe or feel at work. Employee Engagement is the emotional commitment people have to their workplace. 

The model breaks Employee Experience into three core categories that have the greatest impact on engagement: Culture & Environment, Fairness & Inclusion, and Wellbeing. These are complimented by a fourth category: Engagement.

Each category includes three topics. The first release included 25 question pairs offering two rated statements per topic, each with a related open-text question, often referred to as a conversation starter. 

The EX Genome Model

Figure 1 - The EX Genome Categories & Topics

The conversation starters were originally designed to spark regular conversations between employees and their direct managers. The purpose was to encourage micro-level improvements in work experience - while still allowing for regular measurement, surfacing trends and enabling macro improvements at the division and organization level.

A few early adopters in the first two years saw great success with the conversational approach. The biggest success was a shift in the perception that 'nobody is listening' and 'nothing ever changes' as a result of feedback. For many, changes were personal, and therefore highly visible. 

Leaders were responding directly to employee feedback. Ensuring a positive employee experience was no longer perceived as the sole responsibility of the HR team. Instead it became a shared responsibility across HR, leaders and the individual employee. 

At the same time other adopters faced challenges. Not all teams or industries were ready for open dialogue between managers and employees. Our research discovered a strong correlation in drop off rates to manager engagement. 

In all cases, repeated exposure to the same questions led to fatigue - similar to what occurs with traditional surveys - and participation gradually dropped off over time.

Participation rates dropped by 15% to 35% over a six to 12 month period until hitting a plateau. 

Another challenge faced was skepticism from senior leaders that the scoring was accurate, due to the open nature of the feedback. Joyous later conducted an experiment which disproved this, however this skepticism remained.

In parallel, many customers started using Joyous for operational feedback. Their goal was to make people's jobs easier by reducing friction in their daily tasks. This not only improves employee experience but also has a positive impact on cost efficiency and productivity. In contrast to the employee experience use case, the operational use case found open and conversational feedback to be effective and universally positive.

Instead of conversations with managers, employees were engaging directly with Subject Matter Experts or Project Leaders right before or after they implemented significant changes in products, services, tools, processes or organisational structure.

Several customers correlated an increase in their employee engagement scores with the shift to using Joyous for operational feedback.

In 2021, Joyous released Employee Experience Genome Project V2.0.

The original question set was revised based on feedback from early adopters, employee comments and exhaustive analysis on the performance of individual questions. The model also expanded to 50 question pairs, enabling two sets to be rotated every six months. The adoption of the revised model saw an initial uplift in adoption and a slower drop off rate for new adopters over time.

In 2022, Joyous released a third version as the Te Reo Māori Employee Experience Genome Project V1.0. As a proudly New Zealand organization Joyous worked with our valued partner, Maurea Consulting, to adapt both the model and the Joyous product to support delivering the model in dual language side-by-side. This was the same 50 question pairs as version 2.0, with some further improvements to the english quetions based on feedback and in-line Te Reo Māori versions to support our Kiwi customers in helping to uplift Māori cultural competency.

Over the course of 2022 to 2025, most Joyous customers shifted away from weekly conversations between managers and employees. Today, nearly all Joyous HR customers use a combination of quarterly surveys and action focused campaigns - following the current Joyous HR Engagement Model, outlined in this article.  

The EX Genome model has been adapted and refined over the last three years to suit this approach and been renamed to the Joyous HR Engagement Model and action-focused campaign templates targeting specific topics were added to compliment the surveys. This version is not Open Source. 


8. Types of Questions

Joyous supports a variety of question types and features to suit different goals — from measuring engagement to collecting targeted, actionable feedback. Three core question types are used in the Joyous HR Engagement Surveys and Campaigns.

Core Question Types:

  • eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score):
    Measures overall employee loyalty by asking:
    “How likely are you to recommend [ACME] as a place to work?”
    Employees answer on an 11-point Likert scale from 0 to 10.

    • Scores of 9–10 = Promoters

    • Scores of 7–8 = Passives

    • Scores of 0–6 = Detractors.

    • The eNPS score is calculated as:
      % Promoters – % Detractors (Range: -100 to +100)
      This is displayed as a whole number in the dashboard.

  • Rated Statement:
    A rated statement which employees answer on an 11-point Likert scale using the same format as eNPS for consistency. The average score is calculated across all responses and rounded to one decimal place (Range 0-10). This enables benchmarking and heatmap comparisons across individuals, teams, or categories over time. 

  • Open Text Question:
    Allows employees to provide feedback in their own words. Typically used once per topic to collect specific, actionable insights without overwhelming participants, and used to identify actionable insights. 

Additional Question Types and Features:

  • Multiple Choice (Select One or Many):
    Offers a predefined set of options. Can be configured to allow a single response or multiple selections.

  • Demographic Data Collection:
    Gathers contextual data by allowing employees to self-identify based on existing attributes (e.g. business unit, region, gender) or a predefined list.

  • Conditional Visibility:
    Questions are only shown when relevant, based on previous answers. 


9. Survey and Campaign Templates

Long Culture Survey Template (10m)

A 10 minute assessment (29 questions) of work experience, suitable for annual measurement across engagement, well-being, culture & environment and fairness & inclusion.

Download the template in an excel workbook here.
Category / Topic Type Conversation Design
  SMS/Chat App Copy From: [ACME] via Joyous

Hi , help us make life better for people at [ACME]. Use this unique link to answer a 10 minute survey -
  Email Subject Help us make life better for people at [ACME]
  Messages

Please help us make life better for people at [ACME] by completing this 10 minute survey.
Your response will be treated confidentially, and will only be seen our HR team.

  eNPS Q1: How likely are you to recommend [ACME] as a place to work? 
Category: Engagement Messages Thanks for scoring.
Next, let's reflect on how engaged you are feeling at the moment.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Topics:
Energy
Immersion
Dedication
Rated statements

Q2: Most days I feel good about my role.

Q3: I'm motivated at work even when things are challenging.

Q4: I find it easy to concentrate on my work.

Q5: My role makes good use of my skills, knowledge and experience.

Q6: My role challenges me in a way that leads to personal growth.

Q7: My role provides me with a sense of fulfilment.

  Open text question Q8: What would help improve your work experience at [ACME]?
Category: Well-being Message Next up, we'd like to understand more about your well-being.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Topics:
Support
Security
Workload
Rated statements
Q9: I receive regular feedback [from my peers and leaders] that helps me understand how I can improve.
Q10: Leaders at [ACME] create a supportive working environment for me.
Q11: I feel comfortable voicing any concerns I may have.
Q12: I believe people at [ACME] care about the safety of our people.
Q13: My workload is manageable.
Q14: I have the flexibility I need to balance both work and home.
  Open text question Q15: What could [ACME] consider changing to improve your well-being at work?
Category: Culture & Environment Message
Next, we'd like you to consider the culture and environment at [ACME].
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Topics:
Clarity
ResponsibilityPhysical Environment

Rated statements
Q16: It is clear what is expected of me in my role.
Q17: Business goals and strategies are clearly communicated.
Q18: I feel trusted to do a good job.
Q19: I seek the help and resources I need to perform my role well.
Q20: The tools, technology and processes at [ACME] allow me to perform my role well.
Q21: My physical workspace allows me to work comfortably and productively.
  Open text question Q22: What is one thing we could do to improve the culture and environment at [ACME]?
Category: Fairness & Inclusion Message
Finally, let's reflect on fairness and inclusion at [ACME].
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Topics:
Belonging
Fairness
Opportunity
Rated statements
Q23: I feel connected to the wider [ACME] team.
Q24: I feel appreciated for the work that I do.
Q25: I feel comfortable sharing my ideas.
Q26: I'm treated with respect at [ACME].
Q27: My role provides me with opportunities to learn.
Q28: I have opportunities to discuss my progress and development.
  Open text question Q29: What ideas do you have to improve fairness and inclusion at [ACME]?
  Message Thank you for completing the survey. We appreciate your feedback.

The Medium Culture Survey (5m)

A medium length (13 questions) assessment of work experience, suitable for six monthly or annual measurement across engagement, well-being, culture & environment and fairness & inclusion.

Download the template in an excel workbook here.
Category / Topic Type Conversation Design
  SMS/Chat App Copy From: [ACME] via Joyous

Hi , help us make life better for people at [ACME]. Use this unique link to answer a 5 minute survey -
  Email Subject Help us make life better for people at [ACME]
  Messages Please help us make life better for people at [ACME] by completing this 5 minute survey.
Your response will be treated confidentially, and will only be seen our HR team.
  eNPS Q1: How likely are you to recommend [ACME] as a place to work? 
 Category: Engagement Message Thanks for scoring.
Next, let's reflect on how engaged you are feeling at the moment.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Topics:
Energy
Immersion
Rated statements

Q2: Most days I feel good about my role.

Q3: My role makes good use of my skills, knowledge and experience.

  Open text question
Q4: What would help improve your work experience at [ACME]?
Category: Well-being Message Next up, we'd like to understand more about your well-being.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Topics:
Support
Workload
Rated statements
Q5: Leaders at [ACME] create a supportive working environment for me.
Q6: I have the flexibility I need to balance both work and home.
  Open text question
Q7: What could [ACME] consider changing to improve your well-being at work?
Category: Culture & Environment Message Next, we'd like you to consider the culture and environment at [ACME].
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Topics:
Clarity
Physical Environment
Rated statements
Q8: It is clear what is expected of me in my role.
Q9: The tools, technology and processes at [ACME] allow me to perform my role well.
  Open text question Q10: What is one thing we could do to improve the culture and environment at [ACME]?
Category: Fairness & Inclusion Message
Finally, let's reflect on fairness and inclusion at [ACME].
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Topics:
Fairness
Opportunity
Rated statements
Q11: I'm treated with respect at [ACME].
Q12: My role provides me with opportunities to learn.
  Open text question
Q13: What ideas do you have to improve fairness and inclusion at [ACME]?
  Message Thank you for completing the survey. We appreciate your feedback.

The Short Culture Survey (2m)

A short assessment (6 questions) of work experience, suitable for quarterly measurement.

Download the template in an excel workbook here.
Category / Topic Type Conversation Design
  SMS/Chat App Copy From: [ACME] via Joyous

Hi , help us make life better for people at [ACME]. Use this unique link to answer a 2 minute survey -
  Email Subject Help us make life better for people at [ACME]
  Messages Please help us make life better for people at [ACME] by completing this short survey.
Your response will be treated confidentially, and will only be seen our HR team.
The survey should take less than 2 minutes to complete.
  eNPS Q1: How likely are you to recommend [ACME] as a place to work? 

Category:

All four

Message Thanks for scoring.
Next, please answer a few quick questions about your experience at work.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Topics:
Energy
Support
Physical Environment
Opportunity

Rated statements

Q2: Most days I feel good about my role.

Q3: Leaders at [ACME] create a supportive working environment for me.

Q4: The tools, technology and processes at [ACME] allow me to perform my role well.

Q5: My role provides me with opportunities to learn.

  Open text question
Q6: What would help improve your work experience at [ACME]?

Action focused campaigns

Targeted conversational campaigns focused on specific improvements on topics such as: Environment, Growth, Role Support & Strategy.

Approach:

  • One focus only: e.g Role Support.
  • Two topics covered over two weeks. For example: Week 1 - Support, Week 2 - Training & Information. 
  • Two questions per week only. One rated statement followed by one open text question. 
  • Open. Most often action focused campaigns are open, and people's names will go with their feedback.
  • Conversational. By default an AI agent is used to draft one concise follow up message to each open text question response with the system poses instantly after a response is received. 
    This follow up will thank a person for their detailed feedback, or ask a tailored clarifying question in the event a response was too vague. 
    A real person can also jump in, which is helpful when facilitators want to understand more or provide relevant information to the respondent.
  • Flexible. Just like surveys this approach is flexible - including the structure, visibility and conversational approach. This best practice has been tried and tested over millions of conversations and is highly recommended to ensure the highest level of actionable engagement with the minimum time disruption to people.

Action focused campaigns should only be run one to three months before the organization intends to take action on a focused topic. They are a fast and meaningful way to gather specific actionable ideas from people. This greatly helps improve the quality, awareness and adoption of the prioritised actions.

Download the template in an excel workbook here.

Example: Role Support

Week 1

Category / Topic

Type Conversation Design
  SMS/Chat App Copy From: [ACME] via Joyous

Hi , help us increase support for your role at [ACME]. Use this unique link to answer two quick questions -
  Email Subject Help us increase support for your role
  Messages For the next two weeks, we're asking for your input to help increase support for your role at [ACME].
Your ideas will influence the changes we make.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Category:

Role Support

Rated statement Q1: The support available for employees in my role is sufficient.

Topic:

Support

Open text question Q2: What additional support should we consider for people in your role?

Week 2

Category / Topic Type Conversation Design
  SMS/Chat App Copy From: [ACME] via Joyous

Hi , help us increase support for your role at [ACME]. Use this unique link to answer two quick questions -
  Email Subject Here's your next question about increasing support for your role
  Messages This week, tell us what additional training and information would enable people in your role to be more effective.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Category:

Role Support

Rated statement Q3: The training and information available for people in my role is effective.

Topic:

Training & Information

Open text question Q4: What additional training and information would enable people in your role to be more effective?

Conclusion

And there you have it! If you made it this far, well done! You now have a comprehensive understanding of how Joyous recommends approaching HR and Engagement with our Employee Experience (EX) product.
Rest assured, your account manager will partner with you on your journey and you will be supported at every step. We are here to work alongside you and will tailor our approach to suit your unique requirements and culture.
If you have any feedback or questions don't hesitate to reach out to your account manager directly.