Should Managers See Employee Survey Comments?

Open comments are often one of the most valuable parts of an employee survey.

They provide context behind the scores, highlight issues employees may not raise elsewhere, and often reveal patterns that numerical data alone cannot explain. At the same time, organisations frequently worry about how to handle comments.

Should managers see employee comments directly? Will employees still speak honestly if they think their wording could identify them? How do you balance transparency with confidentiality?

These questions matter because the way comments are managed can significantly affect both the quality of feedback and the level of trust employees place in the survey process.

Why Open Comments Matter

Employee comments often provide the detail that helps organisations understand what is really driving engagement, frustration, trust, or concern.

For example, a low score on communication may mean very different things in different teams.

Comments can help identify:

• unclear leadership communication
• workload pressures
• management behaviours
• process frustrations
• concerns during organisational change
• examples of positive practice
• the degree of frustration or other emotions related to an issue

Without that context, organisations can sometimes over-focus on scores and miss the underlying issues employees are actually describing.

The Challenge With Verbatim Comments

Many organisations assume that sharing all comments directly with managers is the most transparent approach.

However, this can create unintended problems.

Employees are often cautious about writing openly if they believe their comments may be recognisable to their manager or leadership team.

Even where surveys are technically anonymous, people may still worry that:

• writing style could identify them
• specific situations may reveal who they are
• small team reporting makes comments traceable
• critical feedback could affect relationships

As a result, organisations sometimes receive fewer comments, shorter comments, or less honest feedback.

In practice, employees tend to contribute more openly when they trust that their comments will be handled carefully and confidentially. In A/B surveys run by Protostar Surveys, where respondents were told that managers would only see a summary of comments, not the comments themselves, there were, on average, 35% more comments, including those on topics not raised in the other group. This occurred consistently across different organisations and countries, showing very clearly that managers seeing verbatim comments is a significant barrier to open and honest feedback.

A More Balanced Approach

At Protostar Surveys, we do not normally provide managers with raw verbatim comments.

Instead, we provide detailed thematic summaries that group comments into clear themes and patterns while protecting employee anonymity.

This approach helps organisations understand:

• the main issues employees are raising
• how widespread particular concerns appear to be
• where positive experiences are consistent
• what employees most want leaders to address

Importantly, it also reduces the risk of individuals being identifiable through specific wording or situations.

We consistently find that employees provide significantly more detailed and constructive feedback when they believe their comments will be summarised independently rather than read directly by their manager.

That usually produces richer organisational insight overall.

Why Interpretation Matters

Another challenge with verbatim comments is that individual remarks can sometimes be interpreted without sufficient context.

A single strongly worded comment may attract disproportionate attention, while broader themes affecting many employees can be overlooked.

Thematic analysis helps organisations focus on patterns rather than isolated reactions.

This is particularly important in larger organisations where hundreds or thousands of comments may be submitted.

Independent interpretation can help leaders:

• identify recurring themes
• separate isolated frustrations from systemic issues
• understand differences across teams or groups
• focus on practical priorities

That often leads to more constructive conversations and better action planning afterwards.

Should Managers Ever See Direct Comments?

There is no universal rule.

In some organisations with very high trust levels and mature feedback cultures, sharing verbatim comments may work well.

However, many organisations underestimate how cautious employees can become if they believe managers may read their exact wording.

The key issue is not simply whether comments are technically anonymous.

It is whether employees genuinely feel safe enough to speak honestly.

That trust is often what determines whether an employee survey produces meaningful insight or carefully filtered feedback.

What Usually Produces the Best Feedback

The most effective employee surveys are usually the ones where employees believe:

• confidentiality is being protected properly
• feedback will be interpreted fairly
• leaders genuinely want to listen
• comments will not be used against individuals
• action is likely to follow

For many organisations, thematic summaries provide a more balanced way to achieve this than distributing raw comments directly.

They protect trust while still giving leaders clear, actionable insight into what employees are experiencing.

If your organisation is considering how best to manage employee survey feedback, Protostar can help you design an approach that encourages honest participation while providing leaders with meaningful and practical insight. Get in touch and find out more.