Personnel Action Experience and Fairness Survey

Thanks for taking a few minutes to reflect on a recent personnel action you were part of — a promotion, transfer, role change, or similar. Your honest answers help us make this process fairer and clearer for everyone. This should take about 5 minutes, and individual responses are kept confidential.

Which best describes the personnel action you recently experienced?

• Promotion
• Lateral transfer
• Demotion
• Disciplinary action
• Termination notice
• Role or job reclassification
• Compensation adjustment tied to a role change
• Other

When did this personnel action take effect (or when were you notified of it)?

How clearly was the reason for this action explained to you?

Overall, how fair did the process leading up to this action feel?

Thinking about how this action was handled, how much do you agree with each statement?

Did you have access to a way to appeal or request a review of this action?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure

When it comes to how personnel actions are handled, which of these matter most for getting the experience right?

• Advance notice before the decision takes effect
• A clear, written explanation of the reasoning
• An opportunity to respond or appeal before it's finalized
• Consistent application of policy across similar cases
• Manager support and empathy during the conversation
• HR involvement or oversight in the process
• A follow-up check-in after the action takes effect

Probe the reasoning behind the respondent's fairness rating, especially if it fell below the midpoint: ask what specifically made the process feel unfair, whether the outcome surprised them or matched what they expected, and what their manager or HR could have done differently. If the rating was high, ask what the organization specifically got right so it can be repeated for other employees. Anchor the whole conversation on the specific action type they selected earlier rather than personnel actions in general, and note any mention of inconsistent treatment compared to colleagues.

Is there anything else about how this action was handled that you'd like leadership or HR to know?

Which department or team are you part of? (Template note: replace this list with your organization's actual department names before launching.)

• Sales
• Operations
• Engineering
• Customer Support
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Other
• Prefer not to say

How long have you been with the organization?

• Less than 6 months
• 6 months to 1 year
• 1 to 3 years
• 3 to 5 years
• More than 5 years
• Prefer not to say

That's everything — thank you for sharing your experience. Your responses will be reviewed alongside others to identify patterns and improve how personnel actions are communicated and handled going forward.