The anonymous suggestion box: Essential for a thriving feedback culture

People are redefining their relationship with work, creating exciting opportunities for companies to reevaluate how they build a resilient business and define success outside of profit. Running company surveys is a great place to start identifying growth opportunities within your organization.

However, a recent study found that even with routine surveys, upwards of 47% of employees decided not to share a concern due to fears of retaliation, questions about the significance of the issue, or a perceived lack of commitment to finding a solution.*

That’s where anonymous suggestion boxes can come in handy. They empower team members across all levels of an organization to share their genuine feedback with leadership without feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. Indeed, employees have been shown to share more honestly when they know their identities will be anonymous, especially if they’re talking about their colleagues or leadership. (1)

Giving team members the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback can also increase organizational trust, enrich company culture, and boost engagement. (2)

This article will discuss the importance of anonymous suggestion boxes and explain how you can get started with Leapsome’s free online Anonymous Suggestion Box that comes as part of the out-of-the-box Instant Feedback module.

1. SHRM, 2024
2. Forbes, 2022

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What is an anonymous suggestion box?

Traditionally, an anonymous suggestion box was a physical anonymous comment box in a break room or other central office location. There, team members dropped their feedback inside on little pieces of paper for human resources professionals or administrators to review and communicate internally. Nowadays, anonymous suggestion boxes have largely moved online, but keep the same spirit. They’re digital mailboxes that enable employees across all levels of an organization to share their honest feedback with leadership and nurture a healthy feedback culture.

💭 Giving feedback isn’t easy, and it’s a skill that all professionals need to hone and refine over time. To help you practice, we’ve got a handy feedback template as well as an extensive list of 27 employee feedback examples.

Why is having a company suggestion box important?

Company suggestion boxes are important because they help create a work environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their candid perspectives without fear of awkwardness or other negative consequences. This is critical if you want to build a successful feedback culture within your organization and shift the focus from who is sharing feedback to what their feedback is and how it can be implemented.

Anonymous online suggestion boxes can also help people teams and leadership gather broader feedback than they would by just relying on face-to-face conversations and surveys. As a result, they’ll get a better read on real-time employee sentiment and what concerns team members really have. Certain professionals may feel shy or afraid to share their genuine perspectives, and an anonymous box can remove that barrier and encourage them to speak up.

💡 Every organization has a slightly different approach to feedback, but integrating constructive feedback into your company culture is essential for a thriving, enjoyable work environment. If you’re looking for employee feedback tools to add to your tech stack, check out our detailed guide to find the best solution for your needs.

How to get started with Leapsome’s Anonymous Suggestion Box

Our Anonymous Suggestion Box feature is available to all Leapsome customers as part of the Instant Feedback module. Let’s delve into how it works so you can familiarize yourself with these kinds of tools and understand what to look for in a good anonymous suggestion box.

First, Leapsome’s Anonymous Suggestion Box can easily be activated by the Super Admin within their admin settings — the only prerequisite is that Instant Feedback is also enabled. All Super Admins have to do is turn on the feature found in Settings > Admin Settings > Instant Feedback.

Assigning ownership

While Super Admins are the only users able to activate the feature, they don’t have to remain the sole owners. Super Admins can assign control of the overview and management of incoming feedback to any user within the Leapsome platform.

• Super Admins can assign multiple owners, including themselves, to access all feedback. This feedback will be shown as anonymous to anyone who receives access. 
• Super Admins can assign any user within the company as owner, meaning there are no limitations beyond being a user in the Leapsome platform. 
• If an owner starts a conversation on an anonymous entry in the Leapsome interface, all owners of the Anonymous Suggestions Box can view the conversation.

Conversations in the suggestion box

Owners of the Anonymous Suggestion Box are able to create a stronger channel of communication with employees by starting conversations directly within each piece of feedback. This is an important feature that gives owners the ability to seek clarification or further information to ensure employees are heard all while continuing to keep their anonymity.

Only designated owners will have access to conversations, ensuring that feedback remains anonymous and helping employees feel safe utilizing the feature.

Once a conversation is started, the author of the suggestion box will be alerted and have the ability to respond while remaining anonymous throughout the entire conversation.

As an employee, users will be able to create suggestions and respond to (but not initiate) conversations on their own.

Easy to access & use for employees

Once the Super Admin has activated the feature, employees can access it by opening the feedback tab within their Leapsome view. The process is simple, with an easy-to-use pop-up that employees can use to voice their concerns while allowing owners to identify potential areas of growth. 

🙏 Get rid of barriers to feedback once and for all 

The Anonymous Suggestion Box within our Instant Feedback module empowers all team members to share their honest perspectives. 

👉 Discover Instant Feedback

EU Whistleblower Directive

Based on the EU directive to protect whistleblowers, EU member states have implemented or are currently implementing national whistleblowing laws. While national requirements, like the scope, may vary, Leapsome’s Anonymous Suggestion Box fulfills all basic requirements of the EU’s Whistleblower directive.

The German regulation came into effect in 2023 and requires companies with 50 or more employees to establish internal or external reporting channels, providing a common standard of protection to whistleblowers who raise any and all breaches with their employer. 

This content is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal requirements may vary depending on your place of business or specific situation, so please consult a legal professional to ensure compliance with applicable law.
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Enhance & enrich your feedback culture with Leapsome’s Anonymous Suggestion Box

An authentic, sustainable feedback culture is essential for any ambitious organization to thrive. Even though there’s no magic formula to fostering one within your business, the key is encouraging all team members to share their candid perspectives and acting on their suggestions as much as possible.

Anonymous suggestion boxes like Leapsome’s are a powerful tool to make employees feel comfortable sharing their honest, ongoing feedback with leadership. Even better, our Anonymous Suggestion Box comes as part of our complete Instant Feedback module. Instant Feedback encompasses an array of features for recognition and praise, like shout-outs and a Praise Wall, just to name a few.

Because Leapsome knows that constructive feedback is what makes the professional world go around.
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💬 Empower all team members to express themselves

Genuine feedback can’t be forced — Leapsome Instant Feedback makes sure employees feel confident sharing their perspectives.
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