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Creating Surveys - Quick Start

Build a survey in Compass from a blank page or a document you already wrote, then preview it on any device before you launch.

This video walks through creating a survey. It covers adding question types, organizing questions by pages, and copying and pasting questions from Word, Excel, or Google Docs. It also covers adding columns, marking questions as required, saving progress, previewing the survey on different devices, and managing pages in the Survey Designer.

Video length: 4:45

Overview

The Survey Designer helps you create employee surveys with multiple question types, custom branding, and flexible layouts. Whether you're building an engagement survey, pulse check, or exit interview, this guide gets you started quickly.

Survey creation workflow

Step 1: Create your survey

From the main navigation:

  1. Click Surveys > New Survey

  2. Enter an internal title (this is for your team, not participants)

  3. Click Create

Internal and participant titles are different. The title you enter here is for internal organization. You set the participant-facing title in Step 2.

Step 2: Set up survey details

Add participant-facing information:

  • Survey Title: what participants see at the top of your survey

  • Logo: (optional) your organization or department logo

  • Description: (optional) brief explanation of the survey purpose

Best practice:

  • Keep titles concise and clear

  • Use descriptions to set expectations, for example "This 5-minute survey helps us improve your work experience"

  • Add logos for a professional appearance

Step 3: Build your questions

Quick method using copy and paste:

  1. Prepare questions in Word, Excel, or Google Docs

  2. Click Add Question and select a question type

  3. Copy question text from your document

  4. Paste directly into the question field

  5. For matrix questions and scales, copy and paste multiple items at once

Paste whole lists at once. You can paste entire question lists, scale items, and column headers in one action. That's much faster than typing each item.

Available question types:

  • Single-Select Matrix: multiple questions with the same scale, for example an agreement scale

  • Radio Button Group: single choice from multiple options

  • Checkboxes: multiple selections allowed

  • Dropdown: single selection from a dropdown menu

  • Long Text: open-ended responses (multiple lines)

  • Single-Line Input: short text responses (one line)

  • Text/Instruction: display-only text for survey instructions or section headers

Step 4: Organize with pages

Create multiple pages:

  • Group related questions together

  • Click Add Question at the bottom to create a new page

  • Add page descriptions to guide participants through sections

Navigation:

  • Use the left sidebar to jump between pages

  • Drag and drop pages to reorder from the General tab

  • Add page numbers for clarity

Step 5: Preview and test

Before launching:

  1. Click Preview to see the participant experience

  2. Test on different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile)

  3. Complete the survey yourself to check flow and timing

  4. Make adjustments in Designer mode

Quick tips for efficient survey building

Copy and paste best practices

For matrix questions:

For scale items:

For radio button and checkbox options:

Draft your content in a document first. That makes editing, spell-checking, and stakeholder review easier before you build in Compass.

When to use each question type

Question Type
Best For
Example

Single-Select Matrix

Multiple related questions with same scale

Employee engagement items with agreement scale

Radio Button Group

Single choice from 2-7 options

"How often do you receive feedback?"

Checkboxes

Multiple selections allowed

"Which benefits are most important to you? (Select all that apply)"

Dropdown

Single choice from many options (8+)

"Which department do you work in?" (20+ options)

Long Text

Open-ended feedback

"What suggestions do you have for improving...?"

Single-Line Input

Short text answers

"What is your job title?"

Text/Instruction

Section headers, instructions

"This survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete..."

Ready to deploy

Once your survey is built:

  1. Save your survey (it auto-saves as you work)

  2. Set up your email campaign to send invitations

  3. Monitor responses as they come in

Related Articles

PreviousCompass Overview
NextSurvey Designer - Complete Guide

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