How long should the survey be open?

2 weeks.

Most clients keep their survey open for employees to complete for two weeks. This window allows enough time for the vast majority of employees to respond while providing a clear deadline which can be used to encourage responses.

If the survey period is too short, say one week, you may miss some people. If it open for too long, say four weeks, the process can get stale, it is difficult to motivate employees with a pending deadline, and you risk losing momentum for the 'analyze and act' phases for implementation.