# How Pulse surveys work

> HR chooses the questions and how often they go out. You get a few questions at a time, and your answers are added to your company's results as soon as you select Next.

- Product: Pulse › Answer surveys

- Where: Vantage Circle web app, Microsoft Teams
- Last checked: 15 Oct 2026
- Web page: https://www.vantagecircle.com/en/help/pulse/answer-surveys/how-pulse-surveys-work/

A Pulse survey is a short set of questions from your HR team. HR chooses the questions, how long the survey runs, how often questions go out, and whether it's anonymous. Some surveys send everything at once. Others send a few questions every week, two weeks or month.

## The questions

Questions are about your experience at work, such as your manager, your colleagues, recognition or your growth. Each one is one of these:

- a rating from 1 to 5, from "Strongly disagree" to "Strongly agree";
- a rating from 1 to 10, on a slider;
- multiple choice, with one answer or several;
- a written answer in your own words.

Rating and multiple-choice questions also have an optional comment box. HR can make a question or its comment required. Those are marked with a red *.

## How questions reach you

HR's questions are split across the sends. For example, a 3-month survey with 12 questions that sends every 2 weeks gives you about 2 questions each time. A survey that sends everything at once gives you all its questions in one go.

- **Each send arrives at the time HR chose, in your local time.** You get an email, and the survey is also waiting for you in Vantage Circle.
- **Colleagues get different questions on the same day.** Pulse sends each person the questions with the fewest answers so far, so every question gets enough answers.
- **If you miss a send, you catch up.** The next send includes extra questions to make up for the ones you didn't answer.
- **A question you've answered or skipped doesn't come back in the same survey.** A later survey can ask it again.

If you still have questions waiting a few days after a send, Pulse emails you a reminder with the subject "Your Opinion Counts: Reminder to Complete Your Survey". You don't get one once you've answered everything. You don't get one either when the next send is less than a day away.

## What happens to your answers

Each answer is saved as soon as you select **Next**. You don't need to reach the end for your answers to count.

- **Ratings** are combined with everyone else's into the scores HR sees, such as the engagement score.
- **Written answers and comments** go to a comments page that HR reads. In an anonymous survey, HR sees them without your name. For what else HR can see, read [Is my Pulse survey anonymous?](/en/help/pulse/answer-surveys/is-my-pulse-survey-anonymous/)
- **HR can reply to a comment.** You'll get an email, and you can answer. See [Reply to HR about your comment](/en/help/pulse/answer-surveys/reply-to-hr-about-your-comment/).

Once you've answered every question you have for now, the survey closes for you until the next send.