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Peakon
Last Updated: 2026-03-13
Concept: Survey Frequency

Concept: Survey Frequency

Survey and question frequency settings allow you to control how often employees receive surveys and how the survey distributes questions. The configuration experience depends on when your Workday Peakon production instance was created.
You can stop or reconfigure the automated cadence when needed. Such changes can impact question distribution in the subsequent round, while the algorithm catches up on the due questions.
For more information, visit Concept: Question Frequency.

Understanding your Question Model

The system you use to configure frequency depends on your instance creation date:
  • Instances created from March 31, 2026, onwards
    : You use the Flexible Listening Question model. In this model, drivers are made up of questions, and each standard question has a unique title. You can set an independent frequency for every question.
  • Instances created before March 31, 2026:
     You use the existing question model with the driver, sub-driver, and main question structure. You will continue to use this model until you upgrade to the Flexible Listening Question model during the 26R2 and 27R1 release cycles.

Survey Frequency Types

Type
Description
Automatic
Peakon tailors the number of questions based on each employee’s previous responses, sending a targeted set on a predefined schedule. The system automatically triggers the next survey round. If a survey round receives 0% participation for 3 consecutive rounds, the schedule is automatically disabled.
Manual
Peakon asks employees all enabled questions at the chosen date and time. After the survey round hard-closes, no further surveys are sent until you manually trigger a new round.

Individual Question Frequencies

For customers on the Flexible Listening Question model, you can set frequencies for individual questions rather than entire sets.
  • Frequencies: You can set questions to
    Every survey
    ,
    Once per week
    ,
    Once within 2 weeks
    ,
    Once within 1 month
    ,
    6 months
    ,
    12 months
    ,
    Never
    , or
    Custom Frequency
    .
  • Use the
    Never
     option to exclude specific questions from the survey entirely without deactivating the entire question set.
  • Questions with a frequency that differs from the question set default are marked with a
    Custom
     tag.
  • The interface displays distribution information (Example:
    "approximately 1 question per round"
    ) under each question set to help you balance your survey length.

Manual Mode Configuration

When you select Manual frequency, for customers on the Flexible Listening Question model, you can focus on exact inclusion per round:
  • Instead of frequency dropdowns, each question has an
    "Include in survey"
    checkbox. You can pick exactly which questions to include in the current round.
  • Use the bulk enable/disable buttons per question set or per driver accordion to quickly manage large numbers of questions.
For customers with the classic question model, you can only deactivate or activate entire question sets.
When switching between Manual and Automatic modes, the system preserves your specific question selections.

Rule-Based Questions

If a question contains specific timing rules, change the frequency of these questions on the question set page. For more information, visit Concept: Onboarding and Exit Question Timing.
Questions with question timings only apply to the survey schedule when the survey frequency is set to weekly.

Recommendation

We recommend a continuous listening approach, providing multiple benefits.
  • Relevance: Continuous listening enables you to discover trends and act on them with greater speed. A regular cadence is also essential for understanding whether your actions are having impact.
  • Question sampling: Fewer questions per round lessen survey fatigue.
  • Leader engagement: Leaders become more engaged with their dashboard scores when they trust the responses are more reflective of the current reality.
  • Higher accuracy: When an employee skips a survey, they receive additional questions in the next round for the algorithm to catch up. A lower frequency could mean an extended time periods before it's possible to get new input from a missed employee.
If you run multiple surveys simultaneously, try to align their survey end dates to consolidate dashboard recalculations.