Employee survey

• On 11 March 2025 you’ll receive your personal survey link via email.
  Please note: Each employee has their own personal link so that they can stop and restart the survey at their convenience. The survey is confidential – there’s no way to trace your responses back to you as an individual. Do not forward your survey link to anyone else.
• Please submit your responses by 11 April 2025 at the latest.
• The data will then be compiled and evaluated.
• The Executive Board and managers at ETH Zurich will receive anonymised reports from which they can derive action areas and measures.
  

The data is collected and analysed by the external consulting and research institute external page Empiricon AG, which guarantees complete confidentiality in handling your data.

ETH Zurich has no access to the individual questionnaires – your responses are recorded directly by Empiricon. Data transmission to Empiricon's external server (in Bern) is encrypted.

Learn more about how the data is analysed

All employees of ETH Zurich except the following:

• Those who started working at ETH after 31 December 2024.
  
• Employees with a workload under 30%, such as teaching assistants.

Data analysis is performed by Empiricon and conducted for the smallest possible organisational units while ensuring confidentiality and anonymity.

This requires at least five completed questionnaires per team or research group. If fewer than five employees in a team participated in the survey, their data will be included in the analysis of the next largest organisational unit.

Empiricon compiles the results in anonymised reports.

• General report for ETH Zurich
  Empiricon will provide ETH Zurich with a comprehensive report containing a summary of responses from all participants. There’s no way to trace the responses back to any individual. The report will be published in June 2025.
• General reports for departments and Vice-Presidencies
  In July 2025, the Vice Presidents and department heads will be provided with an anonymised summary of all responses from their respective areas.
• Individual reports for teams and research groups
  In July 2025, managers and professors will also receive an anonymised report tailored to their team or research group, provided that at least five employees from their organisational unit have participated in the survey.
  Please refer to the Download sample report (PDF, 449 KB) for more details.

• Project sponsor: ETH Zurich Executive Board
• Project oversight: Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership (VPPL)
  
• Project management: HR Consulting and Development and Leadership (VPPL)
  
• Survey concept and design: The questionnaire was revised and refined in 2021 in collaboration with internal representatives from the Rectorate, the Prorectorate, the Lecturers’ Conference, the Staff Commission, AVETH, the Office of Faculty Affairs, the Office of Equal Opportunities, the University Assembly, the Office of Research, the Department Coordinators, Corporate Communications, VPPL and the external research and consulting firm Empiricon AG. To ensure comparability, the questionnaire – which has proven effective in the past – will remain largely unchanged for the 2025 survey.
  
• Survey conducted and analysed by: external page Empiricon AG

No, that won’t be possible. Neither your supervisor nor other employees nor the management of ETH Zurich can see your answers.

Empiricon compiles your answers with those of other participants for these reports, ensuring that no responses can be traced back to you personally. Please refer to the Download sample report (PDF, 449 KB) for more details.

Your comments or suggestions for improvement will be collected by Empiricon and made accessible to the project management for each department or VP office, who will share the overview with the relevant HR partners.

Your comments will not be sent to other individuals (e.g., department heads, supervisors, etc.), since it may happen that some remarks could be traced to specific individuals, despite explicit instructions in the questionnaire to formulate comments anonymously. 

Noting down your comments is an additional opportunity to provide feedback. The main focus of the employee survey, however, is gaining insights via the questions that you answer on a scale from 1 to 6. 

Your answers will be incorporated into the aggregated data of your team or your research group.

Exception: Your responses to questions about the leadership of your supervisor will be included in the evaluation at the next highest organisational level.

The individual reports help managers and professors gain broad insight into how their team or research group is doing. It's not about identifying who might have selected which value, but rather about identifying insights, strengths and areas for action that go beyond individuals, see Download sample report (PDF, 449 KB).

The report can be used to discuss potential improvements together with the team/group and to initiate positive changes. Managers and professors can find useful tips for designing a report workshop in the guide.

As a supervisor or professor, you can actively contribute to the success of the survey.

You can find useful info about your role, the opportunities provided by the survey and helpful tools at Leadership in Practice > Employee Survey.

The next survey of all employees is scheduled for 2029.

There is also a regular survey of scientific staff (doctoral students, postdocs and senior assistants).