Take a survey in Slack or Teams

If your company runs surveys through Slack or Microsoft Teams, you don't need to check your email or log in to anything new. A friendly message simply lands in your chat tool, and you can start answering in a couple of taps.

This guide walks through exactly what that looks like: how the survey shows up, how to open and answer it, what happens when you get a reminder, and (the part people ask about most) why answering through a chat bot doesn't reveal your responses to your manager or colleagues.

Where the survey shows up

CultureMonkey delivers surveys through a bot (sometimes called an app) that your organization connected to Slack or Teams. When a new survey launches, that bot sends you a message.

The important thing to know: this is always a private, one-to-one direct message between you and the bot. It is not posted in a team channel, a group chat, or anywhere your teammates can see. In Slack it arrives as a DM from the CultureMonkey app in your sidebar. In Teams it arrives as a chat from the CultureMonkey bot in your Chat list. You'll usually get a notification badge, just like any other message.

So if you're wondering "did my whole team just get pinged that I have a survey to do?", the answer is no. The message is yours alone.

What the message looks like

The message is deliberately short and warm. A typical first invitation reads something like:

> Hi [Name], [Company] would like to hear how work is going for you. It takes about five minutes.

...followed by a link to your survey. Your organization can customize this wording, so the exact text you see may differ. Some companies personalize it with your first name, the survey title, or an estimate of how long it takes (for example, "about 5 minutes"). Whatever the wording, two things are always there: a brief explanation and a link to open the survey.

That link is personal to you. Behind the scenes, CultureMonkey generates a unique, private address for your copy of the survey and drops it into your message. It isn't a shared link that anyone could use, which is part of what keeps the whole thing secure.

How to open and answer it

Here's the part that trips people up the first time, so it's worth being clear: you don't type your answers into the chat window. You open the link, and the survey opens as a clean, mobile-friendly page in your browser (or an in-app view). That's where you actually answer.

1. 1Open the message. Find the direct message from the CultureMonkey bot in Slack or Teams and tap to open it.
2. 2Tap the link. Select the survey link in the message. It opens your personal survey page.
3. 3Answer the questions. Work through the survey - rating scales, multiple choice, and any open comment boxes. There's no separate login to remember; the link is your key in.
4. 4Submit. When you reach the end, submit your responses. You'll see a short confirmation (a thank-you page) letting you know it went through.

Because the survey opens in its own full page rather than squeezing into a chat bubble, you get the complete experience: every question type, any images or descriptions your company added, and a clear progress indicator. It works just as smoothly on your phone as on your laptop.

Answering in-thread vs. via the link

A common question is whether you can just reply to the bot's message with your answers, right there in the chat thread. For CultureMonkey surveys, the answer is no, and that's on purpose. Typing a reply in the chat thread wouldn't record a proper survey response, and depending on how your workspace is set up, a reply could be less private than the survey page itself.

The link is the way in. It carries you to a dedicated survey page where each answer is captured correctly, mapped to the right question, and stored with the same anonymity protections as every other channel. Think of the chat message as the doorbell and the link as the door: the bell tells you a survey is waiting, and the link is how you actually go in and answer it.

Getting a reminder

If a survey is still open and you haven't finished it, you may get a gentle reminder from the same bot. Like the first message, it's a private DM, and it reads along the lines of:

> Hello [Name]! A CultureMonkey survey is pending to be answered. Click on the following link to answer the survey.

The reminder includes the same personal link as before, so you can jump straight back in. If you've already submitted, you won't keep getting nudged - reminders only go to people who still have a survey waiting. And once you submit, that's it; you're done for that survey.

Why answering through the bot keeps you private

This is the question that matters most, so let's be direct about it.

Answering a survey in Slack or Teams is exactly as anonymous as answering it by email. The chat tool is just the delivery van. It carries the invitation to your door; it doesn't ride along and watch you fill in the form.

Here's why your privacy holds up:

• The message is a private DM. The invitation goes only to you. Your teammates and your manager never see that you received it, let alone what you did with it.
• Your answers don't live in the chat. You answer on the CultureMonkey survey page, not in the chat window. Slack and Teams never see your responses. There's nothing for a colleague to scroll back and read.
• CultureMonkey separates who you are from what you said. Once your responses are recorded, they're pooled with everyone else's. Your individual answers aren't shown to managers or admins tied to your name. Results appear as team-level and company-level trends.
• Small groups are protected. If your team is very small, CultureMonkey hides the breakdown until enough people have responded, so no single person's answers can be worked out from the numbers.

In other words, the bot's only job is to hand you the survey privately. Everything after you tap the link is governed by the same anonymity rules that protect every response in CultureMonkey. For the full picture, see Is my feedback anonymous? and How CultureMonkey keeps feedback anonymous.

If the survey doesn't arrive

Occasionally the bot message doesn't show up when you expect it. A few things to check before you worry:

• Look in the right place. In Slack, check your direct messages for the CultureMonkey app (not a channel). In Teams, check your Chat list for the CultureMonkey bot.
• Search for the bot. Type "CultureMonkey" into the Slack or Teams search bar. If the app appears, open the conversation and look for a recent message.
• Check the email you use. The bot finds you by your work email address. If the email on your chat account differs from the one your company uses in CultureMonkey, the message may not reach you. Your HR or People team can fix this.
• Give it a few minutes. During a large launch, messages go out in batches, so yours may arrive a little after a colleague's.

If it still hasn't come through, your survey may also be reachable another way, such as by email. See How to access your survey for every route into your survey, and reach out to your HR or admin team if you're still stuck.

Frequently asked questions

Can my manager see that I answered in Slack or Teams?

No. Your manager can see overall participation numbers for the group (for example, "18 of 25 responded"), but not which specific people did or didn't answer, and never what any individual said. Answering through chat doesn't change that.

Do I answer by replying to the bot's message?

No. Tap the link in the message instead. The link opens your personal survey page, where your answers are captured correctly and kept anonymous. A plain chat reply wouldn't be recorded as a survey response.

Is my feedback less anonymous because it came through Slack or Teams?

No. The chat tool only delivers the invitation. Your actual responses are recorded on the CultureMonkey survey page and protected by the same anonymity rules as every other channel. See Is my feedback anonymous?.

I got a reminder but I already finished. What's going on?

Reminders should only reach people who still have a survey open. If you're sure you submitted, you can safely ignore it. If reminders keep coming, mention it to your HR or admin team so they can check your record.

Can I use the same link on my phone and my laptop?

Yes. The link is yours and works on any device. You can open the message on your phone, or copy the survey open on your laptop - whatever's easiest. Your progress is tied to your personal link, not to one device.

What if I accidentally deleted the bot's message?

No problem. Search "CultureMonkey" in Slack or Teams to reopen the conversation, or look for a reminder to arrive. If the survey is still open, your personal link is still valid.

Where to go next

• Every way to reach your survey: How to access your survey
• Your privacy, explained simply: Is my feedback anonymous?
• The full anonymity picture: How CultureMonkey keeps feedback anonymous