Exporting your Peakon data: what you can get, what you cannot, and the six-month clock
Workday publishes these limits openly. This page puts them in one place, in the order you need them, before the one deadline that does not move.
Before the factThe export only covers answers given after it was switched onWorkday’s export APIs only return answers recorded after the feature was enabled. Anything earlier needs a paid request to Workday.●Check this first
Start here
Was the Peakon export ever switched on?
- If it was switched on, raw answers can be exported. The export returns answers given after the switch-on date, so check that date first. It tells you exactly how much raw history is available.
- If it was not, raise a ticket with Workday today. Switching it on is a support request, not a button. You wait in Workday’s queue, so it cannot be left to the last month.
- Older answers need a paid request to Workday. The export API cannot reach answers from before the switch-on date. Workday offers that earlier history as a paid request, and the summary reports stay readable meanwhile.
Source: Workday’s Survey Answer Export API page and raw data export FAQ.
Deadline
How long before Peakon data is deleted?
- Workday deletes or de-identifies your Peakon data within six months. The six months start when your Peakon service ends. After that, Workday’s privacy page does not mention any way to get data back.
- You can only save up to five years of history. Peakon keeps data for five years as standard, so older data is not kept by default. Some accounts set a shorter period, down to two years, so check yours.
- Plan from your service end date, not your renewal meeting. Put the end date in a shared calendar and aim to finish the export a month before it, because the API route needs a developer.
Source: Workday’s Peakon data privacy page.
What to export
What data can be taken out of Peakon?
| Data | How it comes out | Format | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw survey answers | Survey Answer Export API, switched on by Workday Customer Care | JSON, up to 20,000 records per request | Only answers given after it was switched on |
| Summary reports | Read from the Peakon screens | On screen | Scores, drivers, participation and comparisons; a backup if the API stalls |
| Comments | Export to Excel from the comments view | Excel | Conversations and acknowledgements are not included |
| Employee records | Export from employee records | File with all record fields | Ties past answers to the right segments |
| Question wording | Copy from the survey setup | A simple list | Our team uses it to map questions to drivers |
| Benchmarks | Not part of the account data | None | Aggregated from other companies, so they stay with Peakon |
Raw answers cover the whole Peakon account as JSON, with no way to pick a team, so someone with a data tool shapes them after export.
HR or People lead
Their part
Owns the deadline and the checklist
Usually not the one with raw access.
Data analyst
Their part
Runs the API export and shapes the JSON
Needs API access and a data tool.
Workday Customer Care
Their part
Switches the export on
Through a support case, so start early.
CultureMonkey team
Their part
Maps questions and loads past rounds
Works from the files you export.
Who runs it
Who needs to run the Peakon export?
- Your Peakon admin may not be able to export raw data. Workday says admins do not get raw access automatically. The person who runs your surveys and the person who can export them are often different people.
- Raw access usually sits with your data analysts. Workday says that in most organizations, data analysts have the business intelligence tools. They are the ones who receive the JSON and turn it into something readable.
- If HR is running the exit, bring in an analyst early. Name the analyst with API access at the start. Finding that person late slows the export more than anything else on this page.
Checklist
What needs doing before Peakon is cancelled?
| # | Step | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm the date your Peakon service ends | The six-month deletion clock starts on that date, not at your renewal meeting. Get it in writing and add it to a shared calendar. |
| 2 | Check whether the export was ever switched on | The export only returns answers given after it was switched on. This tells you how much raw history you can get. |
| 3 | If not, raise a case with Workday Customer Care | Switching it on is a support request, not a button. Raise it early, because you cannot control how long the queue takes. |
| 4 | Name the person who will run the export | Admins do not get raw access automatically. Find the analyst with API access and data tools, and make sure they have time for it. |
| 5 | Set up the integration with the Answer permission | That permission only appears once the export is switched on. Setting it up early saves a day of confusion later. |
| 6 | Save the summary reports from the Peakon screens first | Scores, drivers, participation and comparisons can be read in Peakon without a developer. They are your backup if the API route stalls. |
| 7 | Plan for several requests, not one download | The answer export returns at most 20,000 records per request, and segment data comes out one attribute per call. |
| 8 | Save the comments as carefully as the scores | Comments explain the numbers, and they are the hardest thing to rebuild later from a summary report. |
| 9 | Write down what each field means | A data field nobody can explain becomes useless within a year. Keep the notes in the same folder as the files. |
| 10 | Open and spot-check every file before access ends | A broken export can only be redone while Peakon is still live. Compare a few numbers with what the Peakon screens showed. |
| 11 | Store the files where your team will find them later | If the person running the export is also leaving, finish the export before their last day. |
After the export
What happens once the files are handed over?
- Our team maps your Peakon questions to CultureMonkey drivers. We propose a driver for each question from your exported question set, and you agree the final mapping before your first survey launches.
- Our team loads your past rounds into CultureMonkey. Past rounds sit beside your new results, converted to CultureMonkey scoring so they compare. Load your employees first so the history attaches to the right people.
- The recommend question carries across as a like-for-like line. Peakon’s core question and CultureMonkey’s standard eNPS ask nearly the same question on the same 0 to 10 scale, so recomputed from your exported answers, the trend continues.
- Keeping your Peakon scores comparable
- The full Peakon migration guide
- Leaving Peakon while staying on Workday
Still deciding where to go? Our roundup of Peakon alternatives compares the field. The export steps work the same whichever one you pick.
FAQ
Other questions about the Peakon export
The export
Sourced to Workday’s own public documentation.
How long do you have to export data from Workday Peakon?
Up to six months. Workday’s privacy page says Peakon data is deleted or de-identified no later than six months after your service ends, and it does not mention any way to get it back after that. Start well before your end date.
Can you download raw data from the Peakon interface?
No. Workday’s FAQ says raw data cannot be downloaded from the Peakon screens. Raw answers come out through an export API as JSON, covering your whole account, so you need a data tool to read them.
Can the Peakon export be split by team?
No. Workday’s FAQ says the raw data export covers the whole Peakon account rather than a chosen segment, so filter it by team after export, in your data tool.
Are comment conversations included in the export?
No. Comments export to Excel in their original language, but acknowledgements and conversations are not included, so save any conversations you need separately before access ends.
How far back does Peakon data go?
Up to five years. Peakon keeps data for five years as standard, so older data is not kept by default. Some accounts set a shorter period, down to two years, so check yours.
Exported everything?
See what it rebuilds.
Bring the files to a working session and we will walk through what carries across, what does not, and what your first cycle on a new platform looks like.
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