BigCat Research
Commissioning employee experience research: anonymity, blue-collar access and KVKK
Short answer: Employee experience research only works if employees believe it is anonymous, if the people hardest to reach are actually reached, and if personal data is handled lawfully. Before signing, settle the minimum group size for reporting, how field, shift and blue-collar staff will participate, who the data controller is under KVKK, and how results will turn into actions that employees can see.
What this research is for
Employee experience research measures how employees experience the institution, their manager, team, processes and development in daily work. The useful output is a map of which touchpoints strengthen or weaken engagement, how this differs by department, location, tenure or work model, and what management should do first.
A single engagement percentage gives leadership something to announce; a study that shows where fairness, workload, recognition or manager communication break down for a specific team gives them something to fix.
Anonymity: the condition everything depends on
Employees answer honestly when they are confident nobody can trace an answer back to them. That confidence is earned by design, not asserted in an email.
Reporting thresholds. Agree a minimum number of respondents below which a group's results are not reported separately. The right number depends on how many demographic variables are collected, because combinations of department, tenure, gender and age can identify a person even when each variable alone cannot. Fix it before the questionnaire is final and tell employees what it is.
Who sees raw data. The provider should hold respondent-level data; the employer receives aggregated results and cleaned comments. If the employer wants raw data, the promise to employees changes and the invitation must say so.
Open-ended comments. Free text holds the most useful findings and the highest re-identification risk. Agree how comments are cleaned (names, locations, specific incidents) and whether small groups' comments are pooled.
Links, devices and managers. Individual survey links and intranet logins leave traces; ask how participation tracking is separated from answers. Managers collecting forms or supervising completion undermines anonymity, so the fieldwork plan should say who distributes and who collects.
Blue-collar and field access: the group most often missed
Classic employee surveys assume a desk, an email address and twenty quiet minutes. Production, logistics, retail floor, field service and shift staff often have none of these, and a high overall response rate can still hide very low participation among them. Ask the provider to address:
- Invitation channel. QR codes on shift boards, SMS to personal phones with consent, paper with sealed envelopes, tablets at a neutral station, or short interviews during breaks.
- Time and place. Participation on paid time, away from the supervisor. Unpaid participation after a shift produces low response and a biased sample.
- Language and literacy. Plain language, short items, read-aloud options, tested with the actual workforce.
- Separate reading. Items on physical conditions, safety, shifts and supervisor contact, with results read separately rather than averaged into an office-dominated total.
- Response rate by group. Per location, shift and employee category, not only the headline rate.
KVKK and personal data
In Turkey, employee research involving personal data falls under Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK). Three points matter at commissioning stage:
- Roles. The employer is usually the data controller and the research provider the data processor. Confirm a written processing agreement is part of the contract.
- Information and lawful basis. Employees must be told what is collected, why, by whom and for how long. Because of the power imbalance in employment, consent alone deserves caution; have your legal or data protection team review the notice.
- Minimisation and retention. Collect only the demographic variables you will analyse and agree when respondent-level data is deleted. Special categories such as health, union membership or ethnicity carry stricter rules and are best avoided.
Ask where data is stored and processed; cross-border transfers have their own rules. This section is practical orientation, not legal advice.
Checklist before you sign
| Area | What to pin down | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Decision | Which HR, leadership or culture decision the study informs | Prevents a scorecard with no action |
| Threshold | Minimum group size for separate reporting | Protects anonymity in small teams |
| Demographics and raw data | Variables collected, cross-tabs allowed, who holds respondent-level data | Combinations re-identify people |
| Comments | Cleaning and pooling rules for open text | Highest value, highest risk |
| Access | Channels, paid time and language for field and shift staff | Decides whether the sample is the workforce or the office |
| Response rates | Reported by location, shift and category | Headline rate hides gaps |
| KVKK | Controller and processor roles, notice, retention, storage location | Legal exposure and employee trust |
| Follow-through | How and when results go back to employees | Silence after a survey lowers the next response rate |
Questions to ask before signing
- What minimum group size will you use for separate reporting, and how did you set it?
- Who holds respondent-level data, and what exactly will we receive?
- How will open-ended comments be anonymised, and will small groups' comments be pooled?
- How will employees without email, a desk or a quiet break participate?
- Will participation happen during paid time, away from supervisors?
- Can you report response rates by location, shift and employee category?
- Who is the data controller and processor, and will the processing agreement be part of the contract?
- Where is data stored, how long is it kept, and when is it deleted?
- How will findings be connected to actions, owners and tracking metrics, and communicated back to employees?
FAQ
What is a reasonable anonymity threshold for reporting? It is a design judgement rather than a fixed rule. The more demographic variables you cross-tabulate, the higher the threshold needs to be. Fix it before fieldwork, communicate it to employees and apply it consistently, including to open-ended comments.
Can we see individual responses if we promise not to misuse them? Then the research is not anonymous and the invitation must say so, which usually reduces honesty and participation. Better data comes from letting the provider hold respondent-level data and receiving aggregated results above the threshold.
How do we reach shift and production staff who have no company email? Through channels that fit their day: QR codes on site, SMS with consent, sealed paper forms, tablets at a neutral station or short interviews. Participation should happen on paid time, away from the supervisor, with response rates tracked separately for these groups.
Is employee consent enough under KVKK? Consent in an employment relationship deserves caution because employees may not feel free to refuse. The information notice, voluntary participation, data minimisation and a processor agreement matter as much as the consent form. Involve legal counsel before the invitation goes out.
How often should employee experience research run? Only as often as the organisation will act on it. A periodic diagnostic combined with shorter follow-ups on specific actions is a common pattern. Frequent surveys without visible follow-through lower response rates and trust.
How BigCat Research approaches this
BigCat Research is an independent research and strategy company based in Istanbul and the publisher of this page, so apply the checklist above to our proposals as strictly as to any other provider's. Our employee experience research measures the relationship with the institution, manager, team, processes and development in daily work, with separate readings for white-collar, blue-collar, field and operations teams. Methods include employee surveys with eNPS and engagement driver analysis, focus groups, in-depth interviews, open-ended response coding, and cuts by department, location, tenure and work model. Deliverables are an employee experience report, an engagement driver and risk touchpoint map, segment-based action priorities and a 90-day implementation brief for HR and leadership. This page makes no claims about certifications or memberships.
Service page: Employee Experience Research. Related: Blue-Collar Experience Research. For a scoping conversation: [email protected].
Primary sources
- Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK), Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data, and the Authority's published guidance. kvkk.gov.tr
- ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market, Opinion and Social Research and Data Analytics. esomar.org
- ISO 20252, Market, opinion and social research, including insights and data analytics: the international standard for research service providers.
Author: Murat Akşit, BigCat Research. Last reviewed: 3 October 2026.