How our Process Works

See why smart boards choose Board Surveys for streamlined, measurable and affordable insights

We offer surveys for boards of all shapes and sizes that range from affordable lite touch reviews to in depth options, and as such our survey process differs slightly between our two offering. 

All survey options use our validated WhatWhoHowDo Framework and each survey comes with a report that is benchmarked against comparable boards within your chosen industry.

There are over 500 boards to compare you with

Compare your board’s performance against a rich database of over 500 boards, ensuring you receive meaningful and relevant benchmarks.

Our streamlined self-managed 4 step process

Step 1 – You select your survey and any optional extras

If you'd like help choosing the most appropriate options please call or Contact Us. Immediately after your purchase you will receive a pre-survey form to complete.

Step 2 – You send the secure survey weblink to your directors and any executives.

The survey administer will receive an email notification every time a respondent completes the survey and a list of those you need to follow up.

Step 3 – You give us at least 2 business days notice of when you want your survey closed.

We will send your benchmarked report to your designated recipient (usually the chair) within 3 business days of survey closure.

Step 4 – We analyse the report and provide any expert advice requested.


Our partners can also help with any extra expert advice and action plans.

Free trial available

Try our board survey for free as a single user, risk-free, before making any commitment.

Clear. Simple process. With action-oriented reporting

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Don’t take our word for it

Frequently Asked Questions

Self managed means you manage the distribution of the survey weblink to your chosen survey recipients (ie. your directors and any chosen executives who regularly attend board meetings). You also manage the timely completion of the survey by ensuring all chosen recipients complete the survey by your pre-chosen survey closure date.

The main differences are:

  • Because it is a self managed process you can send out the survey link to your chosen recipients within 24 hours of buying the survey. Most other survey processes take a week or two of set up before the survey can be launched.
  • The survey is world class having been through a university validation process. Very few other surveys are world class.
  • Your results will be benchmarked against comparable organisations. Most others are not benchmarked.
  • Because it is self managed it is more affordable than most others.

Yes! We offer a FREE shortened version of our world-class Board Survey designed for a single user. It will only take you about 5 minutes and you will also receive a report based on your responses that is benchmarked against our database.

For best results when completing the survey think about a particular board to make the experience as true to life as possible. You do not need to name the board when completing the survey.

Once you click the link after completing the shortened trial survey you will be sent a benchmarked report based on your responses. This is a shortened version of the same report your board would receive if everyone on the board responded to the survey in the same manner that you have.

Try a FREE Survey

Clear definitions are used in our surveys to make it clear that certain titles in one organisation (eg. CEO) can have different meanings in other organisations (e. National Director, General Manager, Principal, Vice-Chancellor, etc.). Because we use clear definitions it saves you the time and it saves us the cost to change the definitions enabling us to make your survey even more affordable.

A pre survey form will be sent to you that will allow you to select your parameters for your board survey and report – this includes whether you’d like your board compared with the complete Board Survey database, or just those within your industry.

Your benchmarked report will be based on your request.

All ratings by directors of Board Effectiveness Survey items are included together to provide one average rating in relation to each survey item. The frequency of director ratings is also displayed in the Board Effectiveness Report but director anonymity is protected as the rating of an item is not linked to a specific director(s).

Ratings by executives of Board Effectiveness Survey items are included together to provide one average rating in relation to each survey item but such average is only displayed if at least three executives completed the survey. The frequency of each executive rating is also displayed in the Board Effectiveness Report but only if at least five FOUR executives completed the survey. Executive anonymity is protected as the rating of an item is not linked to a specific executive(s).

Written comments made by directors and executives are reported verbatim and included together in the benchmarked report to protect the anonymity of individual respondents. Comments are not attributed to any individual unless that person includes their name with their written comments or identifies themselves by virtue of their writing style or particular views.

We will only produce a benchmarked report if at least 4 director responses have been received. We will only include the average response of executives in a benchmarked report if at least three executives have completed the survey. This approach protects the anonymity of participant responses and encourages participants to provide candid responses.

No software is required to be downloaded. No permanent cookies are saved and non-traceable cookies only saved by the client browser for the length of the log-in session so they can be verified.

A 256-bit TLS encrypted communications and encrypted data storage are used to secure all data.

The platform solution utilises Microsoft Azure Public Cloud Services and has extremely high availability, replication and disaster recovery features. Azure holds around 90 Certifications including ISO 27001 & Australian IRAP Certification.

At the moment the survey items are only available in English and Spanish. Comments can be written in any language and are reported verbatim, without translation.

Once the Board Survey business expands further around the world, the survey will be translated into other languages.

If you would like the survey translated into a specific language please let us know.

Board Surveys currently has Board Advisory Partners in most corners of the world. This allows for local and relevant advice in managing and administering the survey or post survey expert advice in interpreting and acting on the survey’s results.

Board Surveys’ current Board Advisory Partners have agreed to assist all buyers of Board Surveys’ surveys no matter their country of residence. Timely email advice is always available and verbal advice by phone or video-conference can be provided at a mutually convenient time.

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