How we will keep your answers anonymous
We understand that you may have concerns about completing the staff survey, especially about your anonymity and how your answers will be used.
The survey is completely anonymous, and we advise you not to use your name, job title, or contact details in any of the survey free text boxes.
The engagement and wellbeing team, in the HR, Organisational Development and Transformation directorate, are leading on the survey and Birmingham City Observatory, our in-house data experts, will analyse the survey data.
The City Observatory will have access to the raw data and nobody will be identifiable.
To protect your anonymity:
- a small, independent team in City Observatory is responsible for collating and reviewing the survey answers. To make sure that nobody can be identified, the data they collect will only be used to produce combined reports and dashboards
- key demographics such as age, sex, ethnicity, and religion will not be presented with identifiable metrics
- we will apply 'small number suppression' to the data – by grouping data we can make sure nobody can be singled out in the report. We use this technique to protect the confidentiality of individuals based on their age, gender, sexuality, race, ethnic group, disability, and so on
- do not include names, stories or unique details that could identify you when you share written comments – these details will be removed by City Observatory before they share their report with the corporate leadership team
All data will be treated as confidential and in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
Page last updated: 7 November 2025
