The Participation tab within Pulse survey results includes two different metrics: participation and response rate. Learn more in Pulse Survey Analytics.
Note: The Participation scores graph reflects when the pulse surveys were submitted, not when they were created/sent.
Definitions
Response rate: Response rate is calculated as the number of responses submitted out of the total number of questions sent.
Participation: Participation is calculated by taking the number of people who have answered at least one question and dividing it by the total number of people who received a pulse.
Example
The survey sends 5 questions to each participant. You select 10 employees to participate in your Pulse survey. They all receive a pulse, but only 6 employees answer at least one question. This results in a participation rate of 60%.
Of those 6 employees, their responses were...
Employee 1: 5/5 questions answered
Employee 2: 3/5 questions answered
Employee 3: 1/5 questions answered
Employee 4: 4/5 questions answered
Employee 5: 2/5 questions answered
Employee 6: 1/5 questions answered
Employee 7: 0/5 questions answered
Employee 8: 0/5 questions answered
Employee 9: 0/5 questions answered
Employee 10: 0/5 questions answered
50 questions were sent in total, but only 16 questions were answered. Dividing the 16 questions answered by the 50 questions sent gives you a response rate of 32%.