SurveyMonkey vs Trivvy: What works best on the frontline?

Overview

Employee engagement is a critical factor in organizational success. Yet according to Gallup's 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, in the US and Canada, only 33% of employees are actively engaged at work, with disengagement costing the global economy $8.9 trillion annually. Globally the numbers are worse with only 23% of employees engaged at work. 

What’s worse, the issue is particularly pronounced among deskless and frontline workers, who comprise about 80% of the global workforce. This is partly because these workers often lack access to traditional communication tools, making it challenging to get their feedback and communicate management actions with them. 

You would think given the scale of the deskless workforce, there would be a significant effort dedicated to potential solutions. However, a study found that a large majority of venture capital investments target desk-based workers, leaving a significant gap in solutions for the deskless workforce.  

Why Feedback from Frontline Workers Matters

Frontline employees are the face of many organizations, interacting directly with customers, and often play critical roles in daily operations. Yet, they often feel disconnected from leadership. According to one study of frontline employees, 47% said the” tools are often built for office workers, not those on the frontline,” while 66% expressed frustration with the communications tools that their company provides.” 

This disconnect is a key root cause of higher turnover rates and lower productivity, hence the importance of implementing more effective means of communicating and getting feedback from this important part of the workforce.

Two Leading tools at a Glance

In this piece, we conduct a comprehensive review of two leading tools that many organizations may consider for communicating and getting feedback from their employees. As you will see in the details provided later in the article, it ultimately all comes down to your specific needs and resource availability for setup and managing the implementation.

• Trivvy is designed specifically for organizations with a significant number of deskless and/or frontline workers. Trivvy’s mobile-first approach ensures that employees without regular access to computers or company emails can still provide valuable feedback.
  
  
• SurveyMonkey is a versatile survey platform for a broad range of use cases, including market research and customer feedback. It’s best suited for organizations where employees have regular access to computers and are used to more traditional survey methods.
  
  

Core Features Comparison

This table provides a quick comparison of key features of the two tools based on publicly available data as of the writing of this article.

Real-World Applications

There are certainly differences in terms of suitability for specific use cases based on your industry, type of workforce, and accessibility of devices and digital tools.  

• Trivvy is ideal for industries like manufacturing, logistics, retail, and healthcare, where employees are often on the move and may not have access to traditional communication channels or devices. Trivvy’s SMS-based surveys ensure high response rates from workers who typically don’t have emails or easy access to desktop devices.
  
  
• SurveyMonkey is best for organizations who need a versatile survey tool for various purposes, including market research, customer feedback, and employee engagement, especially when a broad set of integrations may be needed.

Final Verdict

Both Trivvy and SurveyMonkey offer robust solutions for collecting employee feedback. The choice between them hinges on the specific needs of an organization:

• Choose Trivvy if your primary goal is to engage frontline or deskless employees effectively through channels like SMS.
  
  
• Opt for SurveyMonkey if you're looking for a versatile survey platform and you are able to deploy the needed resources to take advantage of the customization options, and a broad range of integrations.

Organizations should assess their unique requirements, workforce composition, and features that are most needed to make an informed decision between these two leading platforms.

Note: The information provided is based on publicly available data as of the writing of this article and may be subject to change.

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Image credit: Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash under license.

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Trivvy is a text-based survey and communications tool (no links or logins required). Trivvy goes beyond results; it provides instant follow-up recommendations tailored to your organization. To find out more and try Trivvy for free, click here. 

You can also check out this one-minute Trivvy video.