Episode
283. How Google and Netflix design engagement surveys that actually work, with Bill Yost
- Podcast
- Truth, Lies and Work
- Published
- Mar 12, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3226
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/HS1734052499.mp3?updated=1773318768
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/truth-lies-and-work-5599780/episodes/283-how-google-and-netflix-design-engagement-surveys-that-actually-work-with-bill-yost/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/truth-lies-and-work-5599780/283-how-google-and-netflix-design-engagement-surveys-that-actually-work-with-bill-yost.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture, brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. This week, we are joined by Bill Yost, a People Analytics powerhouse who has operated at the very highest levels of data-driven culture. Bill spent four years running Googlegeist, Google’s legendary annual survey that consistently achieved a staggering 90% response rate. Now leading analytics at Netflix, Bill joins Al and Leanne to explain why your employee engagement survey is likely failing—and how to fix it. In this episode, Bill pulls back the curtain on the "snake eating itself"—the cycle of performative surveying that destroys employee trust—and shares the exact framework used by tech giants to turn data into genuine organizational change. 🔥 What we cover in this episode: The "Goodwill Account": Why asking for feedback without the intention to act is a withdrawal from a bank account you can’t afford to drain. Confidential vs. Anonymous: The "taboo" of anonymity and why confidential surveys are the gold standard for identifying specific team issues without compromising trust. Closing the Loop: How Google built an entire new department based on survey feedback, and why you must "close the loop" loudly to maintain engagement. The Art of the Dashboard: Distinguishing between data "curation" for executives and "exploration" for analysts to avoid the misery of a bad dashboard. The Return-to-Office Bias: How leaders use their own "personal lens" to interpret messy data to fit their existing biases. 📚 About Bill Yost Connect with Bill for the best spreadsheet humor and blunt data truths: – Website: www.billyost.net – Website: www.billyost.com – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyost/ (Look for th…