283. How Google and Netflix design engagement surveys that actually work, with Bill Yost

Mar 12, 2026

Bill Yost, a people analytics leader who ran Google’s Googlegeist and now leads analytics at Netflix. He explains why many engagement surveys waste goodwill and how to design surveys that drive change. Short takes on dashboards vs exploration, confidential vs anonymous feedback, pulse survey trade-offs, and spotting response bias.

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ADVICE

Only Ask Questions You Will Act On

Do only ask survey questions you intend to act on to avoid burning employee goodwill.
Bill Yost warns performative surveys create a "snake eating itself" cycle where response rates fall because results go nowhere.

INSIGHT

Feedback Is A Goodwill Bank Account

Treat employee feedback like a Goodwill account: surveys withdraw time and need visible deposits.
Google built an entire function (Core) after survey signals to show tangible deposits and restore trust.

ADVICE

Laser Focus Surveys On Controllable Levers

Avoid asking about things outside your control, like blanket pay rises, to prevent predictable backlash.
Bill recommends laser focusing surveys on levers you can actually pull and reducing survey fatigue.

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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 the pirate flag 🏴‍☠️)

Special Offer: If you are in the US and want to try some incredible cookies, visit https://cookiesworthsharon.com/ and use the code TLW for 15% off (valid for two months from the release of this episode).

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

🧠 Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans: Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind: Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.