What is ESOMAR - and why is it relevant for your company?

ESOMAR is the global professional association for market, opinion and social research based in Amsterdam. ESOMAR has been setting standards for professional, independent research since the 1940s and, together with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), publishes the globally recognized ICC/ESOMAR International Code.

For you as a client, this means that when you work with ValueQuest, you are working with an institute that voluntarily submits to stricter rules than the law alone requires - binding, globally recognized and regularly updated.

The Five Principles of the ESOMAR Code

The current version of the ICC/ESOMAR Code (Revision 2025) is the fifth revision and responds explicitly to topics such as AI, synthetic data, new online channels and the increasing use of self-service platforms.

At the heart of the ICC/ESOMAR Code are five basic principles that the ValueQuest team consistently implements:

1. Legal, honest, transparent
   Whether it's an employee survey, 360-degree feedback or pulse check, every online survey is designed to be legally compliant, technically correct and clearly understandable for participants.

2. Diligence and protection from harm
   Respondents must not suffer any harm - material, psychological or reputational - as a result of their participation in a survey. This applies particularly in sensitive contexts such as management culture, health or conflicts in the workplace.

3. Data protection and privacy first and foremost
   Personal data is only collected to the extent that is absolutely necessary for the study (data minimization). Storage, evaluation and reporting are designed in such a way that it is not possible to draw conclusions about individuals.

4. Clear separation of research and marketing
   Those who take part in a survey must not be transferred to marketing or sales channels. Data from a study may not be used for advertising or acquisition. If a non-research activity is planned afterwards - such as a customer experience follow-up - this must be clearly identified and approved separately.

5. Human responsibility despite AI and automation
   The Esomar Code now emphasizes the need for human oversight: AI-supported analyses, synthetic data or automated dashboards do not absolve researchers of their responsibility. The results must be professionally reviewed, transparently documented and correctly classified.

What does this mean in concrete terms for your employee survey?

When you use ValueQuest to conduct management feedback or an organization-wide employee survey, the ESOMAR code has a very concrete effect in several places:

• Anonymity and group sizes
  Results are only reported for groups that achieve a minimum number of responses (e.g. ≥ 5 people) so that no conclusions can be drawn about individuals. This is explicitly stated in our terms and conditions and privacy policy.

• Voluntary participation and withdrawal
  Employees can refuse or withdraw from participation - without any disadvantages. If possible, personal raw data is deleted upon withdrawal without distorting the aggregated results.

• Clarity about purpose and use
  Before the survey starts, we provide transparent information about what the data will be used for, how long it will be stored and who will have access to which evaluations.

• No "secondary use" of the data
  Data from your survey will not be misused for marketing, sales or recruitment purposes - neither by us nor by third parties.

In this way, we create trust among employees - the basis for honest answers and usable results.

360-degree feedback: sensitive data, high responsibility

In 360-degree feedback, the focus is on individual managers. The ESOMAR code is particularly important here:

• Confidentiality in all directions
  Persons providing feedback are protected; feedback is evaluated in aggregated form. At the same time, the manager's evaluations are confidential and are only passed on in an agreed form.

• Clear roles and responsibilities
  The code requires transparency about who is the client, who collects the data, who evaluates it and what role internal HR departments or external coaches play.

• Fairness and Duty of Care
  The use of 360° tools must not lead to "naming and shaming", but must be geared towards development and learning opportunities. This characterizes questionnaires, communication and our coaching services.

What ESOMAR has to do with our survey tool and Swiss quality

Our digital survey tool for employee surveys and 360-degree feedback is developed and operated in Switzerland. It meets the requirements of both the Swiss Data Protection Act (revDSG) and the EU GDPR - and is also based on the ESOMAR standard.

What does this mean for your online survey in concrete terms?

• Data minimization and purpose limitation
  We only collect what is necessary for the study and use the data exclusively for research - not for advertising or profiling.

• Secure infrastructure
  Hosting, encryption and access rights are designed to prevent unauthorized access, data loss or manipulation.

• Transparent use of AI
  Wherever we use AI-supported methods or automated analyses, we remain responsible: we check results, document methods and make the use of AI transparent for clients - in line with the ICC/ESOMAR Code.

Your advantage as a client: Reliable results, strong legitimacy