What Are Custom Assessments

Custom Assessments allow you to create, deploy, and manage surveys directly within Ninety. Use Custom Assessments to gather feedback on topics like team health, employee engagement, 360° performance reviews, readiness for strategic initiatives, onboarding experiences, cross-functional collaboration, or any other area where you need input from your teams.

Who Can Create Custom Assessments

Custom Assessment permissions work like this:

• Admin, Owner, and Coach/Implementer: Can create, edit, deploy, and delete custom assessments for any team in the organization.
• Manager: Can create and deploy assessments for the teams they manage. They can view results for their assessments.
• Team Member/Managee: Can complete assessments assigned to them, but cannot create new assessments.
• Observer: Has view-only access to assigned assessments.

Learn more about user roles and permissions.

How to Create a Custom Assessment

To create a new custom assessment in Ninety:

1. Navigate to the Assessments tool. Click Assessments from the left navigation (you may need to scroll down after hovering over the left navigation menu — Assessments is the last tool listed).
2. Create a new assessment or browse existing templates. Click the Create New button to launch the assessment wizard, where you can create a brand new assessment. Or click Browse templates to create an assessment based on existing template.
3. Add the basic details of the assessment. On the first page of the assessment wizard, add a name for your assessment and select an owner from the corresponding dropdown. Next, you can add an optional, public description. Then, decide whether or not you want respsones to be anonymous — if you do, click the corresponding checkbox. Finally, click the Next button to continue building your assessment.
4.  Create your assessments questions. On the next page of the assessment wizard, you can add questions, edit settings/details, and more. To add a question, click Add question on the left side of the page. Then, you can write your question and add possible answers. Note: While creating your assessment, you can click the Save and exit button at the bottom of the page at any time to save your progress without completing your assessment.
5. Complete your assessment. When you're finished adding in the necessary questions, there are two options for completing the assessment creation process: 1) Save the assessment as a template to be used or modified later, or; 2) Launch the assessment immediately.
   1. Saving the assessment as a template. To save your assessment as a template, click the Create Assessment button and then select Save Assessment Template from the options shown.
   2. Launching the new assessment. To immediately save and launch your assessment, click the Create Assessment button and then select Create and launch Assessment from the options shown.
6. Launch the Assessment. To launch the assessment, choose a “Launch date,” which is when the assessment will become available for the selected teams and an “End date,” which is the final day the assessment will be availabel for the selected teams. Next, choose the teams who will be assigned the assessment (all team members on the team will be assigned). Then, you may select who else (beside the Assessment “owner”) will receive the results of the assessment. Finally, click the Create and launch button.

Creating a Custom Assessment Summary

Click the "Create New" button to start building your custom assessment. You'll be able to customize the following elements:

• Assessment Name: Choose a clear, descriptive name that tells participants what the assessment is about.
• Description: Add context about why you're running this assessment and what you'll do with the results.
• Questions: Add custom questions to gather the specific feedback you need. You can rearrange, edit, and remove questions and answer choices as needed.
• Target Audience: Select the teams to complete the assessment.
• Timeline: Set a launch and end date for the assessment's availability.

How to Deploy a Custom Assessment

After creating your assessment, you can deploy it to specific teams in your organization. To launch a custom assessment:

1. Navigate to the Assessments tool. You can only create and deploy assessments in Ninety's web app, so log in to app.ninety.io. Then, click Assessments on the left navigation menu (you may need to scroll down the list of tools to see Assessments on the list).
2. Identify the assessment you want to send. Click the Launch Existing button. Then, select from a list of current assessments available to you from the Which Assessment do you want to launch dropdown. This list includes Ninety's default assessments as well as any custom assessments you've created.
3. Determine the the assessment's data range. First, you can optionally choose a name for the version of the assessment you'd like to send out (such as the current quarter). Next, choose a “Launch date,” which is when the assessment will become available for the selected teams and an “End date,” which is the final day the assessment will be availabel for the selected teams. 
4. Select who will be assigned the assessment. Choose the team(s) responsible for completing the assessment by clicking the Assessment recipients dropdown and click the checkbox of the desired team(s). At least one team must be selected to launch an assessment. You can click the corresponding checkbox to automatically create a To-Do for each recipient. Note: Recipients will receive one or more notifications for
5. Choose who will receive the assessment's results. In the Send results to dropdown, select which users you'd like to have access to the assessment's results after the end date has passed.
6. Deploy the assessment. Click the Launch button.

Participants can access the assessment from the Assessments tool in both the web and mobile apps.

Web App View

In the web app, deployed assessments are available to start for your team members in the Assigned Assessments section of the Assessments tool page. If a user does not have any assessments assigned to them, this section will not appear.

To begin an assessment in the web (browser) app, simply click the Start button.

 

 

Mobile App View

Your team members can also complete assessments in our mobile app. To access an assessment on mobile:

1. Launch the mobile app and sign in.
2. Tap People on the bottom navigation menu.
3. Tap the Assessments tab at the top.
4. If needed, tab the filters icon on the top right to sort your assessments.
5. Tap an assessment to get started.

 

 

How to View Assessment Results

Once participants complete your assessment, you can view aggregated results from the Assessments tool page. Results are organized to help you identify patterns, trends, and areas that need attention.

You can filter results by team, time period, or specific questions to drill into the data that matters most. Export options allow you to share results with stakeholders or incorporate them into presentations and planning sessions.

How to Act on Assessment Results

Custom Assessments integrate with other Ninety tools to help you turn insights into action. Here's how assessment results can flow into your existing workflows:

• Issues: Flag concerns or opportunities identified in assessment feedback as Issues to discuss in your next meeting.
• To-Dos: Create action items based on assessment results and assign them to the appropriate team members.
• Planning Board: Use assessment insights to inform your Quarterly or Annual Planning sessions.
• Meetings: Embed assessment results into your Level 10 Meetings or planning discussions to drive alignment.
• Scorecard: Track progress on initiatives resulting from assessment feedback by adding relevant Measurables to your Scorecard.

Best Practices for Custom Assessments

Keep these guidelines in mind when creating and deploying assessments:

• Be specific with your questions. Clear, focused questions generate more actionable feedback than broad or vague ones.
• Set realistic deadlines. Give participants enough time to complete the assessment thoughtfully, but create urgency with a specific due date.
• Communicate the purpose. Help participants understand why you're gathering feedback and what you plan to do with their responses. This increases engagement and response quality.
• Close the loop. After reviewing results, share what you learned and what actions you're taking. This builds trust and encourages future participation.
• Use assessments regularly. Build assessments into your Quarterly or Annual planning rhythm to track progress over time and identify trends.

Common Use Cases for Custom Assessments

Organizations use Custom Assessments for a wide variety of purposes:

• Team Health Checks: Gauge team morale, collaboration, and workload balance on a quarterly basis.
• 360° Feedback: Gather multi-directional feedback on leadership, communication, or project performance.
• Readiness Assessments: Evaluate whether your organization is ready for a new initiative, expansion, or strategic shift.
• Onboarding Surveys: Collect feedback from new hires about their onboarding experience to improve your processes.
• Exit Interviews: Understand why team members are leaving and identify opportunities to improve retention.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Assess how well different departments or teams are working together.
• Cultural Alignment: Measure how well team members understand and embody your Core Values.

Differences Between Custom Assessments and the Organizational Checkup

Ninety offers two types of assessments: the pre-built Organizational Checkup® and Custom Assessments.

The Organizational Checkup® is a standardized survey created by EOS® Worldwide that measures your performance across the Six Key Components® of EOS. It's designed for Leadership Teams and typically completed annually before planning sessions.

Custom Assessments give you flexibility to create surveys tailored to your specific needs. While the Organizational Checkup focuses on EOS implementation strength, Custom Assessments can address any topic relevant to your business—from employee engagement to process feedback to strategic readiness.

Both types of assessments appear in the Assessments tool and can be accessed from the same navigation menu.

Troubleshooting Common Questions

I don't see the option to create a custom assessment. Why not?

Only users with Admin or Owner roles can create custom assessments. However, if you have a Manager role, you can create assessments for your team(s). Check with your company's Owner or Admin if you need different permissions.

Can participants edit their responses after submitting an assessment?

Once a participant submits an assessment, their responses are locked. If someone needs to change their answers, an Admin or Owner can reset the assessment for that participant, allowing them to complete it again.

How do I know if someone has completed their assessment?

The Assessments tool page shows completion status for all deployed assessments. You can see which participants have completed the assessment, who's in progress, and who hasn't started yet. This helps you follow up with team members who need a reminder.

Can I copy or duplicate an assessment to use it again?

Yes, you can duplicate existing assessments to save time when creating similar surveys. This is particularly useful for recurring assessments like quarterly team health checks or annual engagement surveys.