37 useful questions to ask in your employee surveys
When it comes to employee surveys, the data you gather is only as good as the questions you ask. To really understand employee engagement levels, you need to ask about more than just satisfaction – you need to really dig into the employee experience.
To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the most insightful employee survey questions and examples. From engagement to productivity to work-life balance, these questions probe deep into employee engagement and the employee experience.
What are employee surveys?
Employee surveys are a series of questions for your employees, designed to get their insight into your business generally and their day-to-day workplace conditions more specifically. Whether you're looking to gauge opinions of company leadership, if workers enjoy an adequate work life balance, or how to improve employee satisfaction – surveys can help!
Whether run as a one-off or at regular intervals, employee surveys help you understand what it’s like to be an employee at your company – the good, the not-so-good, and the what-we-need-to-work-on-ASAP.
Most employee surveys include a mix of employee engagement questions and demographic data collection, collecting both qualitative and quantitative data to provide a comprehensive view.
Benefits of running employee surveys
So, why are surveys important?
Surveys go beyond measuring satisfaction or making employees feel heard. By giving better insights into the employee experience and employee engagement levels, they allow you to uncover frustrations, unblock bottlenecks, and identify areas for improvement across the business.
In turn, this helps to...
Improve employee engagement and satisfaction
Satisfied, engaged employees are correlated with better business performance overall. Don't believe us? Just check out our No-Nonsense Guide to Employee Engagement here!
With some caveats (which we'll get into later!), surveys allow you to effectively gauge satisfaction levels. Designed properly, they also allow you to measure employee engagement effectively and identify areas for improvement.
Increase productivity and employee motivation
Highly engaged employees who feel recognised and heard by their employees are more willing to go the extra mile than their peers.
What's more, surveys can uncover hidden inefficiencies and highlight bottlenecks in existing processes, allowing for remedial action that makes work quicker, simpler, and less frustrating for the employees undertaking it.
Boost employee retention
Employee retention is a top priority for any organization aiming to maintain a productive and engaged workforce. High turnover can disrupt operations and impact morale, but employee engagement surveys offer valuable insights into what keeps employees satisfied and committed. Engaged employees are far more likely to stay with their current employer, making engagement surveys a powerful tool for identifying the key drivers of retention.
Best practices for running employee surveys
To get the most out of any employee survey, it’s essential to follow best practices that encourage honest, accurate responses and actionable insights. Start by ensuring anonymity and confidentiality, which helps employees feel safe sharing their true opinions. Use clear, concise survey questions and keep the survey length manageable to avoid fatigue and boost participation rates.
Communicate the purpose and goals of the survey to employees before launching it, so they understand how their feedback will be used. After the survey, share key findings and outline the next steps, demonstrating that employee feedback leads to real change. Incorporating regular pulse surveys can help you track employee sentiment over time and quickly identify trends or areas needing attention.
These steps ensure you’ll gather reliable data that can inform your HR strategy and drive continuous improvement across the organisation.
Types of employee engagement survey questions
In addition to our overall best practices, employee engagement survey questions should be carefully crafted, as the questions you include can influence the data collected or limit the action that's possible as a result. Assessing employee engagement requires a holistic approach, using a variety of question types to capture both qualitative and quantitative insights.
While you should avoid creating friction with a survey that's too confusing, some variety can provide richer data. In the questions we've included below, for example, some questions are based on self-reporting, and others are more direct.
Most employee surveys use a combination of demographic questions, scale based questions, and open-ended prompts to gather both qualitative data and quantitative data. You’ll need a mixture of all three to get the clearest view of employee engagement here – and all good survey tools provide this functionality. When incorporated into a survey asked across multiple employees, you’ll get patterns of actionable insights you might have previously missed.
✅ Best practice checklist
Communicate purpose and goals in advance
Ensure anonymity
Use clear, concise questions
Collect both quantitative and qualitative insights
Combine both self-report and more 'objective' questions
Use appropriate response types for the data you're trying to capture
Keep surveys short where possible
Incorporate frequent pulse surveys into your engagement strategy
Outline next steps
Act on survey findings
Designing an effective employee engagement survey
Designing an effective employee engagement survey needs thought beyond our best practices.
Only what gets measured gets managed, but according to Flip research, more than two thirds of business leaders strongly agree that establishing clear metrics for employee engagement is 'very challenging.'
How to measure employee engagement
We know that employee engagement doesn’t sit in isolation.
It's determined by the employee experience, and leads directly into key business benefits such as employee retention, productivity, and growth potential.
So while employee engagement can be measured, that alone wouldn't provide the full picture. As such, it's important to survey employees on both:
Their levels of engagement
The realities of their employee experience
Bonus: By combining the results with broader business data and anecdotal information from worker focus groups, you can drive even richer insights into how employee engagement is impacting business performance.
Get the template: Measuring employee engagement
By combining industry insights with proprietary Flip research of 1704 business leaders, we've taken a deep dive into employee engagement to answer three key questions: What is it? Why does it matter? And how do you measure it?
Employee survey questions: Key areas to cover and examples
Generally, assessing engagement can be achieved with short, frequent pulse surveys. This can then be augmented with less frequent, but more in-depth employee experience surveys.
In short, your employee engagement poll provides the 'what'. Your employee experience survey explains the 'why'.
To show what we mean and give you some inspiration, check out our example questions below.
Employee engagement questions
In order to grasp the employee engagement outcomes, you’ll need to ask questions that cover these four categories:
An ENPS question
A morale self-report question
An energy self-report question
A rating of direct manager
Additionally, measuring discretionary effort – how much extra effort employees are willing to put in beyond their basic responsibilities – can provide valuable insight into overall engagement and motivation.
Here are our suggestions:
Poll: Employee engagement
1. ENP question: How likely are you to recommend this company to a friend or colleague?
Customer support and marketing departments widely use the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to gauge customer satisfaction with a company or product. Employers also use it to gauge employee satisfaction (eNPS). To calculate eNPS accurately, you will need to use at least a 5-point rating scale.
2. Morale question: How satisfied do you feel in your job?
This question taps into how an employee feels about their job. Positive feelings at work mean better business outcomes.
3. Energy question: How motivated do you feel in your job?
This question probes into how employees behave in their jobs. High levels of dedication and motivation mean more productivity.
4. Rating of direct manager: How satisfied are you with your line manager on a scale of 1-10?
Gauging how engaged an employee is at their job also means looking at who is managing them – BCG research has found that great managers are a key driver of employee engagement, accounting for a 72% reduction in attrition risk.
Employee experience questions
To gain rich insights into what's driving the results of your employee engagement poll, it's important to delve deep into the employee experience in parallel.
This involves assessing worker sentiment and experience across a few key areas:
Foundational needs
Operational experience
Performance, recognition, and appreciation
Personal growth and development
Social and cultural experience
(And before we dive in, let's repeat our quick word of warning: To avoid survey fatigue and keep response rates high, this longer-form survey should be run less frequently.)
Employee experience survey: Foundational questions
The foundational employee experience is based on whether their foundational needs are being met. This includes things like fair pay, leave policies, and job security. These are the things that truly affect life outside of work, too. When foundational needs like fair pay and manageable workloads are not met, employees experience higher stress and potential burnout, which can impact their overall wellbeing and job satisfaction.
1. Salary: Taking into consideration both salary and benefits, do you feel compensated fairly for your work?
This question can help you figure out if unfair compensation is causing your employees to feel less committed to the company. Gallup data shows that “pay/benefits” is the number one reason U.S. employees left their jobs in 2022.
2. Work-life balance: Over the past three months, how would you rate your work-life balance?
This question will give you a window into how well your employees feel they’re able to draw boundaries between their work life and personal life. It can be a good predictor of potential burnout.
Employee experience survey: Operational questions
Operational employee experience looks at what doing a particular job is like. Does an employee have access to the resources they need? How manageable is their workload? How easy is it for them to communicate with other employees and managers in the company when they have questions about their jobs? Were they trained effectively for their role? Effective communication from leadership helps employees understand how their day to day work aligns with broader organizational objectives, ensuring they see the value and purpose in their daily tasks.
1. Resources: Do you have the resources and support you need to do your job well?
The first step to ensuring your employees are productive is to ensure they have what they need to do their jobs well. This question can help you uncover if your employees are feeling unsupported, as they may not be vocal about it otherwise.
2. Overtime: In the past 7 days, how often did you work overtime, or outside of your regular hours?
By asking this, you can get concrete evidence of how well your employees really are balancing work and personal life. If you find that many people say they regularly work outside of regular office hours, it’s an indicator that your employees are taking on too much of a workload.
3. Workload: How satisfied are you with your current workload?
This is yet another way to gauge work-life balance and predict potential burnout. If your employees are dissatisfied with their workload, it may indicate that they need fewer tasks.
4. Workload: Do you feel pressure from your coworkers or leaders to prioritise work over your personal life?
Not only will this question help paint a picture of their work-life balance, but it also will help you understand if your workplace culture is potentially toxic. When employees feel pressured to put work above family, it can create an unhealthy environment.
5. AI: What kind of AI tools would you like to assist you in your work?
An MIT/Stanford study found that using AI tools boosted productivity by 14%. This question can help you gauge your employees’ attitudes toward AI and ensure you’re providing sufficient technology to empower their work.
6. Communication tools: What apps or tools have you used to communicate with your coworkers in the past 30 days?
When planning your digital workplace strategy, the first step is taking stock of what tools your workers are already using to do their jobs. Their answers might surprise you, as many employees use personal apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to communicate with colleagues instead of the workplace-approved tool.
7. Desired technology: What devices, apps, and other tools do you wish your employer would provide?
Another crucial step to optimising your digital workplace is finding out what your employees want to see more of. Getting and implementing their feedback shows that you care about their opinions and well-being.
Employee experience survey: Performance, recognition, and appreciation questions
Performance employee experience is – unsurprisingly – about how far the company enables employees to perform at their best. Employee performance and team performance are directly influenced by the quality of feedback, recognition, and clarity of goals provided by the organization. A strong organization's culture supports high performance by reinforcing shared values and expectations. This is all about the feedback employees receive, the clarity of their goals, and their sense of place within a company.
1. Clarity of goals: Do you understand what is expected of you at work?
Clear expectations can help drive employee productivity and improve both employee performance and team performance. Without those, your team members will feel confused and frustrated, as they don’t know how to make you happy or if they’re doing a good job.
2. Appreciation: Has a coworker or manager thanked you in the past week?
According to O.C. Tanner research, only 57% of employees had gotten a “thank you” from a peer or leader in the past 30 days. But something as simple as those two words made people feel 116% more appreciated! The results of this answer can indicate whether you need to train managers on how to instil a culture of appreciation in the workplace, which is a key part of the organization's culture.
3. Appreciation: Have you thanked a coworker or manager in the past week?
This question flips it around from the previous question. Having data from both sides (the giver and the recipient) can help you see how honest people are about answering these questions and/or help you see the potential differences in perception of gratitude and appreciation in your workplace.
4. Recognition: Do you feel appreciated by your coworkers?
If the scores on this question are low, your workplace might benefit from encouraging more peer-to-peer recognition.
5. Recognition: Do you feel appreciated by leadership?
Leadership sets the tone for creating a culture of appreciation. If the answers to this question indicate that leaders aren’t showing their gratitude, it’s time to figure out how to infuse more appreciation into meetings and everyday behaviours.
6. Feedback: Do you feel like your feedback matters?
A key aspect of feeling valued is seeing that your feedback makes an impact. This question will also give you insight into how seriously your team takes employee surveys. If their answers indicate that their feedback doesn’t matter, that’s your cue to be better about showcasing the changes you’ve made based on their ideas, opinions, and concerns.
7. Incentives: Which of the following makes you feel the most appreciated?
This question will help you determine how to make your employees feel valued. Not everyone likes the same kinds of gifts or expressions of gratitude. Options for this multiple-choice question might include: - Gift cards - Experiential rewards (such as classes or vacations) - A simple “thank you” - Public recognition (such as all-hands shoutouts)
8. Line management: How often do you meet with your manager for a one-on-one?
One-on-one meetings between managers and their direct reports are good for establishing rapport, mentoring, and coaching, and ensuring that an employee feels engaged in their work. If you find that employees are never meeting with their managers, it’s time to establish a protocol for leaders to prioritise one-on-ones.
9. Line management: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your one-on-ones?
Just because managers are meeting with their direct reports doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going well. This question can help gauge how productive these meetings are and if you need to provide more training and resources so that managers can master the art of a helpful one-on-one.
Employee experience survey: Personal growth and development questions
Personal growth and development are at the heart of a truly effective employee engagement survey. Employees who see that their company is invested in their ongoing learning and career advancement are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and committed to the organisation. Including personal growth and development questions in your engagement survey helps you assess whether employees feel supported in their ambitions and if they have access to the training and development opportunities they need.
1. Training: Do you feel that the company trained you adequately for your position?
Employees who haven’t been adequately trained for their position are less likely to be motivated or satisfied at work, and are a drain on company productivity. This question also gives vital context to other questions about workload and career growth.
2. Career development: Do you have a clear understanding of your career goals?
By asking this question, you can gain insight into how much thought and planning has gone into your employee’s career growth. If they don’t have a clear understanding, it might be time to train your managers on how to have stronger career conversations with direct reports. Aligning individual career goals with company goals can also enhance employee engagement and satisfaction.
3. Career resources: Do you have the resources to achieve your career goals?
This question will lend insight into how well you’re setting your employees up for success. If they don’t feel they have the resources they need, it’s time for you to step in and ask for more details on how you can support them, whether that’s through more coaching, classes, or certifications. Ensuring these resources are aligned with company goals helps employees see a clear path for growth within the organization.
4. Growth: How often has your manager discussed your career growth in the past six months?
Managers are responsible for helping their direct reports achieve career goals, so they’re expected to check in with employees about their professional growth. This question can help you determine if managers are being intentional about discussing career development.
5. Growth: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the company’s professional development options?
Career growth is a major reason people choose a job and stay at a company. According to McKinsey, job growth is more important to frontline workers than pay. If your employees are unhappy with the professional development options offered to them, that could negatively impact retention.
Employee experience survey: Social and cultural questions
Social needs refer to the relationships an employee has with their colleagues, while the culture of employee experience depends on what senior management is doing, company values, and the overall company vision. Employee happiness and employee perceptions of company culture are key indicators of overall engagement and satisfaction. This includes diversity and inclusion, environmental and ethical strategies, and how these are communicated by C-suite.
1. Connections: Do you feel connected to your coworkers?
Another predictor of engagement is how connected a team member feels to their coworkers. Highly engaged employees tend to report stronger relationships and greater happiness at work. However, a 2022 EY Belonging Barometer 2.0 study found that more than 80% of employees worldwide feel lonely or have felt lonely at work.
2. Friendships: Do you have a close friend at work?
Gallup’s extensive research into employee engagement has found that having a best friend at work is extremely important to performance and organisational commitment.
3. Company values: Do your values align with the company values?
When employees feel that their values are reflected in the company values, they’re more likely to feel committed to the organisation.
4. Trust: Do you feel trusted by your employer?
While this question might not seem related to productivity, it absolutely is. A 2023 Slack survey found that employees who feel that their employers trust them are twice as productive. The responses to this question can help you understand if your organisational culture has the foundation of trust needed for employees to be productive.
5. Psychological safety: Do you feel comfortable expressing your thoughts, opinions, and ideas freely at work?
This question gauges the level of psychological safety in your workplace. Psychological safety means they feel safe speaking their mind without fear of getting in trouble or being punished. How people respond to questions about inclusion and culture can reveal underlying issues that may not be immediately visible, helping you better understand employee perceptions.
6. Transparency: Is leadership transparent about company developments?
Again, it might seem off-base, but the same Slack survey found that when employees felt that their company leaders were transparent with them, they were 1.8x more productive.
7. Leadership trust: Does leadership live out the company values?
It’s crucial to also check to make sure that your leaders are living out the values that your company outlines.
8. Coworker trust: Do your coworkers live out the company values?
A healthy workplace culture should exhibit the company’s core values. Of course, this question assumes that the survey-taker knows those values.
9. Care: Do you feel that leadership cares about your well-being?
Employees want to work for employers who care about them. It can boost their commitment to the organisation. Asking this question will help you see if your employees feel cared for and valued by leadership. If they don’t, it’s time to meet with leadership to see how to improve employee relations.
10. Inclusion: Do your leaders make you feel included?
Inclusive leaders create teams where employees are 50% more productive, according to BetterUp. That’s a good reason to ask this question! You can find out if your leaders are creating a sense of belonging at work, which is crucial for employee engagement and retention.
Sidenote: The role of senior leaders in work environment and employee engagement
Senior leaders are the driving force behind a thriving company culture and high levels of employee engagement. Their actions, communication, and commitment to core values set the tone for the entire workplace culture.
When senior leaders prioritise employee engagement, they create an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their best work. This not only encourages employees to be more invested in their roles but also leads to higher job satisfaction and improved key business outcomes such as productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
As such, questions regarding senior leadership should always be included in your surveys. While these questions tend to be uncomfortable for management (and who can blame them for not wanting to understand in detail how employees perceive them!), collecting these insights are vital for collecting survey data you can act upon.
Post survey: Using results to drive change
Collecting employee engagement survey data is just the beginning – the real impact comes from using those survey results to drive meaningful change. After analysing the data, identify key areas for improvement and develop targeted strategies to address them. This might include updating company policies, expanding training and development opportunities, or enhancing recognition programs.
It’s crucial to communicate both the survey results and your planned actions to employees, showing that their feedback is valued and will lead to positive changes. This transparency builds trust and encourages employees to participate in your next survey.
Regularly follow up with additional surveys or pulse checks to measure progress and ensure that your initiatives are having the desired effect. By closing the feedback loop and acting on employee input, your organisation can boost job satisfaction, increase engagement, and create a better workplace for everyone.
Conclusion
Surveys are a key way to measure employee engagement drivers and identify areas of improvement in the employee experience. Analysing employee survey results on an ongoing basis allows organisations to identify trends and make significant changes that improve employee engagement and satisfaction.
In addition to asking directly about engagement levels, you need to ask about all areas of the employee experience to understand what it’s really like. Accompanied by thoughtful survey design, these questions will encourage participation, encourage key areas for improvement, and support performance against key business goals.
Inspiration from McDonald's Germany: 90% survey participation
With the help of Flip's employee experience platform, McDonald's Germany now sees more than 90% participation on their annual employee survey, giving the team at HQ real, actionable insights – directly from the floor.
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