Employee engagement survey questions to ask

When you’re starting out in business, it doesn’t take long to realise that a highly engaged workforce is conducive to increased productivity and improved customer satisfaction.

But how do you measure employee engagement in the first place?

You could ask individuals as you run into them during the day, but that’s a bit hit and miss.

You get better results if you think in advance about what to ask them, and put those questions to all employees in a consistent manner.

In short, you arrange your questions formally in an engagement survey. 

An engagement survey is an excellent way to gauge what your employees are really thinking. It highlights areas that are ripe for improvement and guides you in deciding on changes that will resonate with your staff.

With well-crafted employee engagement survey questions, you can gain invaluable insights into each person’s day-to-day experience, laying the foundation for a more positive and productive work environment.

In this article, we explore why your survey questions are important and how they can unlock your employees’ full potential.

Here’s what we cover:

Why asking the right survey questions matters

Engaging with engagement

Your survey is not just about collecting data, it’s about uncovering what truly motivates your team. In fact, you could say you need the kind of questions that will engage your employees with the survey itself.

A dull, repetitive survey is going to get uninspired answers, or worse, no answers at all.

You want questions that make your team stop and think, showing that you genuinely care about their perspective.

Consider questions that spark curiosity and encourage honest, thoughtful responses.

For example, instead of asking, “Are you satisfied with your work?”, try, “What’s one thing we could change to make your work more fulfilling?”.

The latter question invites them to share their ideas, not just answer “Yes” or “No”.

Drilling down

When you get genuine, insightful answers, you have real, actionable information.

You can pinpoint exactly where your team feels supported, and where they don’t. Even better, you can analyse the information to prioritise pain points and decide on the appropriate action.

A data-driven approach to your employees’ concerns and aspirations lets you build upon their strengths and build a better workplace.

At the end of the day, your surveys promote employee satisfaction, positively influencing retention, productivity, and company culture.

Essential employee engagement survey questions     

When designing your employee engagement survey, it’s essential to consider the breadth and depth of the employee experience.

That means looking at everything from their daily tasks and interactions to their long-term career goals and sense of belonging.

Also, you might be wondering, “How many questions should an employee engagement survey have?”

While there’s no magic number, the survey should be comprehensive yet concise. You have to be as thorough as possible without encroaching on your employees’ time.

Here are key areas to focus on, with survey question examples that we think will generate useful responses:            

Workplace satisfaction

The goal here is to identify areas where your employees find fulfilment and what aspects are limiting their job satisfaction.

This helps you decide on adjustments to enhance not just their daily experience, but also their long-term commitment to the company.

You may decide to fine-tune their roles and responsibilities, or adapt their working space.

Example questions:

• How satisfied are you with your current role and responsibilities?
• What aspects of your job contribute most to your engagement?
• Please rate your satisfaction on a scale of one to five regarding your current workload.   

Leadership and management

Assess the effectiveness of leadership and managerial support, highlighting areas where communication and guidance can be improved.

It’s not about whether your managers are “nice” or “strict”, it’s about understanding how well they equip your team to succeed.

Are they clear about expectations?

Do they provide the resources needed?

The outcome of these questions could be targeted training for managers, or restructuring your teams for better synergy and fit.

Example questions:

• What does your manager do to support your professional goals?
• What more could they do?
• How effective is the leadership team in communicating company objectives?

Workplace culture and collaboration

These questions uncover the hidden dynamics that shape your team’s daily interactions.

One indicator of a true sense of belonging is whether team members believe they can rely on their colleagues.

You may also reveal subtle barriers to teamwork. Dealing with them could be a big part of creating a culture where everyone feels heard, respected, and motivated.

Example questions:

• What makes you feel valued as a member of your team?
• How would you rate the level of collaboration within your department?

Career development and growth

Many organisations view employee development as an investment that will yield returns. Individuals get to add or enhance skills, but you also gain in increased loyalty, innovation, and overall productivity.

Your survey is an opportunity to gauge how well employees are responding to development initiatives, and whether these align with the employees’ ambitions.

Example questions:

• What kind of training and development opportunities would most benefit your professional growth?
• How frequently do you receive feedback, and how effectively does it contribute to your professional development?

Work-life balance and wellbeing          

Are your employees able to disconnect when they leave the workplace?

Or vice versa—can they leave their domestic challenges at home and concentrate fully at work?

If they feel supported in managing stress and personal issues, they can approach work in a more relaxed manner. This is frequently cited as the key to properly tapping into energy and creativity.

Example questions:

• How does your current workload impact your ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
• How well does the company support employee wellbeing?

Recognition and rewards

A well-structured recognition and rewards system can be a powerful motivator, but only if it feels authentic and relevant to your team.

Craft questions that test whether your employees feel genuinely valued for their efforts. Also probe to find out what kinds of rewards they appreciate most.

Example questions:

• How effectively does the company recognise your contributions?
• What type of recognition is most meaningful to you?

Remote and hybrid work experience

Many companies are still in two minds about the value of remote and hybrid work.

They can be feasible options, but how can you make them work best in light of your employees’ needs and those of your business?

Example questions:

• What specific resources or support would enhance your experience in a remote or hybrid work environment?
• What challenges do you face while working remotely?

Employee engagement pulse survey questions

No, it’s not about dietary preferences.

Pulse surveys are shorter, more frequent surveys that are ideal for real-time insights into employee sentiment.

They serve as ongoing feedback loops that allow you to quickly identify emerging issues. This in turn leads to more agile responses to staff needs.

Example questions:

• On a scale of one to five, how would you rate your workload this week?
• How would you describe your overall mood at work today? Why?

Open-ended feedback: Providing space for detailed responses

Including open-ended employee engagement survey questions allows for deeper, more nuanced feedback.

This format gives employees the freedom to express their thoughts and feelings in their own words, revealing insights that might be missed with multiple-choice options or rating scales.

Example questions:

• What one change would most improve your experience working here?
• What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your role and how could the company help you overcome them?

Employee engagement survey questions to avoid

Going back to the idea of getting your employees to engage with the survey itself, you obviously don’t want confusingly worded questions that waste their time.

Nor do you want questions that touch on sensitive personal issues or politics.

To drive this home, here are some examples of poorly worded questions that could undermine the whole purpose of your survey.

Do you enjoy your job?

While there is a place for open-ended questions, they shouldn’t be too vague. They need some degree of specificity to capture details that are in context—details you can easily extract for analysis.

Why do you think the company’s policies are ineffective?

This question is leading and assumes that policies are ineffective, which can bias responses and discourage honest feedback.

How many times has your team failed to meet its targets this year?

This is overly negative and assumes failure without considering potential reasons behind not meeting targets. It puts your employees on the defensive, making them more reluctant to answer.

How often do you think management listens to employee feedback?

This is vague because “how often” is subjective. Each team has its own production cycle, some requiring feedback more frequently than others. The answers are unlikely to provide clear, actionable data.

Best practices for analysing survey responses

Of course, the goal of these surveys is to extract actionable insights about your employees and their needs. Getting the raw information is one thing, but sifting through it to isolate the key data points is another.

To make full use of the data gathered, consider these tips:

• Analyse quantitative data: numerical data, such as ratings and scores, gives you an objective measure of the feedback. It’s also ideal for spotting ongoing trends.
• Analyse qualitative data: textual data, such as open-ended responses, reveal the underlying reasons behind employee sentiments. Use a large language model (LLM) service to read the data and pinpoint nuances.
• Segment the data: divide your data into relevant groups (such as departments and job roles) to see how engagement varies across your organisation.
• Use appropriate tools: look into platforms that can automate and streamline data collection and reporting. Leverage survey analysis software to identify key takeaways.

Turning employee engagement survey insights into meaningful changes

Once you have your actionable insights, the problem is to decide how to respond to each one.

A survey for employee engagement is only as good as the action taken from the data. That means working out tangible improvements that genuinely resonate with your team.

You’re looking for changes that demonstrably enhance the employee experience and cement more of a collaborative culture.

Typical strategic initiatives based on these surveys would be:

• Tailored training programmes: if the survey reveals gaps in specific skills or knowledge, targeted training can address these deficiencies, giving employees the tools they need to feel more confident in their abilities.
• Adjustments to management styles: if employees express concerns about communication or support from their managers, it might be necessary to provide leadership training or coaching to improve managerial effectiveness. Big favourites in these kinds of courses are how to give constructive feedback, active listening, or how to delegate effectively.
• Improvements in workplace policies: if the survey highlights issues with work-life balance or wellbeing, you may want to look into policies such as flexible hours, remote work, or workplace perks.

Your employees will be keen to know what will come from the survey. So be sure to circulate the results as soon as they’re ready.

Explain the rationale behind any planned changes and outline what kind of continuous improvement you expect from them.

Transparent communication means you’ll cover strengths that emerge from the survey as well as areas for improvement.

You should also spell out the timeline for implementing these changes and maintain open channels for ongoing dialogue or further input from the workforce.

The ongoing journey of enhancing employee engagement

To recap then, successful organisations are continuously striving to retain and improve their workforce.

Maximising employee engagement is one facet of doing that and regular employee surveys are among the best tools for promoting engagement.

This article gives you a head start in formulating typical survey questions, but be prepared to tailor them to your own operation.

Take into account your company’s existing culture and business plan.

Consider using a purpose-built employee engagement platform for planning, circulating and studying your engagement surveys. It can help you implement meaningful changes that maximise trust and motivation across your workforce.