Employee engagement is the degree to which employees feel invested in their work and their organisation. When employees are engaged, they’re happier, less stressed, and deliver better results. According to Gallup, companies with high engagement enjoy better staff retention, improved productivity, and higher profitability.
Finding ways to improve employee involvement can consequently provide an excellent return on investment for an organisation. But to make any engagement strategy successful, you first need to assess how engaged your workforce is.
That’s where surveys come in. Here, we look at why you should conduct an employee engagement survey and which questions you should be asking.
Why hold an employee engagement survey?
Conduct a survey to find out how employees feel about your organisation. The poll will allow you to:
- Collect genuine, anonymous feedback from employees
- Identify areas for employee experience improvement
- Benchmark results year-on-year or against industry standards
- Take targeted action to improve company culture and employee engagement
Without survey results, your employee engagement activities may not hit the mark. However, using the data from these surveys to inform your strategy means you’re much more likely to build a thriving workplace that employees are happy to be part of.
20 employee engagement survey questions to ask
There are various types of employee engagement survey questions you can ask:
- 1-10 scale questions. You make a statement, then ask employees how much they agree with that statement on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 could represent completely dissatisfied or completely disagree, and 10 could represent completely satisfied or completely agree.
- Multiple-choice questions. You ask a question, and employees choose from a pre-selected set of answers. You can also give them the option to explain their answers in more detail.
- Open-ended questions. These questions give employees space to write their own answers and can reveal important details about the employee experience. They provide contextual, qualitative data that helps you make sense of the quantitative data produced by other questions.
Questions about employee satisfaction
Do you look forward to coming to work each day?
This question is simple for employees to answer but reveals much about their mindset. Employees who look forward to coming to work are more likely to be motivated and spread that positivity among their colleagues. If employees answer negatively, delve deeper to determine what would increase their motivation.
Would you recommend [company name] as an excellent place to work?
Employees who would be happy to recommend your company as a workplace are happy with at least some aspects of their work – salary, workplace relationships, company culture, or other perks. Remember that employees may be happy to recommend your company to others but may still be planning to leave if there aren’t progression opportunities within your organisation.
Do you see yourself still working at [company name] in two years?
This gives you an idea of how many employees are looking for roles elsewhere. It helps you to measure workforce commitment. And, as employee retention goes hand in hand with employee engagement, it’s a clear indicator of how engaged employees are feeling.
Are you satisfied with your current compensation and benefits?
Money isn’t the be-all and end-all of employee engagement. Things like perks, recognition, and a good workplace culture can make up for a less competitive salary. But if several employees say they’re dissatisfied with their current compensation and benefits, this is a warning sign you shouldn’t ignore. It’s worth assessing how your compensation package measures up to competitors.
Questions about values and goal alignment
Do you feel proud to be an employee of [company name]?
Answers to this question reflect how well you promote your employer brand and organisational values to employees. Employees who believe in your company’s purpose — and feel that they contribute to it — are much more likely to feel pride in their work and your organisation.
Does the leadership at [company name] communicate a vision that motivates you?
For employees to respond positively to this question, you need to have effective leadership and good internal communication. You also need a vision that unifies employees. If employees don’t relate to your vision, work is needed in these areas.
Do you find your work for [company name] fulfilling?
Another great question for assessing employee commitment and happiness. Employees who find their work fulfilling cope with challenges and setbacks more easily. They believe in their work’s purpose and the organisation’s mission.
Does the culture at [company name] create a supportive and comfortable work environment?
When employees feel like they belong within an organisation, they’re more productive and more engaged. This question reveals the extent to which employees feel cared for and supported by your company and the people around them. Lots of negative answers? Then work on inclusivity, psychological safety, and wellbeing may be needed.
Questions about leadership and support
Is your manager an excellent role model for employees?
Managers have a big impact on employee engagement. A good manager knows how to motivate employees and make them feel valued. They also demonstrate the behaviours they want to see in their team. Finding out what employees think about their managers is a great way to assess their engagement levels.
Has your manager (or another leader) shown genuine interest in your career goals?
Employees are more engaged when they feel that they’re progressing in their career. Most workers also want training opportunities to expand their skill set and progress in their careers. Use this question to assess whether they’ve been getting the right support in these areas.
Do you believe there are strong career growth opportunities for you at this company?
If there aren’t career opportunities within your organisation, employees are more likely to leave — and we know that employee churn is highly costly. This question reveals whether employees see a long-term future at your company.
Do you receive adequate recognition when you perform well?
Regular recognition from leaders, managers, and peers is motivating to employees. It helps them feel valued and makes their hard work worthwhile. If employees say that they receive adequate recognition, it’s likely that they feel engaged in their roles.
Questions about enablement and development
Do you clearly understand what is needed to succeed in your role?
Uncertainty at work causes stress and disengagement. Employees need clear direction on what they need to do to succeed in their role. Use this question to find out how clearly employees understand their role, their targets, and how to achieve those goals.
Do you have access to the tools necessary to perform your job effectively?
Without the right tools, employees struggle to do their best work and are likely to feel frustrated. Follow this question up with an open-ended one, asking employees for more detail if they answer negatively.
Does your work challenge you and support your professional growth?
Your comfort zone may be comfortable but if you’re not regularly challenged, chances are you’ll end up feeling bored at work. Find out whether employees feel they’re being pushed to learn new skills and knowledge with this question.
Do you have access to the learning and development opportunities needed to excel in your job?
Learning and development opportunities are great for employee engagement. Use your employee engagement survey to find out what workers think of your training programs. If they don’t answer positively, you may need to increase the training on offer — or find ways to make your L&D more engaging and effective for employees.
Open-ended employee engagement survey questions
What do we do very well here?
This open-ended question gives employees free rein to share the positives of working for your organisation. Learning what employees like about your company helps determine what you need to keep doing and which employee engagement activities are offering a good return on investment.
What areas could we improve in?
Not as positive, but even more important than the last question, is this one. Ask your workforce what would improve the employee experience. If multiple responders raise the same concerns, rectifying these issues could make a big difference to employees.
What can we do to enhance your engagement at work?
This question asks employees what they find most motivating in the workplace. Put their suggestions into action and employees will feel heard and valued. This in itself is good for engagement.
Is there anything you feel we should have asked in this survey that we missed?
Another great open-ended question to ask. Put this one right at the end of your survey and you may get ideas for questions to include in future surveys. You’ll also learn about any burning issues employees want to share with you, so you don’t miss out on any important feedback.
How to get the most out of your employee engagement survey
An employee engagement survey is only useful if employees take the time to answer it. Here are some tips for getting a good response rate:
- Tell employees about the survey. Ensure that everyone in your organisation hears about the survey. Plan a communications campaign to share your survey and remind employees to complete it.
- Keep it short. The best employee engagement survey should take under 30 minutes to complete. Any longer and employees are unlikely to answer all of the questions you’ve included. You can keep your survey short by avoiding too many open-ended questions.
- Make it anonymous. Employees are much more likely to answer your questions honestly if the survey is anonymous. If you want to give more context to their responses, you can ask for non-identifying demographic data — like gender, pay grade, or department.
- Provide time and space for employees to respond. Give employees time during the workday and they’re more likely to complete your survey. Also, protect their anonymity by ensuring they can complete the survey away from co-workers and managers.
- Only ask questions you feel prepared to take action on. Employees will lose faith in the survey process if you fail to act upon their responses. This harms employee engagement further down the line. So, only include questions you’re prepared to act upon.
