Employee engagement survey template

You’re ready to start improving your employee satisfaction and making your company the best place in the world to work, great.

Use these 10 open-ended questions to measure employee engagement:

1. How happy are you at work?
2. Would you recommend our company to your friends?
3. If you were given the chance, would you reapply for this job?
4. There is honest communication in this company, from top to bottom
5. Do you know our company’s mission inside out?
6. Somebody has complimented your work in the last two weeks
7. I am paid well for the work that I do
8. I have everything I need to do my job well
9. I am happy with the benefits which my company provides
10. What changes would you like to see in the office?

Let's dive into why you should be using these survey questions...

How happy are you at work?

Question type needed: Likert Scale

Get straight to the point and find out if people are happy in the office. After all, they spend lots of time there.

The Likert scale makes this a breeze by giving them a 1-10 range to rate their happiness.

Because sensing the office vibe helps you kickstart your mission, and that of human resources, to improve the overall employee experience.

Would you recommend our company to your friends?

Question type needed: Net Promoter Score®

Steve from Sales is at his cousin’s barbecue and finds out that his brother-in-law is looking for a new job.

Here, you want to find out whether Steve is going to recommend your company or not.

With this honest question, you can find out whether Steve is a Promoter or a Detractor of your company. Is he going to recommend it to people as an awesome place to work and grow in?

You might already use scale ratings for customer satisfaction, so why not for job satisfaction too?

If you were given the chance, would you reapply for this job?

Question type needed: YES/NO

Too many NO responses to this question on your employee surveys is a huge red flag. People that put in hard work aren’t happy and are probably keeping an eye open for a new job.

If you get a lot of YES responses then your employee engagement rate is looking great—give yourself a big pat on the back.

Engaged employees are almost 90% less likely to jump ship, saving you and the business precious time and money spent on recruitment.

Remember to leave a comments section here so people can give you reasons—this will give you a clear understanding of the overall engagement of the team.

There is honest communication in this company, from top to bottom

Question type needed: Likert Scale

Ever heard the saying, “You don’t quit your job, you quit your boss?”

75% of employees claim that bad management made them quit a job and when it comes to management, communication is a superpower.

Open communication and pulse surveys keep people in your company for longer and enable free sharing of ideas—so make sure to walk the talk. Get the ball rolling with casual Fridays or an offsite event to open a two-way dialogue.

Do you know our company’s mission inside out?

Question type needed: YES/NO

You’ve taken time to build your company culture, set company goals, and even have a company mission to live by.

Great. But is everyone else on board?

Could they give you the key points of the mission if you asked them right now?

It’s important to add survey questions to understand company culture. By asking the above question, you can find out if your employees are on the same page as upper management.

Another idea is to use a quiz to keep your team invested in company values and the mission.

Somebody has complimented your work in the last two weeks

Question type needed: YES/NO

It seems like such a simple thing. But positive feedback is a key driver of employee engagement. Employees who receive positive feedback about their work are up to 30 times more engaged at work than those who don’t.

I am paid well for the work that I do

Question type needed: Dropdown Menu (Agree/Strongly Agree etc.)

Money talks—and so do people.

Being underpaid or undervalued can really get you down in the dumps.

Invite people to lay their cards on the table and gauge how each employee feels. You might be surprised.

I have everything I need to do my job well

Question type needed: Dropdown Menu (Agree/Strongly Agree etc.) + Feedback

They might feel like they need more development opportunities, or maybe they need a specific tool to improve their results.

So don’t be afraid to ask, and offer them space to elaborate so you can get all the insights you need.

I am happy with the benefits which my company provides

Question type needed: Likert Scale (1 – 10) + Feedback

Airbnb employees get free holiday credit. Google employees get gourmet lunches.

What does your company do to boost morale and promote a great work environment?

Drop this question into your employee engagement survey and ask for feedback to understand what your staff would appreciate most in their benefits package—it’s an easy way to see how you can improve your employee retention strategy.

What changes would you like to see in the office?

Question type needed: Long Text

Finance wants a new photocopier, but the Marketing Team wants half-day Fridays.

Open up a discussion on what changes would be most appreciated in the office to improve staff engagement and work-life balance. And try to commit to some of them.

Who knows what they want better than the people themselves?

What to do when you get your employee engagement survey results back?

Act on the results as soon as possible and turn those haters into believers.

Share the information with your colleagues and inform them of next steps—whether they’re delightful or show that something needs to change.

Or, why not turn the data into an easy-to-view report? Show photos, infographics and percentages so your office can really wrap their heads around what’s going on.

Before we go, keep these tips in mind when creating your employee survey questions:

• Your objective is to get results, not to present a legal case. Speak to people like you’re having real conversation.
• For more honest answers from the employee engagement questionnaire, make sure to give people the option to respond anonymously.
• Don’t launch a survey just for the sake of it. The goal is to open up healthy discussions, and improve the employee experience. Keep that in mind.
• Communicate your plan and when you plan to act on what they say.
• Make sure to say thank you and repeat how important their opinions are.