43 Employee Engagement Survey Questions
Employee engagement surveys offer a platform for anonymous feedback from your workforce and provide a valuable window into the unspoken concerns within your organization.
They show critical blindspots of the work environment that managers may be unaware of and signify the company's genuine commitment to employee well-being and continuous improvement.
In this article, we discuss:
Benefits of Employee Engagement
Enhancing employee engagement results in substantial benefits, as demonstrated by research conducted by Gallup, an American workplace consulting and global research firm that analyzed over 100,000 businesses and 2 million employees across 54 industries.
Increased productivity
Engaged businesses experience an average of 18% more sales, showcasing how motivated, focused, and committed employees lead to higher productivity and better performance.
Improved job satisfaction
Companies with high engagement levels observe an 18% lower turnover rate, indicating that employees who find their work meaningful and fulfilling are more content with their roles.
Reduced absenteeism
Organizations with engaged employees experience 81% less absenteeism. This shows that a strong commitment from the workforce results in increased attendance.
Higher customer satisfaction
Teams with higher engagement levels enjoy 10% more loyal customers, as engaged employees provide better customer service, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Lower workplace accidents
Engaged workers contribute to 64% fewer safety incidents, as their attentiveness and safety-conscious behavior result in fewer workplace accidents and related costs.
Improved financial performance
Employee engagement leads to a 23% increase in profitability, demonstrating how enhanced performance and commitment translate into financial growth for the organization.
43 Employee Engagement Survey Questions
Despite the advantages of having a committed workforce, only 23% of employees worldwide and 32% in the U.S. are engaged.
To evaluate how engagement measures up in your organization, we provide 40 questions to ask your employees about the topics of culture, satisfaction, leadership, and more.
📋Overall satisfaction and engagement:
1.How would you describe your current level of job satisfaction at this company?
2. How engaged do you feel in your day-to-day work?
3. Are you regularly involved in work events and activities?
4. How can we improve engagement at work?
📈Job satisfaction
5. What aspects of your job do you find most meaningful, and why?
6. Do you understand how your role contributes to the organization’s overall success?
7. Would you recommend working at this organization to your friends?
8. Can you describe any specific challenges or issues related to your workload or job responsibilities?
🔥Manager and leadership:
9. Do you feel that your manager is invested in your growth?
10. Do you feel that manager cares about you as a person?
11. Do you trust our leaders to lead our organization to success?
12. What feedback or suggestions do you have regarding your interactions with company leadership?
💥Team and collaboration:
13. How well does your team work together?
14. Do you feel like you can trust and rely on your teammates for support?
15. Are your opinions valued by your team?
⚡Career development and growth:
16. Are there opportunities for professional development and growth within the company?
17. Are you satisfied with your current career path within the company?
18. Do you see yourself working here in a year?
19. Does your work provide enough challenge and enrichment?
💡Work-life balance:
20. How do you rate your work-life balance?
21. Are you able to manage your workload without excessive stress?
22. Does we support your flexible work arrangements? (if applicable)
🧲Compensation and benefits:
23. Do you feel fairly rewarded for your contributions?
24. Are you aware of the available benefits and how to access them?
25. How well do the available benefits meet your needs, and what changes would you suggest?
🔦Communication and feedback:
26. Are you recognized for your achievements at work?
27. Do you know what is expected of you at work?
28. Do you receive regular feedback on your performance?
29. What changes would you like to make regarding how performance reviews are conducted?
30. Are you comfortable providing feedback to your superiors?
31. Do you feel informed about company updates and changes?
32. Do you have the resources required to perform your job?
⚙️Employee motivation:
33. What factors motivate you to perform your best at work?
34. Are there any obstacles or challenges that hinder your motivation, and how could they be addressed?
🖇️Company culture and values:
35. Do you believe in the company's mission and values?
36. Is the workplace culture inclusive and supportive?
37. Are you treated with respect at work?
38. Do you feel that leadership is invested in improving company culture?
39. Are there any areas where the company can improve its culture?
🔓Open-ended questions:
41. What are the strengths of the company that you'd like to highlight?
42. What are the areas where the company could improve?
43. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your experience working at the company?
Now that you have a solid list of questions ready, remember to take note of these best practices for approaching your survey.
💡Best Practices for Employee Engagement Surveys:
Keep your surveys simple and short by choosing a specific topic you want to ask about.
Include open-ended questions and an option to leave a comment at the end to provide an opportunity for employees to express any additional concerns.
Conduct the survey anonymously to receive honest responses.
Follow up after the survey with actions you will be taking. Employees will be more willing to take the survey if they see that their feedback actually matters.
How to Increase Employee Engagement
➡️Understand Engagement Today
Simply organizing occasional happy hours as a quick fix when a survey is on the horizon won't genuinely boost engagement.
True engagement is rooted in addressing employees' fundamental needs. Recognizing and addressing these needs provides valuable insights into where to direct your efforts.
✏️There are five core drivers of engagement:
Purpose: Employees seek meaning and purpose in their work.
Development: They want opportunities to learn and grow.
Supportive Managers: A supportive and effective manager can make a significant difference.
Ongoing Conversations: Regular communication and feedback are crucial.
Strengths Focus: Focusing on employees' strengths rather than weaknesses can be more motivating.
Employees are looking for purpose and significance in their roles, and it's the employer's responsibility to help them find it.
➡️Engagement is NOT Just an HR Problem
The way a manager leads and interacts with their team has a substantial impact on how engaged and motivated the team members are.
Gallup’s research found that a significant portion of the difference in team engagement levels can be attributed to the effectiveness of the manager or team leader.
Specifically, 70% of the variations in how engaged or disengaged a team is can be linked to the actions, leadership style, and management skills of the manager or team leader.
Thus, a discrepancy is created as managers pass on the responsibility of employee engagement to HR when in reality, they have the biggest impact on their employees' experiences.
Leaders should provide clear guidelines to managers regarding their responsibilities in promoting employee engagement and offer coaching on the qualities that make for a great manager. This equips managers with the necessary tools to empower their teams.
➡️Support Employee Health
Subsidizing fitness classes, offering mental health days, and providing the office with nutritious snacks are effective strategies to encourage employees to prioritize their physical and mental health.
Employees who are both physically and mentally well and equipped with stress management skills are not only more focused and productive but also more likely to be dedicated to organizations that proactively care for their well-being.
➡️Volunteering Opportunities
Encouraging employee volunteering positively impacts engagement by instilling a sense of purpose, enhancing teamwork, skill development, and stress reduction. It also aligns with company values, fosters personal growth, and bolsters retention, benefiting both employees and the community.
Research from Deloitte reveals a strong connection between frequent workplace volunteerism and various measures of employee engagement. For instance, Millennials who actively participate in their organization's volunteer activities are twice as likely to rate the corporate culture as highly positive, exhibit greater loyalty to their company, and express high satisfaction with their career progression.
However, it's worth noting that 70% of non-participating employees cite a lack of time as the primary obstacle. To overcome this barrier, organizations can arrange volunteer days, allowing employees to take time off and contribute to causes they're passionate about. Alternatively, companies can organize team-building activities that center around giving back to the community.
✏️Here are 5 ideas for organizational-wide volunteer activities:
Environmental Cleanups
Teams can participate in activities like beach cleanups, park restorations, or tree planting to support environmental conservation efforts.
Food Drives and Sorting
Employees can collect, sort, and distribute food items to local food banks or shelters to help combat hunger.
Mentoring and Tutoring
Employees can provide mentoring or tutoring services to underprivileged children or young adults, helping them with academics and personal development.
Community Gardens
Engaging in community gardening allows employees to help cultivate fresh produce for local communities and learn about sustainable practices.
Holiday Gift Drives
Collecting and distributing gifts during the holiday season to underprivileged families or children in need.
➡️Passion Projects
Encouraging employees to pursue their passion projects is integral for boosting employee engagement because it showcases the organization's commitment to employee well-being and personal growth.
Passion projects drive creativity, innovation, and the acquisition of new skills, positively influencing employees' job performance and benefiting the company as a whole. When employees are granted the opportunity to cultivate their passions alongside their professional responsibilities, they experience greater fulfillment, motivation, and alignment with the company's core values.
Mala Sharma, a Vice President at Adobe, shared a personal experience with her passion project, highlighting how her managers and colleagues supported her side business in meditation.
This passion helped her find new creative perspectives and improved her leadership skills as she learned to incorporate meditation practices into regular team meetings.
This exemplifies the potential synergies that employees bring to the workplace when they have the freedom and resources to continuously learn and challenge themselves.
➡️Onboarding Process
Disengagement can occur as early as in the first few weeks on the job.
That’s why it’s important to have an effective onboarding process that thoroughly explains how the individual’s role fits into the grand scheme of the organization while providing opportunities for cultural integration.
✏️Here are 6 strategies to improve engagement in your onboarding process:
Personalized Onboarding Plans
Tailor onboarding plans to each new employee's role and needs. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't consider individual strengths and weaknesses. Personalization helps new hires feel valued and supported.
Clear Expectations
Clearly communicate job expectations, responsibilities, and performance goals from the start. New employees should understand their roles and how they fit into the larger organization.
Mentorship and Buddy Systems
Assign a mentor or buddy to guide new employees. Having a go-to person for questions and support can ease the transition and create a sense of belonging.
Social Integration
Facilitate social interactions among new hires and existing employees. Social events such as happy hours, team-building activities, and networking opportunities help build relationships and integrate newcomers into the company culture.
Early Wins
Ensure that new employees experience early wins or accomplishments in their roles. Recognize their achievements and celebrate them to boost confidence and motivation.
Manager Involvement
Managers play a critical role in onboarding. Ensure that managers are actively engaged in the process and provide consistent guidance and support.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, employee engagement is a vital catalyst for organizational success, and it brings a multitude of benefits, from heightened productivity and reduced turnover to a more positive workplace culture.
As we've explored, a well-crafted employee engagement survey can serve as a powerful tool to measure and address workplace dynamics. It provides a platform for employees to express their thoughts, enabling organizations to pinpoint areas of improvement and elevate engagement levels.
To improve employee engagement, it’s crucial to proactively address the survey findings and implement strategies that we’ve discussed.
As Ian Hutchinson, an expert in employee-driven engagement once said, “Employee engagement is an investment we make for the privilege of staying in business.”
