What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement measures a team member’s connection to a company and to their work. Engaged employees are typically emotionally invested in their workplace. They support the company’s vision and do their best to help fulfill it daily. These employees are also generally productive, motivated and satisfied in their roles. Numerous factors impact employee engagement, including:

• Leadership styles
• Organizational communication
• Relationships with colleagues and clients
• Technology and tools for required tasks
• Company reputation
• Cultural diversity
• Pay structure and benefits

Engaged employees are more likely to be productive and dependable. When your employees stay engaged with the company, their performance remains at higher levels. You may also notice lower rates of absenteeism, decreased utilization of sick days and increased customer satisfaction levels.

What is an employee engagement survey?

An employee engagement survey measures the satisfaction and commitment of workers from your organization and can cover everything from current struggles to the future outlook. As a leader, surveys can offer important insights into employee satisfaction and the strength of your workplace culture. Asking effective questions can help you learn more about various areas, including:

• Employee satisfaction and commitment
• Managerial performance
• Communication preferences and styles
• Behavior toward and from customers
• Reasons why your company may have a high turnover rate or frequent absenteeism
• Workplace dynamics
• Positive traits your company possesses

Before you create an employee survey, determine what you want to measure and how you’ll measure it. Many companies compare survey results with similar businesses, as this helps spot trends and create benchmark goals. With a clear intention in mind, your responses can provide important data that boosts productivity and engagement.

20 important questions on employee engagement

Below, you’ll find a selection of 20 questions for your employee engagement survey. These questions are suitable for responses in a variety of formats, including multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and numerical rating scales. Neutral wording and survey confidentiality can encourage employees to answer honestly, making your survey more effective.

The following questions are applicable to nearly every company, but feel free to tailor them to fit your team.

1. How satisfied are you with your average workday?

How employees spend each day can significantly impact their energy and motivation levels. Asking employees to assess their daily satisfaction levels can help you identify areas of improvement, no matter how minor. As a result, you’ll be able to pinpoint factors that influence your team’s day-to-day success and take the necessary action to enhance them. With fewer barriers to engagement on a daily basis, employees can more easily envision their future goals.

2. Do you look forward to coming to work most days?

This employee engagement question can help you assess your team’s motivation. A person who’s eager to get started each day is more likely to engage positively with their work. You can ask employees to answer this question on a one-to-five scale, but even a simple yes-or-no answer can help you determine whether you need to follow up with other motivation boosters.

3. Do you feel like you belong at this company?

Engaged employees feel a sense of belonging and are more comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions with the rest of the team. Feeling like they belong can indicate a shared set of values and confidence in their contributions toward company goals. Keep in mind that fitting in doesn’t require employees to share identical backgrounds; it’s about creating an overall inclusive culture.

4. Do you plan to work here one year from now?

It’s normal to experience the occasional personnel change, but reducing employee turnover can be a priority for some companies. Asking team members if they intend to remain in their roles in the near future can help you gauge retention risks and may prompt further discussions about engagement and satisfaction.

5. Do you feel there are opportunities for advancement here?

Upward mobility is a common priority for ambitious professionals. By providing regular advancement opportunities, employees may feel motivated to bring more energy to their current roles and are less likely to experience burnout.

If your team expresses a desire for more opportunities, you can take actionable steps to implement developmental programs and invest in internal recruiting.

6. Are you proud to work for this company?

Engaged employees take pride in their jobs. Asking your team if they are confident in their positions can reveal underlying levels of engagement and help you gauge your company’s reputation in professional networks.

7. Would you recommend this company to others?

Happy employees are more likely to tell friends and family members about open positions. This can put you in touch with professionals in the same network who might be able to bring new skills to the team. Plus, it’s a simple way to measure engagement.

8. Do you feel you are compensated appropriately for your job duties?

Fair pay is often a top priority among professionals. Asking this question can help you determine if your compensation practices or benefit packages should be reevaluated. Even if there’s little room for change, being open and honest with employees can demonstrate your transparency as a manager and may help you build trust with your team.

9. Do you feel like you are collaborating effectively with your coworkers?

Healthy interpersonal relationships often indicate high job satisfaction and may encourage employees to be more engaged with their roles. They can also boost creativity and contribute to a positive workplace culture. If multiple survey participants respond to this question negatively, consider implementing team-building activities. Employees often work better when they get along, especially if your company requires extensive teamwork for big projects.

10. Do managers treat employees fairly?

Company leaders should treat each worker with respect and fairness. Asking people engagement survey questions, such as this one, can help you evaluate the performance of your team leaders and prevent a toxic work culture.

11. Do you have the tools you need to complete your job?

The right tools can be instrumental in maintaining high employee engagement. If your team’s responses reveal a gap in resources, providing them with the tools they need can be a simple, actionable way to close it.

12. Would you be interested in another position at this company?

Employees who lack engagement might just be looking for something new. This question offers clarification and may reveal some team members who could benefit from a shift in responsibilities.

13. Do you feel like your contributions are valued at work?

Everyone likes to feel appreciated for their contributions to company success, and acknowledging your team members for their efforts helps build trust. Ensure your employees feel valued, and you might see an increase in productivity.

14. Do you worry about losing your job?

Job security is an important part of workplace satisfaction. This question may signal a need to revamp your management team’s leadership style or to take steps toward greater transparency. Consider practicing vulnerable leadership if you currently take a more aggressive approach, as this can help improve employee engagement.

15. Do you feel like you have room for growth in your role?

Roles that have room for growth give employees something to strive for, which can help maintain workplace engagement. You might consider investing in developmental opportunities or prioritizing internal recruiting to show employees that you value their professional goals as much as they do.

16. Do you feel safe at work?

Physical and psychological safety allows employees to fully focus on work each day. Asking this question not only shows that safety is a top concern for you, but it can point you toward ways to make your workplace safer and more conducive to productivity.

17. Do you receive recognition for your professional achievements?

Showing your appreciation for an employee’s personal success can help them feel like valued members of the team. Let workers know when they do something good by sending congratulation letters or simply announcing the achievements to the team.

18. How familiar are you with the company’s values?

Getting in touch with a company’s values can help employees connect their work to a larger, more important goal. When your team supports these values and incorporates them into their work, they can become more engaged with each task.

19. What barriers to engagement have you encountered at this company?

This question asks employees to be straightforward and identify any areas of improvement. Their perspectives can reveal engagement barriers you might not have noticed otherwise, while the survey format gives employees an accessible platform to use their voices. Responses might reveal actionable steps you can take to remove these barriers and improve engagement.

20. What do you enjoy most about working here?

Asking employees to identify positive elements of the workplace can show you where you excel as a leader. With this information, you can update other areas to create a well-rounded company culture.

FAQs about employee engagement surveys

How many questions should an employee engagement survey have?

A typical employee engagement survey has between 10 and 30 questions, though you may include more or less depending on the information you’re looking for. Small businesses with a few employees who know each other well may not need as many questions as large companies.

A survey’s format can also play a role in the number of questions needed. Yes-or-no questions or questions answered with a one-to-five scale don’t offer room for elaboration, so you might need more of these for an effective survey. On the other hand, surveys that leave space for written answers allow employees to expand on their ideas, meaning they can be effective even on the shorter end of the scale.

What is a good response rate for an employee engagement survey?

The more employees who complete the survey, the more accurate your gathered data will be. A good response rate will vary depending on your company’s size and the goals for your survey.

How do you encourage employees to participate in a survey?

Encouraging survey participation can boost your response rate. Consider offering an incentive for survey completion, such as a gift card, company merchandise or an extended lunch break.

Similarly, offering a group reward once a certain response rate is achieved may prompt employees to motivate their peers. For example, promising to buy lunch for the team when the response rate reaches 80% can be a positive incentive to strive for. You can also designate time for survey completion during the workday so employees aren’t expected to fit the task into their busy schedules.