50 Employee Engagement Survey Questions to Use in 2023

Employers are feeling the toll of high churn rates as the Great Resignation continues to wreak havoc on US companies. According to Statista, a staggering 4.2 million Americans quit their jobs in November, bringing the total for 2022 to 46.6 million. One of the top reasons for the high employee turnover rates is a disengaged workforce.

One of the most effective engagement strategies is to gather employee feedback through survey tools and get insights on what you need to improve. With the right employee survey questions, you can gain valuable insights into how the company culture, team leadership, job alignment, and work environment affect your employee happiness, productivity, and engagement levels.

In this guide, we'll give People Ops and HR professionals 50 questions to use as a template for their own employee engagement surveys 👇

How to Measure Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is simply the level of enthusiasm and dedication to work that employees feel toward their jobs and the company at large.

Higher employee engagement fosters productivity. According to Gallup, businesses with engaged employees generate 23% more profit than those with disengaged workers.

Many organizations track employee engagement using metrics such as retention rate, employee NPS, and workload balance. While these metrics are effective, they only tell a part of the story.

If you truly want to understand the employee engagement levels in your organization, the best approach is to ask them directly through surveys and questionnaires. Only then can you get a clearer picture of how engaged they are and what they feel about your company.

Employee Engagement Survey Questions to Ask

Without further ado, here are the employee engagement questions to ask. We'll break them down into sections, starting with the job alignment questions.

Alignment Questions

These questions ask workers to express how aligned they feel with the company's mission and objectives. Alignment questions also seek to establish how aligned respondents are to their roles.

Employees who don't know what's expected of them (the purpose of their work) will likely not feel confident in their ability to deliver the expected results. On the other hand, workers who feel their job description aligns with their work are 2.5 times more likely to be engaged. Typical alignment questions to ask include:

1. Do You Find Your Work Meaningful?

Employees who find their work meaningful tend to be more productive.

They're more likely to overcome obstacles in their paths and stay committed to their organization over the long term. These employees are happier and tend to work harder because they find their work impactful and believe in the company's values and mission.

2. Does the Organization's Values and Vision Inspire You?

This question aims to determine how your employees relate to your mission and goals. Do they see themselves as active vessels for embodying organizational values to customers?

3. Do You Feel Like Your Supervisors are Invested in Your Success?

Managers have a strong effect on their team's engagement. This question seeks to establish how an employee feels about their supervisors' contribution to their success in the organization.

4. Do You Feel Appreciated for Your Accomplishments at Work?

Recognition and appreciation are key drivers of employee engagement. Most employees want to see that their manager cares about their accomplishments, even though they don't always express it.

5. How Can We Help Make Your Work More Meaningful?

Ask open-ended questions like this to get input on making the employees’ work more meaningful. They'll appreciate your listening and will love seeing you follow up and implement their recommendations.

Employee Satisfaction Questions

These employee survey questions will provide insights into how employees feel about their jobs. Do they love working for the company? Are they motivated to deliver more? What aspects of their jobs would they want to be improved? All these questions can help with employee retention as well, as you’ll easily identify factors that threaten your retention rates.

Typical questions to ask include the Likert scale as well as open-ended questions:

1. On a Scale of 1-5, How Happy Are You in the Job?

The first thing you'll want to know is how happy each employee is in their role. You can easily achieve this by including a 1-5 rating scale on your survey, where employees will rate their happiness level.

2. Do You Feel Excited About Coming to Work?

This question is designed to help you determine whether employees are motivated to come to work or not. For employees not excited about coming to work, you can dig deeper and ask them the "why" and what would make them excited about their job.

3. How Satisfied or Dissatisfied are You with the Current Management?

Sometimes, the company's leadership may be the stumbling block to employee engagement. This question will help you understand what your staff thinks of the company's management.

4. How Satisfied or Dissatisfied Are You with the Company?

Here employees can choose between.

· Satisfied

· Very satisfied

· Somewhat satisfied

· A little dissatisfied

· Very dissatisfied

5. Are You Satisfied with the Investment the Organization Has Made Toward Employee Education?

This can be a closed question, with only two responses: Yes or No answer

6. If No, What Improvements Can the Company Make to Foster a Learning Culture?

This question should elaborate on the previous questions, requiring employee input on ways to build a culture of learning and promote professional development.

7. On A Scale of 1 – 5, How Would you Rate the Company's Adoption of Technology?

Technology is the fuel that drives business growth. This question should help you determine what your staff feels about the level of automation in your company.

8. Do You Enjoy Working with Your Team?

Happy employees will love working with their team.

If a particular worker isn't comfortable working with the rest, you should dig deeper to find out why they're disinclined to work with the team. It could be that they don't feel like their opinions count or are being bullied at work by their supervisor or colleagues.

9. Are You Satisfied with the Current Compensation?

Financial incentives are the number #1 motivational factor in the workplace.

If employees feel they're not compensated well enough for their work, they're likely to leave the company in search of "greener pasture." Ask your employees what they feel about the current compensation package and benefits.

10. Are You Proud of Working for the Company

Ask employees whether they're proud of working with the company.

For those not interested in working with the company, dig deeper to find why and what can be done to change their perception of the company.

11. Would You Recommend the Company to Your Peers?

This question is designed to help you figure out your employees' perception of the company. As is often the case, happy employees will brag about the company they love and tell their friends and families about it.

12. Do You Feel You Have the Opportunity to Reach Your Full Potential Here?

If your employees feel the company doesn't have what it takes to propel them to their full potential, they probably won't stick around for long. In fact, they might already be looking for job opportunities elsewhere.

13. Will You Still Work Here in 5 Years?

Happy and satisfied employees would love to grow with the company and become an important part of its success story. This question can help you determine whether your employees find the company rewarding or are just waiting for a better opportunity to knock and call it quits.

14. Why Do You Like or Dislike Your Job?

This question will give you insights into what makes the candidate tick. It can also help you determine what aspects of the job need to be improved to satisfy the employees.

15. Do You Get What You Need to Complete Your Tasks Efficiently

This question is designed to help you find out whether employees have access to the right tools for the job. It can help explain performance gaps and provide solutions that might help improve productivity and efficiency.

Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) Questions

Typical questions to ask in an eNPS survey include:

1. On a Scale of 1 – 5, How Would You Rate the Company?

This question is designed to help you determine whether employees find your organization a good place to work. An anonymous survey will provide you with honest answers.

2. Please Share Your Primary Reason for Your Score

What made this employee give your company a score of 2, 3, or 5? Does it have to do with salary, workload, culture, or other factors?

3. What Would Prompt You to Give the Company a Higher Score?

This question will help human resources teams determine what improvements can be made to make the company a better place to work.

4. Is There Anything That Would Prevent You from Recommending the Company?

What is it that puts your employees off? Micromanagement, poor salary, discrimination. This question will help you figure out where you've missed the mark.

5. Has Your Stay with the Company Improved or Worsened in the Past 6 months?

eNPS score and employee engagement are all about the trends.

This question will help you figure out whether your organization is on the right track. It can be effective, particularly if you've implemented new policies in the past six months.

6. From 0 – 5, How Closely Would You Say the Company Has Met the Expectations You Had When You Joined?

For example, if you were looking for flexible work, has the company delivered its promise of job flexibility?

7. Why Did You Choose to Work with Us?

Answers like "opportunities for growth" and "competitive salary" can help determine what attracts job candidates to your organization.

8. What Is Your Biggest Challenge in Working Here?

This question is designed to allow your staff to voice their concerns.

9. How Exciting Would You Say Your Work Is on a Scale of 1-5?

Employees who gave a high overall company score are likely to give a high score here as well. A poor score might indicate they're not motivated in their roles.

10. On a Scale of 1-5, How Helpful Is Your Manager??

Managers can be the reason for disengaged employees. This question should give you insights into how your team members feel about their managers.

Cultural Questions to Ask

An exceptional company culture isn't built in a day. However, employee input can help you build a company culture that fosters productivity and growth.

1. Does the Company's Culture Foster a Supportive Work Environment?

A supportive company culture is critical to the success of the company and the well-being of the employees. An all-inclusive culture that promotes the growth and development of employees leads to a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

2. Are You Satisfied with the Company's Culture?

A company's culture can affect retention, performance, and productivity. If a large number of employees aren't satisfied with the culture, you may need to go back to the drawing board to build a winning one.

3. Do You Feel the Company Prioritizes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?

This can be a closed question with a Yes or No response.

4. Do You Know How and Where to Report Concerns about Discrimination?

If your people answered No to this question, you might need to work on employee reporting policies and procedures.

5. Does Our Culture Supports Employees' Health and Wellbeing?

Another closed question with a Yes or No response.

6. What Can the Company Do to Improve the Health and Well-being of Employees?

An extension of the previous question, this question should give you insights into the health benefits to include in your employee's compensation package.

7. Do You Feel Respected by Your Team and the Organization?

Employees grow in places where they feel respected. This survey question helps determine whether a culture of respect thrives within the organization.

8. Do You Think the Company Operates in a Socially Ethical Manner?

Every organization has a duty to the society that exists around it. A company that achieves its social responsibility duties is a top choice for employees.

9. Does the Organization Offer a Safe Working Environment for All Employees?

Employee safety should be a top concern for all organizations. If employees don’t feel safe at the workplace, they're not likely to stay long-term.

10. Are You Involved in the Decision-Making Process?

It's important for employees to feel valued at work. Organizations that value employees should involve them, particularly when making changes to policies that affect them.

11. Do You Have a Healthy Work-Life Balance?

A healthy culture promotes a good work-life balance. This last question will help you determine whether your employees are getting the right balance.

Career Development Questions

Employees who see career paths and development opportunities in their companies are 2.5 times more likely to be engaged than those who do not.

Include career growth and development questions in your survey to determine if your company provides the right growth opportunities and get an insight into your team’s career goals.

1. Are There New Skills You'd Love to Develop?

This is a good question to help you figure out what your employees are yearning to learn and devise ways to help them acquire those skills.

2. Are There Any Projects You'd Love to be Involved In?

This question can help you understand projects your employees would want to be a part of, and you can take the necessary steps to make it happen.

3. Which New Responsibilities (if any) Would You Like to Take On?

If you provide more responsibilities that foster growth, employees will be more engaged and eager to learn new things.

4. How Often are You Presented with Opportunities to Learn New Skills?

If your workers aren't presented with opportunities to learn new skills, they may feel like their career is stagnating and lose morale. This may lead to employee disengagement and, eventually, loss of productivity.

Remote Work Questions

Remote working has become the norm as more and more companies adopt remote and hybrid working models to offer employee working flexibility. Ask these questions to find out what your workers feel about your remote working arrangements.

1. Do You Feel You Have a Good Work-Life Balance?

Remote working can be a solution for employees who feel their company doesn't help them maintain a good work-life balance. Asking this question can help you figure out what needs to be done to provide employees with more flexibility in their work.

2. What Do You Think Could Help Us Improve Daily Communication?

This question can help brainstorm what the company can do to improve communication and keep remote workers engaged.

Employees might suggest using collaborative tools like Slack alongside video conferencing tools like Zoom. Where employees aren't that geographically dispersed, a one-on-one meeting, perhaps once a week, could do the trick.

3. What Challenges Do You Face When Working Remotely?

Ask about the challenges your employees face when working remotely.

There are some challenges the company can help fix. For example, if the employees often encounter problems accessing the company's intranet, it could point to a technical problem that the company's IT team can fix.

4. What Communication Channels Work Best for You?

This question can help you identify the best communication channels to use with the remote team. Identify the channels that keep them more engaged and more comfortable using when outside the business premises.

5. Do You Have the Tools You Need to Complete Your Work Remotely?

This question can help you determine whether your remote workforce has access to all the tools they need to complete their jobs efficiently.

FAQ: Employee surveys

Why Should I do Employee Engagement Surveys

Employee engagement surveys are the best way to collect employee feedback. When done anonymously, disengaged employees can express their real opinions, something they might not have the courage to do in a face-to-face meeting.

The survey results will give you the data and insights you need to set benchmarks, create an action plan, and start promoting a healthy and comfortable working environment.

What are Pulse Surveys?

A pulse survey is a short set of questions sent to workers regularly. These surveys are usually carried out continuously to collect employees' opinions and feedback on matters related to company communication, job-related roles, and the overall work environment.

What are the Main Drivers of Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is most commonly driven by their desire for meaningful work, recognition, belonging, leadership, empowerment, career growth, alignment with company goals, and fulfilling work relationships.

Can I Measure Employee Engagement Through Performance Reviews?

Yes! Employee engagement can also be measured using KPIs and engagement metrics, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), retention rates, alignment with team OKRs, and more.

Asking the right questions is just the beginning

Your annual surveys and quarterly questionnaires are a great start to identifying obstacles to achieving an engaged workforce and overall company success. But using survey tools is just the beginning — once you analyze data, it’s time to design initiatives to improve engagement and job satisfaction and get employees on a path of success and their best work.