30 Employee Engagement Survey Questions

Employee engagement is about more than just employees feeling happy at work (of course that’s very important, too.) It’s a measure of how invested people are in their organization's success and a sign of how committed they are to staying there. In recent years, employee engagement has been trending downward.

In a 2022 survey, only 32% of employees working for organizations indicated they were engaged with their organization. So how do you discover if this same downward employee engagement trend is occurring at your company?

Employee engagement surveys help you measure and understand what’s driving engagement. And on top of that, they give leadership a chance to hear employees and make organizational changes based on feedback.

But an employee engagement survey has to be tailored to your organization to be effective, so we’re here to help you begin. Continue reading for advice on writing survey questions, 30 employee engagement questions to get you started, and advice for launching your employee engagement survey.

How to Write Good Survey Questions

The questions you use in your survey can determine the outcomes—the better the questions, the better the results. Writing good survey questions doesn’t have to be difficult. Use the following tips to write survey questions that generate useful insights and data.

Use a Balanced Scale

Refrain from asking yes or no questions; instead, stick to a scale. Use a Likert scales to gather more granular feedback and uncover areas where you might want to improve. For example, a five-point scale could include the following options:

• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree

When using scales in a survey, keep them consistent. Changing the types of scales and wording can become confusing, and some employees may not even notice the scale has changed, thus providing inaccurate opinions.

Focus On One Topic At A Time

Asking about two different topics in one question often doesn’t allow employees to accurately answer a question.

“I have the skills and resources needed to complete my daily job responsibilities,” asks about two different topics. An employee may feel they have the skills but not the resources or vice versa and not know how to properly respond to the question.

Instead, separate these two topics into their own survey questions:

• I have the skills needed to complete my daily job responsibilities.
• I have the resources needed to complete my daily job responsibilities.

Only Ask Questions You Need To Answer

Survey fatigue is real, but it isn’t always driven by the number of surveys we ask our employees to complete. It’s based on the perception that the results will not be acted upon. To prevent survey fatigue, be thoughtful about the frequency you send out employee engagement surveys. You’ll need to survey employees between one and four times a year to track progress. You should choose your frequency based on how quickly you can address issues that arise from your survey feedback.

Keep Questions Clear And Concise

The best surveys are short and can be completed in only a few minutes. Data from Survey Monkey shows that completion rates drop up to 20% if the survey takes more than seven or eight minutes to complete.

Only ask questions you’re prepared to address the responses to. When employees see HR and leadership acting on feedback they’ve provided, they’ll feel encouraged to answer future employee engagement surveys more thoroughly.

Test Your Survey

Review your survey with someone from your intended audience prior to distributing it. Piloting a survey can help you identify areas that need improvement including questions that are confusing or misleading.

Guarantee Anonymity

When creating employee engagement surveys, make sure your survey is anonymous, and make a strong effort to assure your employees of their anonymity. Doing so allows employees the chance to state their true feelings without worrying about negative consequences.

The 30 Best Employee Engagement Survey Questions

15 Close-Ended Questions

Asking close-ended questions on employee engagement surveys provides you with qualitative data that is easy to group, compare, and analyze. The results of close-ended questions help show trends over time.

• I can see myself working here in five years.
• I have a clear understanding of my company’s strategic goals.
• I can easily see how my work affects the company’s overall success.
• I always know what is expected of me when it comes to my goals and objectives.
• It feels like everyone is on the same team at my company.
• I always want to give my best whenever I’m at work.
• I’m proud to be part of this company.
• I always recommend my company to others.
• The leaders of my company know what they’re doing.
• I believe in my company’s mission.
• I believe in the approach my leaders take to reach our objectives.
• I feel inspired by my job.
• My goals help my company’s strategy move forward.
• I regularly receive recognition from my manager.
• I enjoy being with my coworkers.

15 Open-Ended Questions

Asking open-ended questions on employee engagement surveys allows you to dig deeper into your employees' opinions and identify additional areas of improvement you didn’t touch on in the survey.

• My company’s core values are…
• My company’s mission and objective are…
• What three words best describe the company’s culture?
• If you were to be president of the company, what is the first thing you would change?
• Is there anything preventing you from doing your job well?
• How would you describe communication within your team?
• What are the three most important factors contributing to your work-life balance?
• What are the greatest strengths of our company?
• What are the areas that need the most improvement in our company?
• In what ways does leadership energize you to come to work?
• In what ways does your role directly affect the company’s success?
• What motivates you to give your best at work?
• How does your manager recognize your work within the company?
• What is one way the company could improve communication?
• Is there anything else you would like to share that you find important to your employee experience?

Why Employee Engagement Surveys Matter

Having highly engaged employees matters for the individual employee and the organization as a whole. Organizations with engaged employees have benefits like higher retention, better financial performance, and better brand reputation. And they’re able to see those outcomes because they’re listening to employees and making meaningful organizational improvements and building trust between employers and leadership in the process. Plus, people who are engaged feel energized by their work, maintain better mental health, and work in a state of flow.

Next Steps: Launch Your Employee Engagement Survey

You may already be conducting employee engagement surveys, and if so, that’s great! If you’re looking to get started or improve the way you complete employee engagement surveys, BambooHR has an easy-to-use suite of employee experience and performance tools that make it easy to collect authentic, actionable feedback from employees. Collecting this valuable feedback will empower your employees to share their insights and your company to make important improvements.