Your staff retention depends on keeping your employees motivated and committed to their careers with your organization. So, in this article, I’ve compiled the most critical employee engagement survey questions to give you insight into how strong your employee connection genuinely is.
Employee engagement, at its best, is when the company creates the right conditions for psychological and emotional drivers to deliver better than expected staff productivity. It goes directly to employee feelings and mindsets about working conditions, recognition, and working harmony with peers and management. Conversely, when you experience excessive employee churn, bottlenecks resulting from internal disagreements, and conflict in project teams, the indications are that you might be having an issue with employee engagement.
Occupational psychologists at Utrecht University have an interesting take on employee engagement. They highlight that it’s vital to understand the following:
- Vigor (or energy) that staff members have for performing tasks.
- Enthusiasm (or pride) in the results of their efforts.
- Focus on the work at hand, resisting distractions.
Of course, these factors are interdependent and overlap considerably. The point is that employee engagement software (and its subset employee survey software) must ask the right questions, then configure the responses to accurately measure how eager staff members are to go the extra mile.
Do employees see their days as a nine-to-five drag, or something much more? The only way to know is by soliciting feedback structured through an employee engagement platform to detect problems before they become bigger problems.
HR and employee engagement
Any employee survey tool that HR uses to spot employee engagement issues must utilize questions that are searching and relevant. That’s clearly the best way to get the most useful information. But here are a few tips to keep in mind before we get to the relevant questions:
- Time the surveys well, and not too often. If your surveys take more than an hour, you’ll dampen staff enthusiasm for them. Conduct surveys no more than twice a year, preferably around performance reviews. It’s also unwise to toss an employee experience survey into the mix when your employees are neck deep in work or tackling important projects on tight deadlines. Choose your survey moments carefully to avoid survey fatigue.
- Don’t try to get too much out of any single employee survey tool. Adopt a holistic approach in which two or perhaps three surveys over time combine to give you a broader overview. One study on any employee engagement platform can fill in the gaps left by another.
- Employee survey software should be sophisticated enough to cover the entire gamut of survey techniques, including open-ended questions and Likert scales (for faster responses).
- Interpreting the results generated by your employee engagement software is crucial. Look for insights pertinent to communication, peer harmony, cultural fit, introvert or extrovert characteristics, and recognition (to mention only some of the pivotal angles you can approach this from.)
Here are 30 employee engagement survey questions you should always ask:
Organization-centric questions
The following eight questions cover critical aspects of your company culture and your ability to stimulate staff to go over and beyond the standard call of duty. Get this part right, and much of everything else comes together quite seamlessly.
Question 1: In three words, how would you describe your experience working for this company?
Cultural fit (or misfit) is at the root of these responses, so messaging contrasts and similarities are imperative when sorting through the short answers to this question. Also, it opens up employees’ feelings about working at the company.
Question 2: “I have no problem spreading the word that this company is a fantastic workplace.” (Agree/Disagree)
This one speaks for itself. It goes to the heart of the employee’s commitment and loyalty to the organization. Note that this question can be asked as Agree/Disagree or as a Net Promoter Score question.
Question 3: Do you see yourself having a long-term tenure with this company? (Follow-up: Explain your answer.)
A question like this connects to the employee’s career goals. It indicates whether or not they see your business as a viable road to the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Question 4: How excited are you to start work every morning? (Excitement scale)
Question 5: Why did you answer Question 4 the way you did?
Questions four and five are related to one another. They dig into employees’ emotions as they face another day. The responses can be exceptionally revealing.
Question 6: To what degree do your projects energize you to exert extra effort?
Not everything we do during a workday is stimulating. However, we should deal with enough tasks that keep us motivated and interested in the outcomes.
Question 7: I’m regularly recognized for the work that I do. (Agreement scale)
Question 8: To what extent do you feel that the recognition you do receive is sincere and meaningful? Explain, as broadly as you like, particularly as it pertains to you progressing along your expected career path.
Constant recognition that makes a difference is fundamental to employee engagement. Unfortunately, underperformance frequently follows non-recognition.
Leadership questions
Nobody creates more chaos in an organization than those who try to lead without the respect of other employees. Responsibility, accountability, and integrity from leadership will inspire others to be more productive and adopt those same qualities.
Question 9: My manager participates actively in goal setting and setting an example. (Agreement scale)
Question 10: Why did you answer Question 9 the way you did?
The responses here touch on some sensitive stuff. For example, suppose you detect the same faults repeating across numerous survey results. Then you know the leadership problems are somewhat endemic. Similarly, significant management involvement through the ranks creates a sustainable and successful management culture.
Question 11: If given a choice, would you choose to stay with your manager or not? (Follow-up: Please explain your answer.)
This question is aligned with Questions 8 and 9, but comes at it from a different angle. There is no harm in asking all three to verify that there’s logical consistency in the responses.
Question 12: Would you say that the work load coming your way is fair or unrealistic?
Even if the survey responses rate managers as excellent, they may be piling too much work on their employees. It could be substantially overwhelming and a severe demotivator over time.
Question 13: Does your manager give you challenges outside of your defined job description as a way to stretch your skills or talents?
Stretch assignments often implode midway, or skid to a halt soon after they begin. Notwithstanding, it indicates extraordinary trust in an employee’s capability.
Question 14: Is your manager a “my way or the highway” type? (Yes/No)
Question 15: If so, how do you feel about it? If not, does your manager act on your opinions often enough or too little? And how does that make you feel? Again, answer as openly as you can.
A “participative management style” is highly effective as a motivator, but directive managers are highly functional in many situations. Relate these two questions to the work requirements under consideration for a proper perspective.
Questions that throw light on enhanced self-esteem
There’s little doubt that employees who self-actualize through their work engage quicker and more strongly. When the work creates a good feeling for the employee, it helps with retention. Also, self-growth aligns closely with risk-taking. An employee’s engagement is likely to grow if taking calculated risks – win or lose – is appreciated by management.
Question 16: Do you find your work challenging, or can you do it with your eyes closed?
Question 17: If challenging, do you feel that you are successful? If not, what would you like to do to change that?
Question 18: Are you proud of the work you do? (Yes/No)
Question 19: If you said Yes, why? If you said No, why?
Question 20: Are you fully equipped to get the job done? (Yes, I have the resources and back-up I need/No, I lack resources)
Question 21: If you answered No to question 20, what’s missing?
Question 22: How comfortable are you taking assessed risks?
Question 23: If you fail by taking a risk, how does your manager react? If it hasn’t occurred yet, how do you think your manager would respond if it did?
Teamwork and community questions
According to a Gallup poll, close to 63 percent of women declaring they worked with a best friend in the same office building demonstrated twice the engagement intensity. Close working relationships that offer peer support will dissolve stress and inject fun into the working environment.
Question 24: How do you feel about office support from your peers?
Question 25: Have you built close friendships in the office?
Question 26: How do you feel about working in a group and sharing responsibility?
Question 27: Is your team restricting your progress in the company or helping it along?
It doesn’t mean employees are disengaged if they prefer working alone. Instead, they may be members of the significant introvert category, so treat the results carefully without jumping to conclusions. However, extroverts and those in-between respond well to a feeling of community in the office.
Feedback questions
Feedback isn’t a one-way street. While your employee engagement platform and employee survey software focus on employee response to your questions, the ironic thing is this: Failing to reciprocate by giving feedback to employees can lead to feelings of disengagement.
Question 28: How do you feel about the transparency of management in their relationship with you?
Question 29: Are your teammates supportive and on your side to make your contribution the best it can be?
Question 30: Would you say that feedback from management and peers has significantly helped you progress?
Conclusion
You may have picked up that some questions double-check others. For example:
Question 9: My manager participates actively in goal setting and setting an example. (Agreement scale)
Question 11: If given a choice, would you choose to stay with your manager or not? (Follow-up: Please explain your answer.)
Now, ordinarily, you would expect a positive response to Question 9 to align with the same for Question 11, but you would be surprised how often they differ. Frequently a negative response on Question 9 comes along with the respondent saying they want to remain with the existing manager.
With the help of employee engagement software, you can parse the details and analyze engagement data to come up with some pretty illuminating insights into what’s going on with your employees. Asking the right questions is only half the battle, you’ll still need to analyze those answers. That’s why it’s critical to utilize an employee engagement platform that can handle that part.
Armed with employee engagement data, you’ll be able to better understand what’s properly motivating (or demotivating) your talent. Only then can you hold on to your most productive and valuable employees, and keep them from jumping ship.
Need a quick head start? Check out our employee engagement survey template!
