Employee engagement survey questions.

What an employee engagement survey measures.

An employee engagement survey measures how committed people are to their work and their organization, and what drives that commitment. A good one covers the drivers you can act on (manager, growth, recognition, workload) as well as the outcome (pride, advocacy, intention to stay). Without the drivers you know the score but not what to change.

One gap in most engagement surveys: they ask whether people want to contribute, not whether they have the energy to keep doing it. thrive research shows that engaged employees who are burning out lose three times as many days to not working effectively. The workload and capacity questions below close that gap.

For background on what engagement surveys measure and how results are used, see the CIPD factsheet on employee engagement and the Gallup State of the Global Workplace report.

Employee engagement survey questions by theme.

Purpose and meaning

1. I understand how my work contributes to our goals.
2. The work I do is meaningful to me.
3. I am proud to tell people where I work.
4. Our mission makes me feel my job is important.
5. I know what our organization is trying to achieve this year.
6. I would recommend this organization as a place to work.
7. I can see the impact of my work on customers or colleagues.
8. My team’s goals are clear to me.
9. I believe in what this organization does.
10. My work makes good use of my skills.

Leadership and trust

1. I trust the decisions of senior leadership.
2. Leaders explain the reasons behind important decisions.
3. Senior leaders act in line with our stated values.
4. I am confident in the direction of the organization.
5. Leadership communicates openly, including bad news.
6. I believe action will be taken on the results of this survey.
7. Senior leaders are visible and approachable.
8. I understand how my team’s work fits the overall strategy.
9. Leaders here treat people fairly.
10. When things go wrong, leaders take responsibility.

My manager

1. My manager gives me useful feedback.
2. I can talk to my manager about problems.
3. My manager cares about me as a person.
4. My manager keeps their commitments.
5. My manager helps me prioritize when there is too much to do.
6. My manager recognizes good work.
7. My manager supports my development.
8. My manager involves me in decisions that affect my work.
9. My manager notices when I am under too much pressure.
10. I have regular one-to-one conversations with my manager.

Connection and belonging

1. I feel part of my team.
2. People on my team help each other.
3. I can be myself at work.
4. I have a good friend or close colleague at work.
5. Other teams cooperate when we need them.
6. People here treat each other with respect.
7. People like me can succeed here.
8. I have someone at work I can turn to for advice.
9. People from different backgrounds are treated fairly here.
10. Collaboration between teams works well.

Growth and development

1. I have learned something new in the last six months.
2. I can see a future for myself here.
3. I have had a conversation about my development in the last six months.
4. I have opportunities to use my strengths every day.
5. I know what I need to do to progress.
6. I have the tools and resources I need to do my job well.
7. I have a clear idea of how I can progress here.
8. I get the training I need to do my job well.
9. I have had a meaningful conversation about my development in the last six months.
10. My job lets me try new things.

Recognition and fairness

1. When I do good work, it is noticed.
2. Recognition here is fair.
3. I am paid fairly for the work I do.
4. Promotions go to the people who deserve them.
5. Rules are applied consistently to everyone.
6. My contribution is valued.
7. My pay is fair compared with similar roles elsewhere.
8. I understand how pay and promotion decisions are made.
9. Workloads are shared fairly in my team.
10. I feel valued for the work I do.

Voice and safety

1. I can raise concerns without fear of negative consequences.
2. My ideas are taken seriously.
3. It is safe to admit a mistake on my team.
4. People can disagree openly here.
5. I feel informed about changes that affect me.
6. My opinion was asked before recent changes.
7. When I speak up, I see something change.
8. I can disagree with my manager without negative consequences.
9. Concerns raised in surveys lead to action.
10. I know how to raise a concern if something is wrong.

Workload and capacity

1. My workload is manageable.
2. Over the past two weeks I have woken up feeling rested.
3. I can switch off from work in the evenings.
4. I have time for focused work most days.
5. I recover quickly from busy periods.
6. I rarely feel overwhelmed at work.
7. I can switch off from work in my free time.
8. I have enough time for focused work.
9. I recover quickly after a busy period.
10. I rarely feel overwhelmed by my work.

Intention to stay

1. I see myself working here in two years.
2. I rarely think about looking for a job elsewhere.
3. If I were offered a similar job elsewhere, I would stay.
4. I would rejoin this organization if I left.
5. I feel committed to this organization.
6. I would encourage a friend to apply here.
7. I feel proud of what this organization achieves.
8. I expect to grow my career in this organization.
9. I intend to be working here a year from now.
10. I rarely feel like quitting.

Open questions

1. What should we keep doing?
2. What is the one thing we should change first?
3. What gets in the way of doing your best work?
4. What would make you more likely to stay?
5. Is there anything else you would like leadership to know?
6. What is one thing your manager could do differently?
7. What would make you more likely to stay for the next two years?
8. What is one thing your manager could start doing?
9. What should leadership know that it may not hear?
10. What would help you recover after busy periods?

Engagement survey questions for managers and leaders.

Scale and format for engagement survey questions.

Why agreement scales suit engagement survey questions.

Agreement scales let people answer statements quickly and make results easy to compare between teams and years.

How to create an employee engagement survey from these questions.

1. 1
   Pick themes. Choose six to eight themes that matter most to you.
2. 2
   Select 30 to 60 statements. Four to eight per theme, plus one or two open questions.
3. 3
   Keep the scale consistent. Five points, from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
4. 4
   Test it. Ask a small group to complete it and flag unclear wording.
5. 5
   Launch with a clear message. Purpose, time needed, anonymity, when results arrive.

How long an employee engagement survey should be.

Most annual engagement surveys use 30 to 60 statements and take 10 to 15 minutes. Shorter is better if it still covers the drivers you need. Every question should earn its place: if you would not act on the answer, remove it.

Mistakes that ruin results.

1. 01
   Double questions. "I am happy with pay and benefits" cannot be answered honestly.
2. 02
   Leading wording. "How much do you enjoy our great culture?" produces flattering, useless data.
3. 03
   No action afterward. The next survey's response rate depends on visible change after this one.
4. 04
   Results too fine-grained. Reporting groups of three breaks anonymity and honesty with it.
5. 05
   Changing questions every year. Keep a stable core so trends mean something.

Wording tips for engagement survey questions.

Write statements in the first person, keep each to one idea and use everyday words. "My manager helps me prioritize" is clearer than "Managerial support for prioritization is adequate". Avoid absolute words such as always and never, and test new statements with a few employees before launch.

How to analyze engagement survey results.

Start with participation, then look at scores by theme and by team. The lowest-scoring theme in each team is usually the best place to act. Compare with the last survey, because change is more informative than level. Read engagement next to the workload and capacity items: high engagement with low energy marks teams that need relief, not motivation. Group open answers into themes and share the top three with each team.

Reading engagement survey results: an example.

The following example is illustrative. A team of 14 scores well on purpose and team connection, average on growth, and low on workload and recovery. Its intent to stay has fallen since the last survey. The open comments mention two large projects running at the same time and evening work.

Reading the drivers together shows that the risk sits in capacity, not commitment. People still care about the work but cannot keep up the pace. The team agrees to move one project deadline, protect one focus day a week and review workload in the next pulse. A motivation or recognition program would have missed the point.

After the engagement survey.

Share results within three weeks. Ask each team to choose one or two priorities and an owner. Report back on what changed before the next survey. See employee engagement strategies for what to do with the results.

An action plan template for engagement survey results.