15 Employee Engagement Survey Questions [+ Free PDF Download]
Employee engagement matters. In fact, Culture and Engagement are considered to be the #1 HR trend for many years.
Let’s start with some basics..
What Is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement represents the levels of enthusiasm and connection employees have with their organization. It’s a measure of how motivated people are to put in extra effort for their organization, and a sign of how committed they are to staying there.
Employee engagement is more than just employee happiness or satisfaction. Perhaps the most important thing to know about employee engagement is that it is an outcome. How you can impact employee engagement depends on your understanding of what’s driving it and how you can influence those drivers.
There are many benefits to having highly engaged employees.
But you’re probably wondering..
How Do You Measure It?
One way to understand where your employees stand with engagement is by surveying them. You may already be doing this; if so, that’s great! So, whether you already have an employee engagement survey or are planning to send one out soon, below are 15 employee engagement survey questions you should consider to use in your action plan.
What Is The Purpose of an Employee Engagement Survey?
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. People who are engaged feel energized by their work, maintain better mental health, work in a state of flow, and more.
The research speaks for itself..
Employee Engagement Benefits & Research
The Harvard Business Review says employee surveys are still one of the best ways to measure engagement because they’re great predictors of behavior, give employees the chance to feel heard, and serve as a vehicle for changing behavior. Using employee engagement surveys can help us understand what’s driving engagement in our companies.
In a 2018 benchmark research, Culture AMP found that learning and development, leadership, and service & quality focus were top drivers of engagement. By taking action on those drivers, like setting up lunches with leaders if leadership is a driver, you can start improving employee engagement.
The more people at your company who understand what employee engagement is and is not, the better. As Bersin by Deloitte predicted earlier this year, HR will help employees lead a better work-life using data and analytics. Part of that is integrating employee engagement into the workplace and using those insights to create a better employee experience for everyone.
Try BambooHR eNPS today!
15 Employee Engagement Survey Questions:
TIPS: How To Promote Employee Engagement Survey
First, try to refrain from asking Yes/No questions; instead, stick to scales (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree) and open-ended employee engagement survey questions.
Second, make sure the surveys are anonymous and make a strong effort to assure your employees of their anonymity.
1. I can see myself working here in five years.
This is a great question that gives you a general idea of how your employees feel about your organization and their ability to see themselves developing within it. You may want to lead with this one if you’re focusing on employee satisfaction survey questions.
2. I have a clear understanding of my company’s strategic goals.
This question allows you to see how well you’re communicating your strategic goals and objectives so you know if you should improve in this area.
3. I can easily see how my work affects the company’s overall success.
Plenty of studies show how employee attitudes affect an organization’s performance. And yep, you guessed it, employee attitudes improve when people feel their work directly contributes to the company’s overall success.
4. I always know what is expected of me when it comes to my goals and objectives.
This is another great question that sheds light on how employees perceive their work, and whether or not management is doing well conveying their message to their employees.
5. It really feels like everyone is on the same team at my company.
Take a moment and think about how you would feel and how difficult it would be to achieve anything if people within your company aren’t on the same page. Wouldn’t be a great situation to be in, huh?
6. My manager recognizes my full potential and capitalizes on my strengths.
Employees want to be recognized for their hard work and want their managers to realize their potential. This question will help you understand how your employees feel with regards to recognition and development within your organization.
7. I always want to give my best whenever I’m at work.
If most of your employees don’t want to give their best when they’re at work (or at least most of the time), you’ve got yourself a pretty serious problem!
8. I’m proud to be part of this company.
Employees are a company’s best ambassador, marketer, and recruiter. If you aren’t capitalizing on this asset, then you need to reconsider some of your practices.
9. I always recommend my company to others.
You know where I’m going with this.
10. The leaders of my company really know what they’re doing.
There’s not much worse than having a leader you don’t believe in . . .
11. I believe in my company’s mission.
Because you DO have a clear mission that is well known throughout your company, right?
12. I believe in the approach my leaders take to reach our objectives.
Actually, these last two questions are really meant to evaluate the level of compatibility between your approach and mission as an organization, and those of your employees. If the mission and approach are competitive, dynamic, innovative, and require people to do whatever it takes to get things done, then your employees need to have those traits within them. You can’t have these types of employees work for a service, customer-oriented organization where things need to be done by the book. It’s all about job and organizational-fit. If you don’t have those, you won’t be able to achieve the level of engagement and performance you need. Be sure to use tools that can help you reach a good level of fit and compatibility if you think it’s a problem at your organization.
13. My company’s core values are . . .
Have your employees list them. Do your employees know what they are? If you’re looking for employee survey questions about culture, this one should definitely be included.
14. My company’s mission and objective are . . .
If your employees don’t answer questions 13 and 14 correctly, it’s not their fault! It’s yours, as the employer, for not properly communicating the message.
15. If you were to be president of the company, what is the first thing you would change?
This is my favorite question out of them all simply because it has the capacity to give you a great deal of information you can’t otherwise get. Just give it a try and see what you get! What have you got to lose, anyway?
And there you have it! Fifteen employee engagement survey questions that will give you better insight into how engaged your employees are (here are more survey question ideas) Even if you’re still a little skeptical about employee surveys in general, just give it a go. You may be surprised by what you learn.
Leen Sawalha is an HR Consultant at AtmanCo, a company that believes your organization can boost its productivity, performance, and prosperity by focusing on its most important assets: its employees. Her interest in the effects of motivation and behavior on businesses has led her to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Human Resources Management.
Get caught up every month on all things HR. Don't worry, we promise we won't spam you.
