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Your employees are not just a part of your team they are your team, but how often do you check to see how they feel about the workplace? Employee engagement surveys open the door for honest feedback from employees on how motivated and committed they feel while working, helping you create a workplace employee’s love. However, the quality of insights depends on the type of questions and topics you choose to ask. Let’s explore employee engagement survey topics that spark real conversations and drive changes.
In this blog, you'll learn:
- What is an employee engagement survey?
- Core Types of Employee Engagement Surveys & When to Conduct Them
- Employee Engagement Survey Topics ( Purpose, Stats & Key Questions)
- What’s Considered a Strong Employee Engagement Survey Score?
- Sample employee engagement survey Template for free
- Why the Future of Employee Feedback Is AI-Driven
- How Theysaid is a smart way to understand your employees
What is an employee engagement survey?
An employee engagement survey is a powerful tool that provides a safe, non-judgmental place for employees to express different opinions on how they feel about their workload, managers, and work culture. It digs into topics such as work-life balance, organizational environment, teamwork, job satisfaction, and more.
The key benefits of employee engagement surveys are:
High retention rate: Employees who feel heard and valued are less likely to leave the company.
Benchmarking: Allows management to compare employee engagement with industry standards.
Better decision-making: Numbers don’t lie! By gathering accurate data, management can make informed decisions that hit the mark.
Increase productivity: Engaged employees tend to have high morale and contribute more effectively towards the company’s goals.
Low absenteeism: Employees who love doing what they do and feel connected to the company are less likely to miss days.
Drives Innovation: Fresh ideas often come from employees who feel empowered to speak up.
Core Types of Employee Engagement Surveys & When to Conduct Them
Following are the core types of employee engagement surveys & when to conduct them:
Annual Engagement Survey
Annual engagement surveys provide an overall perspective of employee's experience throughout the year with the company. HR sends annual engagement surveys once a year, probably at the end of the year, covering various topics, including workplace values, management feedback, and employee satisfaction.
Annual engagement surveys can help you in the following ways:
- Receiving data and insights from the past year can help management create improved action plans for the following year.
- Support individual team members and help management in creating long-term goals.
- Measures how employees feel about workload, manager, and day-to-day job activities.
- Help management determines how employees perceive the workplace culture and what changes are required to improve that.
Pulse Surveys
Pulse surveys are a quicker way to check the health of the company. Regular pulse surveys help you improve every day, not just once a year. Conduct pulse surveys on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis.
Pulse Surveys can help you in the following ways:
- Identify recurring organizational trends and test experiments to see what works best.
- Gauge employee reactions to the company’s new policies and rules.
- Keeping all the employees in the survey feedback loop and looking for how things work in the office daily.
- Providing employees with the tools and resources they need immediately.
Employee Lifecycle Survey
Employee lifecycle survey collects employee feedback on different stages of their journey. These surveys help organizations improve employee engagement from recruitment to departure.
The key benefits of employee lifecycle surveys are:
- 30, 60, or 90 days post-hire to assess the employee’s initial level of engagement.
- Identify gaps in the onboarding process and evaluate engagement in training sessions.
- Measuring employee engagement after completing a specific project.
Employee Engagement Survey Topics (Purpose, Stats & Key Questions)
Following are essential employee engagement survey topics, backed by stats and key questions to ask in surveys:
Organizational culture and values
Organizational culture and values are a set of beliefs and practices that employees experience in a workplace. It includes everything from mission to vision, work environment, employee rewards and recognition, rules and policies followed by an organization. A healthier workplace culture maintains an inclusive, collaborative work environment, creating a sense of belonging and stability, increasing productivity, and boosting morals.
Key questions to ask:
- Do you think the organization’s values are reflected in their interaction and behavior?
- What changes would you suggest to improve organizational culture and value?
- How would you rate the inclusivity and encouragement of our workplace?
Professional growth and learning opportunities
Employees who see potential learning and growth opportunities in their current roles are more likely to stay engaged, motivated, and happy at the workplace. According to a report, 94% of employees say they would remain at a company longer if invested in their career learning and development.
Professional development empowers employees to learn new skills and perform better, increasing employee satisfaction and revenue.
Key questions to ask:
- How often do you have conversations about career growth with your manager?
- What type of learning programs are you interested in? ( Workshops, courses, mentorship)
- Does the company provide enough tools and resources for your professional growth?
Team dynamics and collaboration
Trust, communication, and collaboration are the key elements of team dynamics. With trust, team cohesion increases by sharing ideas and opinions and taking risks. A transparent communication culture makes employees feel heard and valued, ultimately increasing engagement and job efficiency. Effective collaboration breaks down silos and creates a culture of knowledge sharing that, in the long run, boost the problem-solving abilities of employees.
Key questions to ask:
- How would you rate the overall team dynamics of your department?
- Do you think your management actively encourages collaboration and teamwork?
- How effectively does your team resolve conflicts constructively?
Work-Life Balance
Having a healthy work-life balance is important for employee engagement and well-being.
Employees who effectively manage their professional lives with their personal lives are less likely to experience burnout. 95% of employees view work-life balance as crucial to overall job satisfaction.
Key questions to ask:
- How do you feel about your workload?
- How satisfied are you with your current working hours?
- Do you have enough flexibility to manage personal commitments and professional life?
Recognition & Rewards
Employee recognition is a vital aspect of any successful organization. Employees who are genuinely appreciated for their contributions and hard work are likely to stay loyal and engaged. Recognition and rewards range from verbal praise to bonuses, high-level positions, or special privileges.
Key questions to ask:
- Do you feel acknowledged and appreciated for your contributions?
- How satisfied are you with the company’s current recognition programs?
- What new incentives would you like to see offered?
Employee wellbeing
Employee well-being survey questions go beyond physical health and include mental, emotional, and financial health survey questions. When employees feel supported in all aspects of life, they are more mentally strong and engaged and feel more connected to the organization.
Key questions to ask:
- How do you feel about your overall well-being?
- What are your suggestions for improving the well-being programs we offer?
- How happy are you working with us on a scale of 0-10?
Leadership & Management
Strong leaders inspire, guide, and empower their teams, creating a work environment where employees feel motivated and supported. Furthermore, more survey questions about management will help organizations enhance the quality of their decisions and identify an area of sense of responsibility within teams.
Key questions to ask:
- Do you think our management is transparent about decision-making processes?
- How frequently do you receive feedback from your manager?
- Share an example of something you like your manager has done for the team.
Sample employee engagement survey Template for free
Boost engagement, gather honest feedback, and create a stronger workplace culture with this dynamic survey template!
What is your current role/position?
- Executive
- Manager
- Team Lead
- Other (please specify)
What is your primary work setup?
- On-site
- Remote
- Hybrid
How well do our company’s values align with your personal growth values?
- Perfectly aligned
- Somewhat aligned
- Not Aligned
Which development programs interest you the most? (Select all that apply)
- Online courses
- Mentorship programs
- Workshops & Seminars
- Leadership training
How would you rate communication within your team? (Scale 0-10)
How often do you receive recognition for your work?
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Rarely
- Never
How comfortable are you expressing your opinions and concerns to management
- Very comfortable
- Somewhat comfortable
- Neutral
- Slightly uncomfortable
- Very uncomfortable
How confident are you in the company’s leadership in making the right decisions? (Scale 1-5)
What flexible work options would you like to see offered? (Open-ended)
What’s Considered a Strong Employee Engagement Survey Score?
Good employee engagement scores fall under 70% to 80%. Above 80% of the workforce is highly engaged, and below 70% indicates underlying issues that must be addressed.
Don’t just go with numbers. Identify trends and patterns over time and create actionable plans to drive changes in the workplace.
- 80% – 100% → Outstanding engagement
- 70% – 79% → Strong engagement
- 60% – 69% → Moderate engagement
- Below 60% → Low engagement
Why the Future of Employee Feedback Is AI-Driven
Traditional surveys often feel tedious and time-consuming and fail to capture the real insights AI-powered survey tools such as TheySaid are shiting the trend by making engaging and interactive surveys that actually listen. From AI handling everything from survey creation to distribution and in-depth analysis and reporting, you get rich data and actionable insights without any headache.
Theysaid is a smart way to understand your employees
Gone are the days of boring one-way surveys. TheySaid turns the basic questionnaire into an engaging conversation with AI to get the why behind their responses. The result is faster insights, high participation rates, and actionable plans. All you have to do is enter the URL of your website, and AI will automatically learn about your business and goals and create questions for you. You can tweak questions as you like. Share via email, in-app chat, Slack, or QR codes. AI will identify key patterns and trends for you. Get recommendations on how to improve engagement and implement feedback in the workplace.
Sign up for free!
FAQs
What is the purpose of an employee engagement survey?
The main purpose of an employee engagement survey is to understand how employees feel about their work, workload, leadership and management, and overall job satisfaction The survey results are used to identify employee engagement issues and create strategic action plans to improve the workplace.
What are the most important topics to include in an employee engagement survey?
The most important topics to include in employee engagement surveys are organizational culture & values, work-life balance, growth and opportunities, employee well-being, recognition and reward, management and leadership.
How can I improve participation in employee engagement surveys?
Use AI-powered survey tools such as TheySaid to make surveys feel like a conversation. Ensure employees' responses are anonymous, keep it short and engaging, share survey results with employees, and implement changes based on the feedback.
