Unlocking Employee Engagement: 27 Must-Ask Survey Questions for Employers

Employee engagement is an essential element of any successful organization.

Engaged employees are more motivated, productive, and committed to their work, which leads to increased job satisfaction and reduced turnover rates. And as an employer, it's crucial to measure and improve employee engagement regularly.

By asking the right questions, you can identify areas for improvement and take action to create a more engaging work environment.

In this post, we will share 27 must-ask survey questions that can help unlock that in your organization. These questions are carefully curated to cover various aspects of employee engagement, such as motivation, communication, professional development, recognition, and work environment.

And, of course, we recommend you to use Pollme to easily create and distribute these questions to your employees.

Survey questions for communication and feedback

Online anonymous surveys can provide honest feedback on how the employees feel about communication with their supervisors and coworkers.

By receiving these answers, the company can take action to improve communication in the organization and provide more feedback to improve employee performance.

These 4 questions should be in the center of your survey:

1. How often do you receive feedback on your performance?
2. Do you feel like your opinions and ideas are valued by your supervisor/team?
3. How well does the company communicate its vision and mission to employees?
4. How comfortable do you feel bringing up concerns or issues with your supervisor/team?

Survey questions for culture and work environment

Sometimes it’s not easy to share personal feelings towards work with your bosses or even with coworkers.

Specific questions in an online survey can reveal if employees feel they have a proper balance between their work and personal life, and if they feel part of a community at work.

Use these questions so your employees can freely write how they are feeling or maybe rate on a scale their level of satisfaction. You can check our templates to get more ideas on how to use them:

1. Do you feel like you have a good work-life balance?
2. How well does the company foster a sense of community and teamwork among employees?
3. Do you feel like you have the resources and tools necessary to do your job effectively?
4. How much autonomy do you have in your job?
5. How much do you feel like your job aligns with your personal values and interests?
6. How well does the company address and resolve conflicts or issues in the workplace?
7. Do you feel like the company is committed to creating a positive work environment for all employees?

Survey questions for professional development

Have you ever felt stagnated at your job? Maybe your collaborators are.

An online survey can be useful in measuring employee satisfaction with regard to professional development and growth opportunities in their job.

If your team is growing, you’ll need to know if employees feel they have enough training and development opportunities, and if they are being given the opportunity to grow and advance in the organization.

These questions should be the landmark to start the conversation:

1. How satisfied are you with the opportunities for professional development and growth in your role?
2. How often do you receive training or development opportunities to improve your skills?
3. What are the areas of professional development that you feel are most important for your career growth?
4. Would you be interested in mentoring or being mentored by someone in your field?
5. What barriers do you face when it comes to accessing professional development opportunities?

Survey questions for recognition

Work can get you tired. Like, really tired.

And if you don’t feel recognized for all the energy you are putting out there, things can get complicated.

With the right questions the employees can provide feedback on whether they feel valued and if they are receiving adequate recognition for their work.

Want to know what’s on their minds? Use this data to improve employee benefits and the retention of talent, and also offer incentives that can really motivate them.

1. How often do you receive recognition or praise for your work?
2. How satisfied are you with the benefits and compensation package offered by the company?
3. In your opinion, what types of recognition are most meaningful and motivating to you?
4. Have you ever received public recognition for your work, such as through an award or acknowledgement in a company meeting? If yes, how did this make you feel?
5. Have you ever received a promotion or salary increase as recognition for your work? If yes, did this motivate you to continue performing well?
6. How would you rate your employer's current efforts in recognizing employee contributions and achievements?

Survey questions for motivation and purpose

People don’t only work for money.

Of course, that’s a very important part of the job, but there are other factors that influence the level of motivation and purpose that employees feel in their work.

Through these questions, areas where employees may be losing their sense of purpose can be identified, while also identifying what motivates them. With the survey results, actions can be taken to improve motivation and purpose at work:

1. On a scale of 1-10, how motivated are you to come to work every day?
2. Do you feel like your job provides you with a sense of purpose?
3. Have you ever experienced a lack of motivation at work? If yes, what do you think caused it?
4. Do you feel that your work is challenging enough to keep you engaged and motivated?
5. In your opinion, what could your employer do to improve motivation and purpose among employees?