An Ultimate Guide to Employee Engagement Surveys

Employee engagement surveys are effective tools that help in understanding the employees to cultivate a positive work culture. The surveys are designed to assess and measure the engagement level of all the employees in an organization, to gain an insight into their attitude and thought process, and to boost engagement drivers so that they can perform at their best.

Meaning of Employee Engagement Surveys

Employees are the backbone of every industry as it is simply next to impossible to work in a productive atmosphere and meet deadlines without the help of your workforce.  Organizations have realized the importance of encouraging employee engagement in the workplace because an employee who is happy and content will be engaged in his work and try to put his best foot forward.

An engaged employee will align personal goals and objectives with those of the organization to boost the levels of efficiency and productivity. Employee engagement will result in an increase in sales figures, more significant revenues, and high customer satisfaction.

An employee engagement survey questions and answers are the means to know whether the employee is immersed in his job or not. It helps to understand the employee, his frame of mind, and what he wants from the organization. Solicit feedback regularly so that the employees can give helpful and honest answers through the survey.

Employee Engagement Survey Questionnaire Sample

It is essential to ask the right questions in the survey to determine the core issues and reach the heart of the matter. The employee engagement questions and answers should relate to several topics so that you can delve deep and gain important insight.

Questions Related to Alignment

Do the employees feel as if they matter because it can be a great motivational tool? Some questions related to alignment are

• Does the vision of the company feel inspiring to you?

The purpose of this alignment question is to understand how the employees feel about the goals, vision and mission of the company and can he relate and ultimately align with it

• Do you consider your work meaningful?

The purpose of putting forth this question is to know whether they consider their work important, and they are happy working hard for it. Employees who are engaged will stay committed to their company irrespective of any adverse conditions or bumps in the way

• Are your accomplishments recognized?

Employees crave recognition above everything else. The purpose of this question is to see whether the employee is satisfied with the recognition he is getting or is he likely to seek it elsewhere

Questions Related to the Employee’s Future

More than 60% of the employees are ready to leave their job if they feel that it does not offer growth in the future. Some related questions are-

• Where do you see yourself at the end of this year?

The purpose of this question is to know whether the employee is happy in his job position or is he thinking of leaving it for better pastures

• Is your work helping in your professional growth?

The purpose of this question is to understand whether the employee feels as if he has got stuck in a place with no opportunities or he is satisfied because of the various training and developing opportunities he has received to improve and enhance his skill set.

• Do you have the tools to boost your potential and skill-set?

The purpose of this question is to make the employee evaluate his skills and understand whether he has the means to improve them. When the employee realizes that he has the resources and tools to take him forward in this company, it will lead to employee engagement and employee retention

• Have you thought about leaving the company?

The purpose of this close-ended question is to know whether the employee is satisfied in his present environment or is he looking for something bigger and better

Questions Related to Employee Satisfaction

Employees who are satisfied in their work environment are eager to work and prove themselves. How they feel about the organization can be understood through the following questions-

• How do you feel about work today?

The question tries to understand the attitude of the employee at the present moment. It tries to identify whether the employee is happy in his workspace or whether he is facing any issues over there.

• Will you recommend this company to your friends for employment?

Just like happy customers, satisfied employees can be the best agent for hiring valuable talent. When the employee is ready to recommend his company to friends and family, it means that he is satisfied with his job

• Are you happy with your benefits and compensation?

If an employee believes that he is underpaid, it means he is dissatisfied with his position. Asking about the benefits will help to learn which ones matter most to him

• Do you feel proud of working here?

If an employee is proud of his company, he will go out of the way to represent it to everyone around him. This will prove beneficial for the organization as a whole.

• Do you enjoy being a part of the team?

Employee satisfaction is highly dependent upon being an integral part of the team and working amicably with all the other members.

Open-ended Questions

The purpose of open-ended employee engagement survey questions is to allow the employee to say what is on his mind.

• Do you see any problems in the work culture?

Employees are the best people to know about any issues related to the work culture. The purpose of the employee survey questions about culture is to identify and resolve them timely

• What practices do we need to change?

The purpose of the question is to make the employee feel as if he is an integral part of the organization and to encourage active participation to create a responsive organization.

Questions Related to the Employee’s Personal Growth

As per the latest statistics, very few people are given opportunities for personal growth. Some related questions to know the truth of the matter are

• What type of project would you like to be a part of?

The purpose of this question is to understand what type of work or project the employee wants.

• Which responsibility would you like to take on?

Every job has specific responsibilities of its own, which an employee has to perform irrespective of the fact that it is to his liking or not. The purpose of asking the question is to understand whether he is inclined towards another position or he is satisfied in his role.

• Are you satisfied with the learning opportunities you have received in the organization?

This question is related to the personal growth of an employee. The purpose is to determine whether he feels he is getting opportunities, or there is still scope for better ones. The organization will find it useful in making changes in its system so that it can lead to employee engagement and satisfaction

• Do you want to develop any specific skills?

The purpose is to determine whether he is satisfied with the opportunities that have been offered to him to date or do he want more to develop and hone his skills.

Questions Related to Manager Evaluation

Most of the employees are not happy with their managers. The purpose of this type of question is to identify the areas where the company has to work to improve employee and manager relationships.

• Do you receive constructive feedback from your manager?

The purpose of the question is to know whether the employee considers the feedback as constructive or negative. Does he agree with the evaluation, or he considers it a waste of time and effort?

• Do you consider the employee evaluation process to be fair?

The purpose of the question is to know whether the employee agrees with the manager and whether their relationship is a smooth and amicable one.

Employee Engagement Survey Purpose

The employee engagement survey purpose is

1. To get an essential insight into the reason which drives employee engagement in the organization
2. To offer an opportunity so that the employee can offer any suggestions that he thinks is viable and beneficial for the organization
3. To share any concern that the employee has against the organization, processes, other co-workers or senior members of the company
4. To keep an eye on employee engagement
5. Improve and increase the level of employee engagement

How to Conduct Employee Engagement Surveys?

Take the following steps to conduct employee surveys

1. The current status

Before conducting a survey, it is imperative to know where your organization currently stands. Ask simple questions and collect feedback as preliminary data from the employees so that you can understand the general sentiments of the workforce

2. Input from seniors 

Besides the workforce, you will have to interact with the employees at management positions to get their input. Talk to the senior leaders and involve them in the process to create fruitful and effective surveys.

3. Set goals 

Now, you have an idea about the current standing of your workforce. This is the time to set clear goals to define objectives and make it clear what you want the survey to accomplish.

Pay special attention to finding ways that will improve employee engagement, boost employee retention and develop better communication

4. Create a list of questions 

This is the time to prepare a list of questions that you are going to ask through the surveys. Keep in mind your goals and objectives, think things through, and create a set of questions that range from satisfaction, alignment, personal growth, future, company culture, etc.

5. Determine how you want to conduct the survey 

Your survey is ready but how are you going to conduct it is a million-dollar question. Opt for short and straightforward surveys conducted at regular intervals so that you have your fingers on the pulse and can identify discrepancies and issues timely.

Employee Engagement Survey Best Practices

The basic practices one should follow while preparing surveys are as follows-

1. Keep it short and simple 

The best employee surveys are the ones that are short and simple. Too many questions can confuse the employees and destroy the purpose of conducting the survey.

2. Include objectives of the organization 

The engagement surveys should be related to the organization’s objectives. Think about the ultimate goal of the survey and the concerns you want to address, or you want to measure the effectiveness of recent programs that the company has introduced and prepared the questionnaire accordingly if you are looking for employee engagement survey best practices.

3. Engage employees in the design of the surveys

It is essential to involve some employees in the designing and analyzing part of the survey before introducing it to the whole organization.

Remember the employees are the ones who will have to answer the questions and who better than them to tell whether the questions are relevant or not

4. Avoid grouping related terms 

Employee surveys should not integrate two questions even if they are somewhat related as it will create confusion in the mind of the employee. Employees response might be about one and not the other related question, and this is why the information gathered through the survey will not be actionable

5. Ask the right questions 

Ask the right questions that have relevance to the topics you want to cover. Close-ended questions are the best in this scenario that will have a strong response on the scale of 1 to 5.

Include a few open-ended employee engagement survey questions to know what is on the mind of the employees. Do not attempt too many of them as it will generate a high volume of data that will be time-consuming and difficult to analyze.

6. The number of surveys 

Several organizations prefer annual surveys, but they are not enough as you will have to wait a whole year to make any essential changes. Better conduct Pulse surveys at regular intervals to know about employee engagement levels.

7. Questions to avoid or limit 

The purpose of engagement surveys is to get answers on which the management can act. The survey should focus on the questions that will help in understanding the employees and stay away from nice-to-know questions.

Limit the number of questions about demographics, age, race, gender, and religion as people might not be comfortable with them. You can make it voluntary to remove any fears that the employee might have about them.

8. Use neutral statements 

Do not make the survey questionnaire entirely positive as it will prove unrealistic. Neutral statements help the employees to answer honestly so that the employee engagement survey results are true.

9. Ensure confidentiality 

Ensure the employees that their names will not be disclosed to anyone and that they can answer truthfully. Absolute confidentiality and anonymity are the two reasons why the employee will open himself and answer honestly without the fear of any backlash

Advantages of Employee Engagement Surveys

The advantages of surveys are as follows-

1. Employee engagement surveys are considered advantageous because it offers valuable information related to the workforce of an organization.
2. The employee surveys help to improve and increase the level of efficiency and effectiveness in an organization
3. The engagement surveys are essential tools that help to spot issues early on and find viable solutions to those problems
4. The surveys are advantageous as it increases the rate of employee retention
5. The company that encourages the concept of employee engagement surveys shows to its workforce that they care about their employees and are ever ready to hear any grievances, complains or suggestions which they might have
6. The surveys boost employee morale by sending a positive message that the organization cares
7. Carefully designed surveys result in lower rates of absenteeism in the company

Disadvantages of Employee Engagement Surveys

The disadvantages of employee engagement surveys are as follows-

1. If not appropriately conducted, employee engagement surveys can send the organization in the wrong direction.
2. The cons of employee engagement surveys are that if it is not done professionally, it has the power to damage employee morale and ultimately employee engagement
3. If not appropriately conducted employee engagement surveys will raise false hopes and expectations in the workforce, and this could lead to disappointment amongst the workforce and high rates of employee turnover
4. Employee engagement surveys are related to things that have happened in the past. The organization keeps on reacting to things that have already happened instead of preparing for the future.

Conclusion

Employee engagement surveys act as key engagement drivers that will help in creating an efficient workforce to make the organization profitable. These are designed to gather relevant and fresh data that will in the fight against attrition and disengagement.

Acting on the feedback will ultimately prove beneficial for both the organization and the employers working in it.