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Employee engagement drives business results. A workplace with engaged employees sees higher productivity, better innovation, and stronger profits.
- Why it matters: More than 70% of executives say employee engagement is very important to overall organizational success, according to Harvard Business Review. And yet we've continued to watch global employee engagement levels drop year over year, according to Gallup.
Enter employee engagement surveys: Leaders can use them to identify early issues before they become full-blown problems that impede progress and dampen morale.
- Routine surveys that give staff the psychological safety to be honest are still one of the most essential tools executives have to learn what’s working and what’s not.
- They can use them to implement better employee engagement strategies.
Importance of employee engagement surveys
Over 35% of employees say their leadership could improve its communication and operations just by making it easier for employees to share feedback. Effective employee engagement surveys are a smart way to do it. They can help leadership teams...
- Assess existing engagement efforts, identify what’s lacking, and determine improvement opportunities.
- Show employees that leaders care about their input, potentially improving their willingness to get involved.
Make surveys anonymous as way to let distraught employees express their concerns and share honest feedback.
22 employee engagement survey questions
Instead of yes/no questions, use the 5-point Likert scale to collect employee engagement surveys.
🎨 Design survey questions with specific statements that guide employees to respond based on how much they agree or disagree. Use a rating scale from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree” to get precise data around employee sentiments.
Here are some effective survey questions to uncover employee engagement issues...
Core employee engagement questions
Core engagement questions focus on fundamental drivers of employee engagement — motivation, commitment, purpose, and connection. These questions show leaders major issues causing disengagement or dissatisfaction. Consider useful questions like...
1. I am proud to work at [Company Name].
A negative internal reputation is a red flag that needs investigating. You want an organization that employees are proud of, so involve them in shaping values and culture. Highlight company wins and emphasize the team’s role in achieving them.
2. I would recommend [Company Name] as a great place to work.
Assess your level of employee advocacy. If employees don't want to recommend your company, there’s a need for a stronger organizational culture. Treats employees as actual stakeholders in the company’s success, and Show them how their advocacy can help shape a workplace they’re proud to be part of.
3. I see myself working here in two years.
Use this to predict turnover risks and gauge how likely employees are to stay — and stay committed. Eliminate blockers by creating a work culture that encourages unity, career growth, and work-life balance.
4. I feel motivated to go above and beyond in my role.
Little to no motivation might mean bigger issues like burnout, personal struggles, lack of managerial support, or even a poor ownership culture. Fix this by reassessing your culture — take clear, intentional steps to support employee well-being and prioritize leadership accountability.
Leadership trust
Only 20% of U.S. employees trust their organization's leadership, according to Gallup’s 2024 survey. That’s less than half of the workforce, signaling trouble for morale and engagement. Assess leadership trust with these survey questions:
5. I have confidence in the decisions made by our leadership team.
Low ratings could equal doubt in leaders’ transparency or, worse, their ability to steer the company effectively. It's an obvious cause of declining commitment and participation rates. Leaders should explain the "why" behind decisions, communicate when things go wrong and explain what’s being done to fix it.
6. Leaders communicate a clear vision for the company.
72% of employees told us understanding company goals influences how engaged they are at work. Poor company vision messaging can lead to disengagement and uncertainty about the company’s future.
Communicate your corporate vision in simple and consistent language, connect it to daily work, and create opportunities for real-time conversations with leadership.
7. Leaders demonstrate genuine care for employee well-being.
Any indication that employees don't feel valued could explain burnout or disconnection. The solution is to support better relationships between leaders and subordinates across teams.
Recognition and appreciation
Recognition programs give employees a way to be and feel seen.
📊 By the numbers: 72% of leaders rank employee performance recognition as a major driver of engagement, according to Harvard Business Review.
Including recognition and appreciation questions in surveys can help spot employees who feel blindsided and have lost the zeal to do great work.
8. I regularly receive recognition for doing good work.
Employees who feel unappreciated are less motivated to maintain or improve performance. If survey scores show poor recognition, consider run regular private and public recognition initiatives. Shout-outs, written notes, verbal accolades, and awards are great starters.
9. My manager appreciates my contributions.
This question reveals whether employees feel personally valued by their direct leader, a key driver of motivation and engagement. Low ratings might mean managers aren’t recognizing efforts enough or that praise feels insincere.
10. Employees here are recognized fairly for their achievements.
Ask this to see how employees perceive equity and fairness at the organization. If engagement scores reela little to no fairness in recognition, it could suggest potential bias or favoritism. When these concerns linger long enough, trust, morale and teamwork will likely decline.
Communication and collaboration
Internal communication and collaboration are key drivers of engagement and attaining goals effectively.
79% of employees say the quality of communication from leaders impacts how well they understand organizational goals. Strong communication brings better alignment and, in turn, elevates productivity.
Running regular surveys gives you a way to check in on team communication and collaboration. Identify improvement areas and implement required changes each time. Some key questions to ask...
11. Information needed to do my job is communicated effectively.
73% of leaders believe employees can easily find the goals, strategies, and directives executives have shared with them. But, only 49% of employees agree.
Ask employees how effectively instructions are passed on so you can identify communication gaps causing confusion, inefficiency, or mistakes. Once you find the loopholes, introduce initiatives that reinforce important company updates and button up resource hubs so information is easier to find.
12. I feel comfortable sharing my ideas and opinions.
Leaders learn if there are barriers to honest feedback with this question. Low scores may indicate a culture where people fear speaking up, so make it a company mission to remove any obstacles from opening communication and team collaboration.
13. My team collaborates well to get work done.
This question reveals how effectively teams work together and helps leaders spot strengths or breakdowns in teamwork and cooperation. Low ratings can point to siloed work, poor coordination, and unresolved conflicts, all of which reduce efficiency and job satisfaction.
Manager effectiveness
Manager engagement declined from 30% to 27%, according to Gallup's 2025 State of Global Workplace Report. This is a major contributor to declining employee engagement.
- Managers shape daily employee experience. Their support, clarity, and openness directly impact employee engagement, performance, and retention.
Evaluate manager effectiveness with these questions:
14. My manager cares about my professional growth.
If managers focus only on tasks, they could be producing more disengaged employees and even high turnover. Avoid this by encouraging managers to be more intentional about coaching, mentoring, and exposing team members to growth opportunities.
15. My manager communicates clear expectations.
Use this to get insights into how managers communicate responsibilities. When managers fail here, employees may feel lost or frustrated, leading to mistakes, stress, and lower productivity. Improve managerial communication by encouraging them to give employees sufficient context when giving directives.
16. I feel comfortable raising concerns with my manager.
If employees don't feel safe sharing honest feedback, their problems go unaddressed, morale drops, and trust erodes.
Use your internal comms platforms to encourage an environment where employees can freely communicate concerns with leaders and be confident they’ll listen without intimidation.
Career growth and development
Opportunities to learn and advance can keep employees motivated and reduce turnover. Assess how you’re helping workers achieve their career goals with these questions...
17. I have access to learning and development opportunities.
Gaps in training or development might make employees feel stuck, limiting innovation and increasing the risk of losing talent to competitors. Resolve this by providing access to training and skill-building resources.
18. I understand how to grow my career at [Company Name].
Any uncertainty about internal career opportunities can lead to high turnover. Clearly communicate how employees can move up the ladder, and make it easy for employees to get promotions, especially when they prove resourceful over time.
19. I receive feedback that helps me improve.
Evaluate the quality and frequency of performance feedback from peers and mangers. Performance levels might be lower when feedback is infrequent, vague, or negative. Make sure you have systems in place for continuous feedback that drives improvement and professional growth.
Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions capture insights that rated employee surveys can’t quantify. They let employees share ideas and concerns in their own words. Some key questions:
20. What’s the one thing you love most about working at [Company Name]?
Identify what truly motivates and satisfies your employees. The responses can uncover employee strengths to build on, especially when they're aligned with your corporate culture.
21. What’s one thing you’d like us to improve?
Discover specific pain points or barriers that are harder to capture in closed-ended questions. Employee responses typically provide actionable insights for targeted improvements.
22. Any other feedback you’d like to share?
Giving employees another way to share their thoughts and ideas builds a sense of inclusion and trust, which could be a major game-changer for your organization.
The bottom line
Employee engagement surveys help you understand how workers feel about your company. Well-executed engagement surveys give you data-driven insights into employees' actions, especially when there’s a decline in productivity, morale, team cohesion, compliance, and other engagement drivers.
Go deeper: 28 questions to ask in your internal communications survey
