Choosing questions to ask in an employee survey

The content of an employee survey will vary according to the survey’s purpose (or objectives). For example, an employee engagement survey has a very different focus to a questionnaire evaluating the impact of a merger or change in structure in the business.

It is possible to conduct an employee survey asking only a handful of questions – Gallup has designed a survey to measure employee engagement using just 12 – but a good survey can also ask 100/120 questions. This might sound a lot (and it is), although when a high proportion of the questions are in grids of statements under the instruction “how far do you agree/disagree with the following statements …” (or how satisfied/how important) the questionnaire should be able to be completed a little quicker.

Questions for you

Which raises the very important requirement that all questions should be clear and concise, and relevant. Can every respondent (employee) understand each question and can every respondent realistically answer all questions? How are you going to use all the data? (Can you use it?)

How many questions?

The typical length of our clients’ employee engagement surveys are about 30-40 questions. Many of the questions asked are the same between organisations, but customising the list of questions makes the survey more relevant and will produce more actionable findings.

Common Topics

Surveylab’s entry level employee survey comprises 30 questions covering the common topics about

• The workplace (e.g. environment, resources, health & safety)
• Reward & recognition
• Development opportunities
• Job satisfaction
• Working with colleagues
• Line management/supervision
• Senior Management

These are a good starting point or, if you have time to read, I highly recommend the book Strategic Employee Surveys: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Driving Organizational Success by Jack Wiley. It provides tried and tested template questions that measure various drivers of employee engagement/satisfaction/performance etc. (the second half of the book is equally good discussing using the results of the survey).

If you need help with your next employee survey – then a good employee survey company can also help!