two people in a company meeting
Jan 14, 2020

19 Questions To Ask In Your Employee Satisfaction Survey

By Matt Dodgson

Co-Founder - Recruiter & Marketer

An employee satisfaction survey is a useful tool for your HR department. It will determine how happy your workers are in their current positions and overall workplace. Ensuring that your employees are as happy as possible is vital to bolstering morale and productivity levels. After all, a happy team is a successful team.

The survey allows you to know exactly where you stand with your employees. It gives them the opportunity to voice their feedback and the probable changes that they’d introduce to improve their working life. From here, you can make a calculated judgement on the areas of your business that need improving and can also see which areas are firing on all cylinders.

Acting on the responses to the survey is a great way of creating an amazing company culture. Your workplace should be somewhere that employees enjoy spending time with their co-workers, not somewhere that they just turn up, work and leave – if you want the best results, that is.

So, what type of questions should you be asking in your employee satisfaction survey? Well, this blog will outline 19 good examples that can help improve your business from within.

 

We’ll cover what questions to ask for:

 

 

Your Overall Business

You need to know how much your employees know about your whole business. And not just the background of your company’s story, but how well-versed are they with the overall goals of the business. If they don’t know these, how can they help you move progressively towards them?

 

  • Is there a clear understanding of the overall goals and objectives of your business?

 

market recruitment goals

 

It’s a well-known fact that employees work better when they have an end goal in sight. Otherwise, you can have different individuals all pulling in different directions – resulting in the business not moving anywhere and all efforts becoming counter-productive. Better visibility amplifies employee satisfaction and performance.

 

  • Is it clear to what your role demands to meet/exceed company goals?

 

Empowering employees by showing them where they fit into the bigger picture is a great way of improving performance and job satisfaction.

 

  • Do you feel that there is an opportunity for growth and development within the business?

 

employee satisfaction survey blog image

 

If an employee feels like there’s no room to take their career to the next step, it can be pretty unmotivating. Plus, they will more than likely be on the hunt for a new job in which they feel that long-term growth and development is prioritised more.

 

  • Are you satisfied with your job overall?

 

There’s no harm in being upfront with your questions. We feel that you’re more likely to get more honest answers. That way, your employees can’t hide behind waffle in their answers have to get straight to the point. It makes for more wholesome feedback.

 

 

Teamwork and Employee Culture

Teamwork culture has a direct impact on employee satisfaction. If employees don’t get on with one another, then they won’t work together efficiently. Tension can also create an uncomfortable atmosphere for other employees, which obviously isn’t ideal.

 

  • Do you relish being a member of your team?

 

happy team working together

 

If somebody takes pride in being a member of your team, it shows that they respect your organisation and more importantly your leadership. If your team members are proud to associate themselves with your brand, the chances are that they’re going to be satisfied with their job.

 

  • Does your team provide support whenever it’s required or asked for?

 

Helping one another is a big part of achieving a successful teamwork culture. If an employee feels like nobody is willing to help them, they could then feel like they’re an inferior part of the team and it might hurt their morale. Which in turn, could rub off on the rest of the team too.

 

 

Working Relationships

Whether it’s with a supervisor, a line manager or just their colleagues, you should always aim to create the best working relationships within your business. They’re vitally important for success. And it’s not only important that they get on, but they also need to be comfortable to give and receive constructive feedback and have their opinion heard.

 

  • Do seniors and managers encourage the team to give their best effort?

 

manager giving support to team member

 

If your team isn’t getting the support that they need, it’s likely to affect their performance and overall attitude towards work. Opinions not being taken seriously and lack of recognition for good work are also areas that can affect employee satisfaction. So, it’s crucial to ask:

 

  • Do you feel that your opinions are heard and valued by your managers and superiors?
  • Do you feel you’re being rewarded fairly for your dedication and commitment towards work?

 

 

Passion and Self-Evaluation

Passion is a redeeming quality of the perfect staff member – and it’s no doubt something that you were looking for when recruiting. So, you need to make sure that the passion hasn’t fizzled out and they’re still heavily invested into your brand and business as a whole. A passionate staff member will go above and beyond, which will drive better results for your business.

 

  • Do you think you go beyond limits when carrying out your set tasks?

 

go the extra mile employee satisfaction survey

 

Passionate employees are often ones that are the most eager to progress. They’re also the ones that take naturally to senior and leadership positions too.

 

  • Does the management involve you when discussing leadership level matters?

 

Team members that show passion every day are likely to be the ones that are getting the most out of their job. And most importantly, driving the best results for the business as a result of their personal development.

 

  • Do you experience personal growth and development from your day-to-day role?

 

 

Feedback

Feedback is vital to the growth of your employees and your business too. Whilst rewarding people for doing a good job is necessary, constructive feedback can be just as useful if somebody hasn’t quite hit the mark. The keyword is constructive – be too harsh and you run the risk of offending your workforce and dampening spirits.

 

  • Do you receive constructive feedback from your manager?
  • Do you receive praise and recognition when you’ve done a good job?

 

employee positive feedback off manager

 

 

Work/Life Balance

A healthy work/life balance has a direct correlation with an improved level of satisfaction within your employees. Nobody wants to feel like they spend all day, every day at their desk, do they? Plus, a lot of employees will have families who they want to spend as much time as possible with. Therefore, if they’re working long unreasonable hours and not getting much chance to do so, they’re not going to be satisfied.

 

  • Do you think the set up at work allows you to strike the perfect work/life balance?

 

If your team are working too hard and too often, stress levels will soon start to rise. Overworking and not having the opportunity for much downtime away from the office may result in a tense atmosphere. Plus, it doesn’t make for the perfect work/life balance either.

 

  • Does your job cause an unnecessary amount of stress?

 

work life balance

 

A healthy work/life balance all starts from management teams. You have to have an understanding and flexible outlook on how much your workforce should be working and how much time they get to themselves. Would you rather have an exhausted team who work away like dogs 24/7 or a level-headed, fresh and well-rested team making decisions for your business?

 

  • Do you think your manager understands the importance of a healthy work/life balance?

 

 

Fairness at Work

No matter what level of seniority, all employees must be treated equally. As an employee, if there’s a minimum requirement from an employer, it’s that they’re treated fairly. If they’re not, feelings of frustration will likely start to creep in. And having a frustrated employee could lead to them getting itchy feet and looking to move elsewhere.

 

  • Do you think the manager treats all employees the same?

 

treat everyone fairly at work

 

Promotions and pay rises can be a touchy subject from employees. They always think that they’re the right individual for the job and that you should promote them before anyone else. However, it’s not always as easy as that. The time may come where you promote someone into a new role and it might not be well received by some employees. But it’s all about managing it professionally and consistently with how you have done in previous cases.

 

  • Do you think the organisation has fair, consistent policies for all employees?

 

The Right Salary Can Lead to Satisfaction

A lot of people are money-orientated. Everybody has bills to pay and if the pay isn’t right, it can cause a lot of stress for the employee. This can eventually take its toll and it can start to affect their working life and efforts too. Nobody wants that for their employees.

That being said, nobody wants to overpay their employees either. That’s why you need to find the right balance that’ll leave both parties extremely satisfied.