Employee Engagement Survey: Everything You Need to Know + 35 Questions

Employee engagement can be a true make-or-break factor for any organization.

To maximize your team's engagement, you first need to ensure your employees' satisfaction at work. An employee who is satisfied with their working conditions and who identifies with your company's values and goals will be ready to give their best effort to complete the tasks assigned to them!

How can you ensure your teams' engagement and involvement? Ask them directly for feedback through employee engagement surveys! The valuable information gathered from these surveys will allow you to continuously improve the employee experience and ensure the engagement of your staff.

To shed light on the topic, we've outlined ten best practices to follow to optimize your team's engagement at work, along with thirty-five sample questions to ask in an employee engagement survey for your organization.

Definition of Employee Engagement

To start, let's address the nuance between satisfaction and engagement at work.

• Job satisfaction represents the level of contentment your teams feel toward their job and working conditions. It measures an employee's satisfaction with their working conditions, the company's organizational culture, and much more.
• Work engagement, on the other hand, is an emotional indicator of how an employee relates to the company they work for. For example, employee engagement surveys measure the extra effort your teams would be willing to put in for your organization.

Although these two concepts are distinct, it's important to know that employee satisfaction has a crucial impact on their engagement with your organization. An employee satisfied with their working conditions will be much more engaged at work, as they'll be more inclined to give their best to deliver a memorable customer experience. Conversely, a disengaged employee is likely to do the bare minimum, or even leave your organization as soon as an opportunity arises. That's why it's important to regularly send employee engagement surveys. Through these questionnaires, you'll be able to evaluate your employees' engagement and take action to improve their loyalty to your organization.

Download now: Free cheat sheet for welcoming and onboarding new employees!

In terms of definition, there are three types of work engagement:

• Affective engagement: The employee is committed to the organization because they identify with its values and organizational culture.
• Normative engagement: The employee is committed to the organization because they feel a sense of moral obligation, or even loyalty, toward their employer and colleagues.
• Continuance (or material) engagement: The employee is forced to work for the organization due to a lack of alternatives or financial need.

Affective engagement is the most important for your employees: loyal teams that embrace your values will effectively represent your company's mission. Therefore, when conducting employee engagement surveys, make sure to ask your employees about their sense of belonging within your organization. You'll then know what steps to take to improve your organizational culture and increase talent retention!

What Are the Components of Employee Engagement?

Before creating your employee engagement surveys, it's important to understand the different factors that impact your employees' engagement with your organization.

To shed light on the topic, here are the ten key drivers of work engagement:

1. Clarity of role and assigned tasks;
2. Effective resource management
3. Quality of the relationship between employees and their manager;
4. Quality of relationships between colleagues;
5. Employee autonomy;
6. Well-being at work;
7. Professional fulfillment;
8. Identification with the company's values;
9. Employee involvement in important decisions;
10. Recognition at work.

By understanding the various components of work engagement, you'll be able to improve it! Moreover, by regularly sending engagement surveys to your teams, you'll be able to identify whether internal practices need to be optimized.

First, it's worth knowing that in 2022, 89% of employees were disengaged from their organization. Furthermore, 20% of employees were actively disengaged, to the point where their actions could actively harm your organization. Such employees might push your customers to complain, turn to a competitor, or even generate a negative brand image.

However, team engagement and loyalty bring many benefits for your organization:

• On average, engaged employees are 21% more productive;
• Engaged employees show 41% less absenteeism than indifferent or disengaged employees;
• Organizations with high retention rates have 59% less staff turnover;
• On average, organizations with higher employee engagement generate 23% more revenue.

How to Foster Employee Engagement

Now that you understand the factors impacting your employees' engagement, it's time to send internal employee engagement surveys to gauge your team engagement levels. But after conducting your employee engagement surveys, do you know what steps to take to improve your teams' engagement at work?

To help you, here are ten best practices to adopt to optimize your employees' engagement with your organization.

1. Plan a Welcome and Onboarding Process That Fosters Engagement

Imagine starting a new job. But when you arrive, no one greets you. You're handed your uniform and pushed into your role without any explanation of your tasks. You want to ask your colleagues for help, but since no one has been introduced, you feel too timid to reach out. After a few weeks, you feel discouraged by the lack of explanation around your responsibilities and your difficult integration into the team. You decide to leave, hoping your next job will offer a warmer welcome.

According to SHRM, 20% of employees quit within their first month due to poor onboarding experiences. Avoid repeating this mistake: regularly send employee engagement surveys to your new hires to ensure they feel welcomed and integrated. This will give them a great first impression and encourage them to stay with you.

Engagement surveys for new employees, combined with regular one-on-ones, will help you keep a close eye on your new talent. Understanding of assigned tasks, well-being at work, team integration, quality of interpersonal relationships and more — proactive and effective follow-up will give your recruits a sense of belonging and importance. In return, they'll want to give their best to continue growing with your organization!

2. Contribute to Your Employees' Professional Development

When it comes to work engagement, it's important to remember that every human being is different. Each of your employees has different interpersonal skills, areas of expertise, and educational backgrounds.

To optimize employee engagement, why not assign roles and tasks aligned with each person's personality, preferences, and expertise? This effective HR management will increase both satisfaction and engagement within your teams, while also delivering the best possible experience to your customers!

For example, after sending employee engagement surveys, note the feedback received and take action:

• Offer up-to-date, relevant training aligned with assigned tasks;
• Distribute tasks equitably to reduce the risk of burnout.

These strategies will help you optimize employee performance while reducing their stress levels at work. They'll be able to deliver service to the best of their ability, making your customer experience unique and outstanding. Moreover, this approach will certainly improve the retention and engagement of your existing teams — which is exactly why it's so important to regularly send internal employee engagement surveys!

3. Regularly Survey Your Employees to Ensure Their Job Satisfaction

To have engaged employees, you first need to ensure their job satisfaction. After all, an employee who is dissatisfied with their working conditions risks becoming disengaged and looking for other opportunities — possibly even with a competitor! To prevent this, regularly send engagement surveys to your employees. Ask about their well-being and job satisfaction to continually improve their experience. This way, you'll build an organizational culture grounded in respect and trust, while offering exceptional working conditions. This will set you apart as an employer and make your teams want to work for you!

Did you know that InputKit will soon offer an employee engagement survey feature? With our personalized and automated employee questionnaires, you'll gain full insight into engagement and employee satisfaction at work. You'll be able to make informed decisions based on concrete feedback, showing your employees that their opinions truly matter. It's an invaluable asset for optimizing your teams' engagement at work!

4. Ensure a Strong Relationship Between Employees and Managers

According to Entrepreneur, a manager who demonstrates clarity, honesty, and transparency can increase employee engagement by up to 94%. This statistic highlights the critical importance of the employee-manager relationship!

To ensure quality interpersonal relationships within your organization, send internal employee engagement surveys. Once the results are collected, take action based on your employees' needs.

For example, organize bi-monthly one-on-ones between managers and employees to ensure a clear understanding of assigned tasks. Set realistic goals with clear deadlines, and encourage managers to support their teams throughout the process.

When training your managers, promote empathy, transparency, and flexibility. This way, they'll lead employees respectfully and honestly, while remaining approachable and available. This will have a positive impact on your teams' engagement!

5. Show Recognition to Your Employees

Did you know that recognition at work has a crucial impact on your staff's engagement? In fact, according to a study by HubSpot, 69% of employees would work harder if their efforts were more recognized by their colleagues and managers.

To improve employee engagement, regularly acknowledge their efforts within your organization. A social media post, a thank-you note, a weekly wins board, recognition activities, a workplace culture based on respect and empathy — there are many ways to show recognition at work. Make sure to send employee engagement surveys to find out whether your teams feel adequately recognized. A positive atmosphere built on recognition and trust among colleagues will have a beneficial effect on employee engagement.

6. Share Positive Client Feedback with Your Teams

Sharing positive feedback from satisfied clients has a significant impact on staff satisfaction. And did you know that these positive comments also benefit your teams' engagement with your organization?

This feedback shows members of your organization the concrete impact their service has on client satisfaction. By reading these reviews, comments, and suggestions, your employees better understand the nature of their work and see the positive changes they're making in their clients' lives. It's an essential strategy for motivating your employees while optimizing their engagement at work.

Moreover, InputKit enables you to automatically share positive feedback from satisfied clients with your staff. This feature, combined with employee engagement surveys, will help you better motivate and engage your teams at work!

7. Organize Team Events

To show your teams they matter to you, why not celebrate their wins by organizing special events? Birthdays, work anniversaries, team dinners, team-building activities — any occasion is a good one to show your employees how much they mean to you. These meaningful gestures of recognition will strengthen affective engagement, making employees feel valued and appreciated by your organization.

Similarly, these occasions give your teams a great opportunity to connect as human beings. As a result, your staff will feel more appreciated by their colleagues and will better identify with your company's organizational culture. It's a key strategy for making your employees happier at work!

8. Present a Clear Organizational Vision

Of course, your employees will be more committed to your organization if they understand its main objectives. What better way to achieve that than by involving them in your team meetings and key decisions?

During meetings, include members from your various departments to get a comprehensive view of upcoming decisions. Their input will help you make the best decisions for your organization while considering your employees' perspectives. This is an ideal strategy for showing your teams just how much their opinions matter!

Once decisions are made, communicate your upcoming objectives to your departments. By presenting a clear organizational vision, you'll be sharing defined and achievable goals with your teams. This will help them better adapt to upcoming changes!

Through your employee engagement surveys, don't forget to ask your teams about their understanding of your organizational vision and their involvement at work. An engaged employee will understand your future objectives and be ready to do whatever it takes to achieve them!

9. Offer Competitive Working Conditions

As previously mentioned, engagement and job satisfaction are closely intertwined. A satisfied employee at work is far more likely to be engaged with your organization. Conversely, an employee unhappy with their working conditions is likely to leave for a competitor.

With that in mind, regularly send employee engagement surveys to ensure the quality of working conditions at your organization. Then, continuously improve your employee experience and working conditions based on the results. For example, you could offer:

• A competitive salary;
• A flexible schedule;
• Sufficient paid time off;
• A comfortable workstation;
• Clean and welcoming workspaces;
• Free snacks and coffee;
• Fast Wi-Fi;
• High-performance computers;
• Insurance plans;
• Physical and mental health protection measures;
• And more!

During exit interviews, take the time to ask departing employees what led to their resignation. This will help you identify gaps in your employee experience and correct course quickly.

Be proactive: regularly send employee engagement surveys to ensure the quality of your working conditions. An employee with competitive working conditions will want to stay with your organization. This outstanding experience will contribute to their well-being and make them more inclined to give their best — improving your image and enhancing the customer experience!

10. Encourage Innovation and Autonomy

To optimize your teams' engagement at work, it's important to encourage innovation and autonomy. After all, no one wants to be micromanaged at every step!

Micromanagement — excessive control by managers — can completely discourage employees from working for you. They'll feel that no initiative is good enough, and eventually become completely disengaged from their tasks. Moreover, such management is highly stressful, as employees will constantly fear upsetting or disappointing their managers. This is definitely a practice to avoid!

To foster innovation and autonomy within your organization, regularly send employee engagement surveys to validate the quality of the relationship between your teams and their managers.

Involve your employees in your organization's key decisions and always consider their input. At work, let your teams take initiative to deliver a unique and exceptional customer experience. This approach will empower employees and reduce the workload on managers. Moreover, your employees will feel valued and respected, knowing their actions and decisions make a real impact in your organization. That's why it's so important to regularly send employee engagement surveys!

InputKit: The Ideal Tool for Employee Engagement Surveys

Thanks to our employee evaluation and motivation software, you can automatically share positive feedback and reviews from satisfied clients with your staff. This feature allows your teams to see the concrete impact their service has on clients' lives. You'll be able to hold employees accountable for service quality and motivate them by sharing constructive and positive feedback about their great work — which will positively impact engagement and inspire them to go above and beyond!

In addition to empowering and motivating your teams, our online review generation feature will help you strengthen your company's reputation. InputKit identifies your ambassadors: for every completed survey, we invite satisfied clients to leave a positive online review. This tool will boost your visibility and enhance employee engagement. When employees see their service recognized and appreciated, they'll be even more motivated to deliver an exceptional experience!

Did you know that InputKit will soon offer employee engagement surveys? With this powerful tool, you'll be able to conduct automated and personalized follow-ups on employee engagement to better understand what's impacting their commitment at work.

Moreover, our Pulse surveys will allow you to schedule automated monthly employee engagement surveys at the right time. You'll be able to ask your employees about their engagement and make informed decisions based on concrete feedback — all to boost retention and loyalty within your teams!

Get my free cheat sheet now to improve new employee engagement at work

35 Questions to Ask in an Employee Engagement Survey

The main goal of an employee engagement survey is to measure the extra effort your employees are willing to put in for your organization. This data can be influenced by many factors — employee well-being, interpersonal relationships, career opportunities, working conditions, communication, and more. Understanding these factors is key, as each one has a crucial impact on your teams' engagement at work. After all, the happier an employee is working for you, the more engaged they'll be!

To help you craft the perfect employee engagement survey, here are thirty-five sample questions to gauge your employees' engagement within your organization.

Employee Well-Being at Work

• Does your current role match the description you were given when you joined our organization?
• Are the tasks assigned to you clear?
• Do you have a good understanding of our company's objectives?
• Do you feel our organization makes the necessary efforts to maximize employee well-being at work?
• Does your work ever negatively impact your personal life?

Career Development and Professional Opportunities

• Does the work you do for our organization give you a sense of professional fulfillment?
• Are the career advancement opportunities within our organization appealing to you?
• Does our organization provide the training necessary to perform your assigned tasks?
• Is the equipment provided by our organization adequate for your needs?
• Do you see yourself working at our organization in the years ahead?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us as an employer to a friend or family member?

Team Dynamics and Communication

• Is the support provided by your manager sufficient?
• Do you enjoy collaborating with your colleagues?
• Do you feel recognized by your peers for the work you do?
• Do you think communication between departments is clear and effective?
• Does our internal messaging platform meet your needs?
• Do you feel valued by your coworkers?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your relationship with your manager?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your relationships with your colleagues?

Organizational Culture

• Do you identify with our organization's values?
• Do you have sufficient time to complete your tasks within the required deadlines?
• Do you feel the workload is distributed fairly among team members?
• Do our workspaces meet your needs?
• Are you comfortable with our work schedule?
• Do you feel our compensation is appropriate?
• Are you satisfied with our workplace policies?
• Are you satisfied with our insurance benefits?
• Do you feel our working conditions are satisfactory overall?
• Do you feel you have a good work-life balance?

Open-Ended Questions

• How would you describe your relationships with your colleagues?
• How would you describe your relationship with your manager?
• What training would you recommend for new employees?
• What factors could lead you to leave our organization?
• What changes could we make to improve our working conditions?
• Do you have any other improvement suggestions for the future?

Looking to improve talent retention and your overall customer experience? If so, follow our best practices to optimize your team's engagement!

From the moment you welcome and onboard new hires, regularly send employee engagement surveys to ensure their commitment at work. Contribute to your teams' professional development by offering competitive working conditions, promoting innovation and autonomy, and involving them in your organization's key decisions.

To gauge your staff's well-being within your organization, send internal employee engagement surveys. Follow our best survey practices and sample questions to ensure your teams stay engaged. Use the feedback you receive to implement strategies that improve relationships and recognition at work. A thank-you note, a team event, a one-on-one meeting with a manager, a board dedicated to positive client feedback — every opportunity is a good one to highlight your employees' great work!

Need external support to help you create your employee engagement surveys? Don't hesitate to schedule a personalized, completely free demo of our solution. Our team of employee experience experts will help you craft the perfect survey for your needs, at a time that works for you.