An employee satisfaction survey is not just another questionnaire: it is the perfect way to gain insight into what is going on in the workplace. With a well-executed survey you can strengthen your involvement, first and foremost. You also identify bottlenecks and show that you value the opinion of your employees. In this blog we tell you what good employee satisfaction survey questions are, but also what a good example is. Furthermore, you will read which do’s and don’ts are important and we will give you some practical tips. This way you can be sure that your next MTO not only provides valuable input but also has real impact.
What is a good employee satisfaction survey example?
A strong survey consists of several elements. In this employee satisfaction survey example you will find the most important elements that should not be missing:
- Clear objective: you formulate in advance what you want to achieve with the survey, preferably together with your employees.
- Substantiated format: use a proven questionnaire or model to guarantee quality and comparability.
- Good combination of question types: conclusive quantitative questions (Likert scale) combined with open-ended questions provide both numerical and contextual insights.
- Anonymous & accessible: make sure employees feel safe to give honest feedback and make the questionnaire understandable to all.
A strong employee satisfaction survey incorporates these elements throughout: a clear goal, a good structure, relevant topics and clear communication.
Employee satisfaction survey questions
After creating the right structure for the survey, it is important to formulate the right employee satisfaction survey questions. Below is a selection of sample questions that are clearly and distinctly worded:
- Organization and culture:
- “How do you feel about our corporate culture?”
- “Are you adequately informed about the goals of the organization?”
- Performance and challenge:
- “Is your role clearly defined?”
- “Arey our tasks challenging enough?”
- Workload and well-being:
- “How do you experience the current workload?”
- “Do you regularly feel overwhelmed?”
- Collaboration & communication:
- “Do you feel part of the team?”
- “Do you experience adequate collaboration and support from colleagues?”
- Development & feedback:
- “Are there enough opportunities for personal growth?”
- “Do you regularly receive relevant feedback?”
- Overall satisfaction:
- “How satisfied are you with your job in general?”
- “Would you recommend our organization as an employer?”
A balanced mix of topics and question types will give you a complete, balanced picture of your team’s opinion.
Do’s and don’ts
There are, obviously, many different directions you can take when creating an employee satisfaction survey. You can keep it general, or very specific about a particular subject. Whatever you focus on, it is important that it is well constructed. There are a number of do’s and don’ts to keep in mind.
Do’s:
- Involve employees actively. Let them contribute ideas on objectives and questions. This increases support and relevance.
- Choose a proven format. Use validated questionnaires to get reliable data.
- Follow the 3-1-8 rule. For example, 3 months of preparation, 1 month of collection and analysis, and 8 months of follow-up.
- Train managers in conversations. Make sure managers know how to discuss and follow up on results.
- Engage in dialogue. Do not make follow-up one-sided but start constructive conversations about what can be improved.
Don’ts:
- Poor preparation. Putting down responses out of the blue without transparent communication creates ambiguity. So, make sure you work everything out.
- Build a generic questionnaire yourself. After all, if you build a standard questionnaire, you miss what it is all about. People may misinterpret the questions, and you still cannot do anything with the answers.
- Sending results without dialogue. If you only send around a report and do not discuss it, trust drops.
- Not scheduling a follow-up. Without clear follow-up steps, the impact of your employee satisfaction survey questions quickly dies down.
- Too much segmentation. If you add too many background questions, anonymity becomes less credible.
Tips for an effective employee satisfaction survey
Finally, in addition to our example of an employee satisfaction survey, we have gathered some helpful tips for you:
- Start with clear preparation: set clear goals, choose a program structure and communicate with employees early on.
- Make it manageable: keep the questionnaire short and relevant, avoid ‘survey fatigue’. Where possible, combine with other surveys.
- Test beforehand: let colleagues try out the questionnaire to avoid unclear wording or technical problems.
- Provide anonymity: then employees will more easily give honest answers. Use only segmentation questions that are really necessary.
- Communicate clearly: announce the survey well in advance, explaining its purpose and process. Clear information increases response rates.
- Combine closed & open questions: that way you get hard numbers as well as extensive context and improvement suggestions.
- Plan follow-up in existing formats: integrate outcomes into regular team meetings or HR meetings.
With these tips, you will ensure smooth implementation, adequate participation and useful outcomes.
Hopefully, after the employee satisfaction survey example, questions, some do’s and don’ts and tips, you can get started. This way you give your employees a voice and show that you act on their feedback. With a professionally designed survey you increase engagement, productivity and the attractiveness of your organization as an employer. Good luck!
