Employee engagement is one of those things that's easy to overlook until it's too late. On the surface, everything might seem fine. Deadlines are met, the team shows up to meetings, and no one's throwing office chairs out the window…
Under that calm exterior, cracks could be forming – frustration, disconnection, or the dreaded "I'm just here for the paycheck" mindset. And when those cracks widen, they can quickly turn into real problems: plummeting productivity, sky-high turnover, and morale that's hanging on by a thread.
Here's where most leaders make a huge mistake: they assume they know how employees feel but the reality often tells a different story. People might nod politely during meetings or throw out a quick "No complaints!" when asked how things are going, but that's not the full story. The truth is, if you want to know what's really going on in your team, you have to ask. Properly. And that's where effective surveys measuring employee engagement step in.
Think of these surveys as the ultimate truth serum for your workplace. They give employees a voice, let you uncover what's working (and what's absolutely not), and provide you with the data you need to make meaningful changes. The result? A team that feels heard, valued, and best of all – engaged in their work.
In this article, we'll dive into the most common pitfalls and highlight some best practices in employee engagement surveys to help you create a workplace where employees are excited, invested, and ready to give their best every day.
5 Employee Engagement Survey Challenges
Employee surveys have the power to transform your workplace culture and boost satisfaction. However, they're only valuable if you take the feedback seriously and use it to tackle any issues head-on.
One of the biggest employee engagement survey mistakes is poorly formulated questions. If the questions are too vague, or difficult to understand, employees may struggle to provide clear and meaningful responses. For instance, a question like "How satisfied are you with your work?" doesn't give much insight into specific areas for improvement.
Another common obstacle is survey fatigue. If you send out surveys too often or fail to act on the results, employees can quickly lose interest. They may feel like their suggestions are being ignored, which can lead to disengagement or even resentment.
Getting employees to actually complete the survey can also be tricky. If they don't see the value in participating or worry that their answers won't be anonymous or acted upon, they might ignore it. This can create a skewed view of your workplace, where only certain voices are heard.
Lastly, bad timing of your surveys is what can take a toll on the employees' responses. If you ask for input during stressful times, like during a major project or after layoffs, their answers may not reflect their true feelings accurately. The stress of the moment can cloud their judgment, making it harder to get honest and thoughtful perspectives.
10 Employee Surveys Best Practices
Getting the most out of the questionnaire requires more than just sending it out. Let's take a sneak peek at several practical employee survey best practices to assist you in crafting efficient surveys.
Pick the Right Survey Format for Optimal Results
When planning your survey, it's essential to choose the right type based on what you're looking to achieve. Here are 4 most common survey types:
- annual or quarterly surveys (ideal for tracking long-term trends and getting a comprehensive overview of team satisfaction);
- pulse surveys (short and focused, perfect for capturing real-time feedback on specific topics or events);
- opinion or feedback surveys (designed to gather thoughts and impressions on products, policies, or services);
- lifecycle surveys (used to collect insights at key stages, such as onboarding, post-purchase, or after specific milestones).
To keep engagement high, it's better to design surveys that can be completed in just 5 – 10 minutes. Keeping things focused and efficient is among the pulse survey best practices, so aim for a quick 2–3 minutes. Overwhelming your audience with too many questions can lead to survey fatigue, lower response rates, and less accurate feedback.
Additionally, consider the format and delivery method for your survey. Using tools like Google Forms, Typeform, or SurveyMonkey can simplify the creation and distribution process, while also providing analytics to help you interpret the results. For Slack users, OrgaNice is a great tool to integrate survey responses and feedback seamlessly within the platform.
Mix Up Your Question Types to Gain Deeper Insights
Combining different question types is one of the best practices for employee engagement surveys. By using a variety of question formats, you can keep the survey interesting for employees while also gathering richer, more actionable insights. You should start with simple yes/no or Likert scale questions to get quick, quantifiable data, like, "Do you feel valued at work?" or "How satisfied are you with your current workload?"
Then, dive deeper with multiple-choice questions to get more specific feedback, such as, "What factors most impact your job satisfaction?" Offering well-defined options helps you pinpoint trends. At last, you can throw in an open-ended question, like, "What suggestions do you have to improve our company culture?" This allows employees to share more thoughtful, detailed responses.
Keep the Questions Simple and Concise
When designing your employee survey, the rule of thumb is the simpler, the better. If your questions are too complex or wordy, employees might get confused or frustrated, which could lead to incomplete or inaccurate answers. For instance, instead of asking, "How would you assess the effectiveness of our current policies in improving employee satisfaction and engagement?" try something like, "How satisfied are you with the current workplace environment?" or "Do you feel your work is valued?"
Organize Your Questions for Better Clarity
Arranging your questions in a clear, logical sequence is among the other engagement survey best practices. You'd better ensure your questions don't jump from one topic to another too quickly. If you're asking about job satisfaction, for example, keep all related questions together before switching to questions about team communication or workplace perks halfway through. This helps respondents stay aligned with the topic at hand.
Similarly, it's vital to maintain consistency in the types of questions you're asking. Creating a mishmash of multiple-choice questions, open-ended ones, and rating scales can confuse employees and disrupt the flow of the survey. Start with simple, straightforward questions like a yes/no or scale-based one, then gradually move to more complex ones. This way, the survey feels structured, easy to follow, and less overwhelming.
Make a Clear and Accessible Survey Design
A well-designed survey is not only about the questions but also about how you present them. If you're eager to ascertain your teammates don't miss anything, leverage visual elements like bold text for important instructions or italics for softer notes. For example, you could use bold text for key instructions like "Please be honest in your answers" and italics for follow-up comments like "Your input is valuable, and we appreciate your time".
Also, keep in mind how your survey will look across different devices. No matter what device your teammates are using, it should be easy to fill out. Tools like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, and Typeform allow you to design surveys that are responsive and user-friendly on any device. If you're using Slack for communication, you can also use tools like OrgaNice to send surveys directly within Slack, making it easy for employees to respond right from their Slack window.
