Employee questions that show what keeps your people here
Ask employees how the job feels today, from workload and tools to their manager and their growth. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What employee engagement survey questions tell you
Employee engagement survey questions ask your people how the job feels from the inside: whether the workload is fair, whether their manager backs them, whether they see a future at the company and whether they would recommend it as a place to work. The answers point to the reasons people stay or start looking, well before a resignation letter arrives.
Run a full survey once or twice a year and a short check in between. Pick eight to ten of these questions for the main survey and two or three for a quarterly pulse, and share the link in your own email or team chat. Anonymous responses store no user ID, traits or visitor ID on website, link or QR code surveys. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous, so use the link when people need to speak freely.
Each written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category and a theme from your own list, such as workload or career growth, with a sentiment and an urgency. Give each response an owner in the inbox, and the open answers turn into a short list of things to fix instead of a pile of comments.
- Questions
- 14
- Best asked
- Once or twice a year, plus a quarterly pulse
- Industry
- HR and employees
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 14 employee questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
The scores to track
Start with the numbers you will follow from one survey to the next: the employer recommendation, job satisfaction and how the week felt.
- 01NPS
How likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work?
The employer version of NPS, asked first. Results shows the score with detractors, passives and promoters; select the detractors to read what they said about workload, managers and growth.
- 02Stars
How satisfied are you with your job right now?
Five stars for how the job feels right now. Results shows the average and the share who rated 4 or higher; compare both with the last survey before you read the comments.
- 14Emoji
How has your week been?
A quick read on the week, on a row of faces. Results shows the share for each face; between main surveys, ask it on its own as a one-question pulse to see how the mood moves.
The day-to-day job
Workload, tools and balance shape every working day, and the open question names the blockers behind low scores.
- 03Multiple choice
How does your workload feel?
Three plain options for workload. Results shows the share of each, and selecting Too heavy filters the page to those employees, so you can see whether their balance and satisfaction scores drop with it.
- 05Stars
Do you have the tools you need to do your job well?
Rates tools, equipment and access on five stars. Pass a low score to IT along with the answers on what slows people down, which name the tools to fix first.
- 09Stars
How is your work life balance?
Five stars for work life balance. Read it beside the workload question: a low balance score with a workload of About right can point to long hours, late meetings or messages after work.
- 10Text
What slows you down the most?
An open question about what slows people down, from approvals and tools to meetings and unclear owners. Each answer gets a theme, so filter Results by theme to see how many people named the same blocker.
Manager, clarity and recognition
Ask these together, since manager support, clear goals, credit for good work and feeling safe to speak up tend to move as a set.
- 04Stars
How supported do you feel by your manager?
Five stars for how supported people feel by their manager. When it falls, read that group's answers on recognition and raising problems before you talk to the manager.
- 06Yes / No
Do you know what success looks like in your role?
A yes or no on whether people know what good work looks like in their role. Select No in Results to see whether those employees also rate their growth and their manager lower.
- 08Yes / No
Does good work get noticed on your team?
A yes or no on whether good work gets noticed. When the share of yes is low, ask managers how and where they thank people, and check it again next quarter.
- 13Yes / No
Do you feel safe raising problems?
A yes or no on feeling safe to raise problems. Read the No answers first, and ask it in a link survey with anonymous responses on, so no user ID is stored with the answer.
Growth and reasons to stay
End with the future: how people see their growth, what keeps them and the one change they would make.
- 07Stars
How do you feel about your growth here?
Five stars for how people see their future at the company. Read low scores beside the answers on what keeps people, to see whether growth or only the team holds them.
- 12Text
What keeps you here?
What keeps people at the company, in their own words. These answers tell you what to protect when you change benefits, offices or the way teams work.
- 11Text
What is the one thing we should change?
Asks each employee to name a single change. One change per person keeps the answers short and specific, and the themes in Results show which change comes up most often across teams.
Tips for asking about employee
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Share the link for honest answers
Post the survey link in your own email or team chat with anonymous responses on. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous, so keep them for questions people are happy to answer by name.
- 02
Start with what changed last time
Open the survey with one or two changes you made after the last round, so people see that answering leads somewhere.
- 03
Keep the score questions the same
Ask the score questions with the same wording every time, so each card in Results compares fairly with the period before.
- 04
Protect small teams
Give each theme an owner in the inbox and share back what you will do. Avoid filtering results down to very small teams, where one selected answer can point to one person.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about employee
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Run a full survey once or twice a year and a short pulse each quarter. Usertick sends to a contact list now or up to 30 days ahead and has no recurring sends, so set up each round yourself.
They can be. With anonymous responses on, Usertick stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID for website, link or QR code surveys. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous, and a written answer can still mention details that point to the person who wrote it.
Eight to ten for the main survey and two or three for a pulse. Keep the recommendation score, job satisfaction and one open question in every round.
Start with the recommendation score, job satisfaction, manager support and What is the one thing we should change? Together they give you scores to track and a concrete list to act on.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
Listen better, act faster, and build what truly matters.
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- 150 responses a month on Free
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