Internal mobility questions that show how easily people can grow inside
Ask employees how internal moves work, from finding an open role to the first weeks on a new team. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What internal mobility survey questions tell you
Internal mobility survey questions ask employees how easy it is to move to another role inside the company: whether they know how to apply, where open roles show up, what held them back, how fair the process felt and how the move went. Each person who finds the next step inside is a hire you don't have to make from outside.
Ask two groups. Everyone gets the questions on applying, where roles show up and what they want next, once a year. People who just moved get the questions on the process, the handover and the new team, four to eight weeks after their start date. Use logic to skip the move questions for anyone who hasn't moved.
Each written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category and a theme from your own list, such as the posting or the handover, with a sentiment and an urgency. Share the answers about old managers with leadership as patterns across teams, since a single answer can point to one person.
- Questions
- 14
- Best asked
- Four to eight weeks after the move
- Industry
- HR and employees
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 14 internal moves and promotions questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
Finding and applying for roles
Ask everyone these, since they show whether people know how to apply, where they see roles and what stops them.
- 01Yes / No
Do you know how to apply for another role here?
A yes or no on knowing how to apply for another role. A low share of yes is a communication gap, and the answers on where roles show up tell you which channel to fix.
- 08Dropdown
Where do open internal roles show up for you?
Where people see open internal roles. Results shows the share of each channel; a large share who have not seen any tells you the postings aren't reaching people.
- 03Multiple choice
What stopped you applying for an internal role?
What stopped people applying, from not hearing about the role to not feeling ready. Results shows the share of each; a share that names the manager is worth raising with leadership as a pattern.
How the move went
For people who moved: rate each step, the fairness of the process, the old manager's support and the time it took.
- 02Stars
How fair was the internal application process?
Five stars for the fairness of the internal application process, asked of people who applied. Results shows the average and the share who rated 4 or higher, compared with the period before.
- 04Matrix
Rate your internal move on each
Rates the posting, the interview, the new manager and the handover in one grid. The heat map shows which step of the move needs work, with a row average for each.
- 06Yes / No
Did your old manager support your move?
A yes or no on support from the old manager. Select No in Results to see how those employees rated the handover and how long the move took.
- 09Ruler
How many weeks passed between applying and moving?
Weeks from applying to moving, on a ruler from 0 to 26. Results shows the median and the middle half; compare it with the handover weeks to see where the time goes.
- 12Number
How many weeks did your handover take?
How many weeks the handover took, as a number from 0 to 26. Results shows the median and the middle half; read it with the handover row in the grid.
Settling into the new role
Ask how well the new role fits and how the first weeks felt, while there is still time to help.
- 05Big scale
How much better does the new role fit you than the old one?
How much better the new role fits, from 1 to 10. Results shows the average and a column per step; low scores early on are a cue to review how new managers welcome people who move in.
- 14Emoji
How do you feel about your new team so far?
How the person feels about the new team so far, on a row of faces. Ask it about a month in; Results shows the share for each face and the change from the period before.
- 11Text
What would have made your first weeks in the new role easier?
Asks what would have helped in the first weeks of the new role. Answers become a checklist for the next internal move, much like a new hire onboarding list.
What people want next
End with the next move people would like, what matters in it and how to make moves easier, to plan internal postings and career talks.
- 10Multiple choice
What kind of move would you like next?
Lets employees tick every kind of move they would like next. Results shows a bar per option; keep the happy where I am answer so content employees can say so.
- 13Ranking
Rank what matters most in your next move
Employees rank five things that matter in the next move. Results shows the average place per item, which tells you whether pay, responsibility or new skills draws people most.
- 07Text
What would make internal moves easier here?
An open question about making internal moves easier. The themes in Results show whether people struggle most with finding roles, the process or the handover.
Tips for asking about internal moves and promotions
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Post roles where people look
Share open roles in the channel most people named, and say on each posting that internal applicants are welcome.
- 02
Ask movers a month in
Send the move questions four to eight weeks after the start in the new role, when the handover is done and the new team is familiar.
- 03
Make the old manager's part clear
Set a rule for how soon a manager releases someone who moves, and check the support question every round.
- 04
Plan handovers before the move
Agree the handover length when the move is approved, and use the handover answers to set a realistic default.
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 internal moves and promotions
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Ask everyone the questions on finding and applying for roles, and ask people who moved the questions on the process and the new role. Logic skips the move questions for everyone else.
Four to eight weeks after they start the new role. Usertick can schedule the email up to 30 days ahead, or you can share the link in your own message.
Five or six for everyone and up to eight for people who moved. Start with knowing how to apply, what stopped people applying, the move grid and the open question.
Use a link survey with anonymous responses on, which stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID for website, link or QR code surveys. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous, and in a small team a specific answer can still point to the person who wrote it.
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.
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