Manager questions that show who is growing and who is stuck
Ask employees how their manager helps them grow, from regular one-on-ones to a fair review. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What manager feedback survey questions tell you
Manager feedback survey questions ask employees how their manager helps them do the job and move forward: how clear the goals are, how often useful feedback comes, whether one-on-ones happen and whether people can see a next step. A manager shapes much of each person's working week, and the answers show which managers need support of their own.
Ask twice a year, a month or two before reviews, so managers have time to act on what they hear. Pick six to eight questions and share the link with anonymous responses on; Usertick then stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID for website, link or QR code surveys. Share results with a manager only when the team is large enough that no single answer stands out.
Each written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category and a theme from your own list, such as feedback or career growth, with a sentiment and an urgency. The ranking question turns the open wishes into a short list each manager can work on.
- Questions
- 13
- Best asked
- Twice a year, before review season
- Industry
- HR and employees
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 13 managers and growth questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
Rating the manager
Start with the grid of four manager skills and the fairness of reviews, then let people say in their own words what they want more of.
- 01Matrix
Rate your manager on each
Rates the manager on clarity, support, feedback and recognition in one grid. The heat map shows which of the four is weakest, so coaching for that manager can start with one skill.
- 07Stars
How fair is the performance review process?
Five stars for the fairness of the performance review process. A low score across many teams points to the process itself, while one low team points to its manager.
- 06Text
What would you like more of from your manager?
An open question about what employees want more of from their manager. Answers get a theme, so filtering by feedback, recognition or career growth gives each manager a concrete list.
Feedback and one-on-ones
These two questions check the habits behind good management, which are the quickest to change once you know they are missing.
- 03Yes / No
Do you have regular one-on-ones?
A yes or no on regular one-on-ones. A No is the simplest problem in this survey to fix, and the share of yes is worth checking again in the next round.
- 04Multiple choice
How often do you get useful feedback?
How often useful feedback arrives, from weekly to never. Results shows the share of each; select the rarer answers to see how those employees rate their growth and their plans to stay.
Growth and the next step
Ask how well growth is supported, whether the path forward is clear and which kind of help would work, to plan learning budgets and career talks.
- 02Big scale
How well does your manager support your growth?
How well the manager supports growth, from 1 to 10. Results shows the average and a column per step; read low scores beside the growth support question to see what would help.
- 05Yes / No
Do you know what you need to do to progress?
A yes or no on knowing what it takes to progress. Choose No in Results to read what those employees want more of from their manager.
- 08Multiple choice
Which growth support would help most?
Lets employees pick every kind of growth support that would help. Results shows a bar per option, which helps you split a learning budget between training, mentoring and new projects.
- 10This or that
For development you prefer
Two development choices side by side: formal training or learning on the job, a mentor or a peer group. Results shows a split bar per pair, useful before you plan the year's learning.
- 12Emoji
How do you feel about your progress here?
How people feel about their progress, on a row of faces. Ask it near the start; Results shows the share for each face and the change from the period before.
Staying and focus areas
End with the likelihood to stay and the areas a manager should focus on, and use tenure to compare newer and longer-serving employees.
- 09Big scale
How likely are you to still be here in a year?
How likely people are to still be at the company in a year, from 1 to 10. Treat low scores as an early warning and select them in Results to read what those employees said about growth.
- 13Ranking
Pick the three areas your manager should focus on
Employees rank the areas their manager should focus on. Results shows the average place per item, and the top three make a clear agenda for the manager's next one-on-ones.
- 11Dropdown
How long have you worked here?
Time at the company, in five bands. Use it to compare new and longer-serving employees, and leave it out for small teams, where a tenure band can point to one person.
Tips for asking about managers and growth
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask before review season
Run the survey a month or two before reviews, so managers hear the feedback in time to change how they run the next cycle.
- 02
Protect small teams
Share results with a manager only when the team is large enough that no answer stands out, and roll very small teams up into their department.
- 03
Give managers their own results
Show each manager the grid and the ranking for their team, and ask for one change they will make before the next round.
- 04
Set a simple one-on-one rule
When many people say they have no regular one-on-ones, set a rule such as one every two weeks, and ask again next round.
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 managers and growth
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Twice a year is enough for the full set. Repeat the manager grid and the one-on-one question in a quarterly pulse if you want to follow the trend.
Yes, by link or on the website. 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.
Start with the manager grid, regular one-on-ones, what employees want more of and the likelihood to stay a year. They give each manager a score, a habit to check and a list to act on.
Add a question that asks for the team, such as a dropdown, and select a team in Results to filter the whole page to its answers. Leave it out where teams are so small that one person could be recognized.
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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