Pulse questions that catch a hard week before it becomes a hard month
Ask your team a few quick questions every week or two, from workload and focus time to what got in the way. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What pulse survey questions tell you
Pulse survey questions are short and asked often: how the week went, how heavy the workload was, what got in the way and how people feel about the week ahead. Asked every week or two, they give each team a trend line, so a stretch of overload or a slide in connection shows up while there is still time to act.
Pick three to five questions and keep the same ones for at least a quarter, so each round compares with the last. Usertick has no recurring sends, so post the same survey link in your team chat each Friday, or schedule an email round up to 30 days ahead. The Chat layout, one question at a time, suits a pulse well.
Each written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category and a theme with a sentiment, and each response gets an urgency, so a note about burnout can be read before a note about the coffee machine. Every score card in Results compares with the period before.
- Questions
- 13
- Best asked
- Every week or two, at the end of the week
- Industry
- HR and employees
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 13 team pulse questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
How the week felt
Ask these every round: the mood dial gives you the trend, and the open question and the outlook for next week explain it.
- 01Mood dial
How was your week?
A mood dial for the week, answered in one turn. Results shows each face with its share; ask it in every round, so the trend across weeks becomes the headline of the pulse.
- 10Emoji
How do you feel about next week?
How people feel about the week ahead, on a row of faces. A drop here before a launch or a deadline gives managers a few days to rebalance the work.
- 06Text
What is on your mind this week?
An open question with no topic set. Keep it short and last; the themes in Results show what is on the team's mind, and each response's urgency helps you find the one that needs a call today.
Workload and focus
Workload, focus time, hours and blockers belong together, since a heavy week can show in any of them.
- 02Big scale
How manageable was your workload?
Workload from 1 to 10. Results shows the average and a column per step; watch the columns at the low end, since a few people at 1 or 2 can hide inside a fair average.
- 04Slider
How much of your week went to focused work?
The share of the week spent on focused work, on a slider from 0 to 100. Results shows the median and the middle half; read it with the blocker question to see whether meetings ate the time.
- 09Number
How many hours did you work this week?
Hours worked this week, as a number from 0 to 100. Results shows the median and the middle half; the top of the middle half tells you how long the long weeks really are.
- 05Multiple choice
What got in the way most?
Names the biggest blocker in one tap. Results shows the share of each option; when meetings grow as the answer week after week, you have a concrete case for a day without them.
- 03Yes / No
Did you have what you needed to do your job?
A yes or no on having what people needed. Select No in Results and read those people's answers to What got in the way most? to see whether tools or other people were missing.
Connection and recognition
Rotate these in every few rounds to see whether people feel noticed, supported and part of the team.
- 07Yes / No
Did you feel recognized for your work?
A yes or no on feeling recognized this week. A low share of yes over several rounds tells managers to thank people more often and more specifically.
- 11Big scale
How connected do you feel to your team?
How connected people feel to the team, from 1 to 10. Ask it every few rounds; for remote and mixed teams, compare it month by month and plan time together when it slips.
- 08Matrix
This week, how often did you feel
How often people felt focused, supported, stretched and stressed this week. The heat map shows each row; a rising stress row next to a falling support row is the pattern to act on first.
Quarterly statements and preferences
Save these for a longer round once a quarter, when you want a broader read and a view on how the team should work.
- 13Matrix
How much do you agree with these statements?
Four statements on a five-point agreement scale. Ask them once a quarter instead of every week; the heat map and row averages give a broader read than the weekly questions.
- 12This or that
At work, which would you rather have?
Two trade-offs side by side: fewer meetings or more written updates, clear priorities or more autonomy. Results shows a split bar per pair, which helps before you change how the team runs.
Tips for asking about team pulse
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Keep it under two minutes
Ask three to five questions per round. A pulse people can finish in a minute or two is one they keep answering.
- 02
Rotate the extra questions
Keep the mood dial and workload in every round, and swap one extra question in each time, such as connection or recognition.
- 03
Share the trend back
Show the team the weekly trend at a standing meeting and name one thing that changed because of it.
- 04
Post the link at the same time
Post the survey link in the same team chat channel at the same time each week, so answering becomes a habit.
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 team pulse
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Every week or every two weeks, with the same few questions. Usertick has no recurring sends, so post the same link in your team chat on a set day or schedule each email round yourself.
Three to five. Keep the mood dial and workload in every round and rotate one or two of the others.
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.
Post the survey link in a Slack or Microsoft Teams channel, and people answer on the hosted survey page. On every plan, a workflow can also post new answers to a private channel for the people team.
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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