80 HR survey questions to ask your employees

Human resources (HR) surveys provide insights into employee sentiments about work, culture, and job satisfaction. These surveys reveal challenges, identify opportunities, and boost engagement and retention when done well.

In this guide, we’ll share best practices for creating and conducting HR surveys, how to interpret your survey’s results to maximize feedback, and 80 HR survey questions focusing on employee satisfaction, performance, management, and diversity.

HR surveys are structured questionnaires designed to collect employee feedback about work environments, company culture, and more. These surveys help HR teams understand employee needs and measure how well the company supports its workforce.

By listening to their teams, companies can close employee experience (EX) gaps, celebrate what’s working well, and make data-driven decisions that support a happier, more productive workplace.

HR surveys are typically sent out regularly—often annually or semi-annually—to measure changes in employee satisfaction over time. However, some organizations may send out more frequent pulse surveys to get real-time feedback. These surveys can be tailored to specific topics, departments, or teams, allowing HR to target areas that need attention. 

It’s most common to share HR surveys via email or internal communication tools like company intranets or collaboration apps, making it simple for employees to participate at their convenience. Many surveys are anonymous to ensure honest and open feedback, fostering a sense of trust between employees and their organization.

Here’s a comprehensive list of employee survey questions grouped by category to cover all aspects of the employee experience:

Employee satisfaction surveys measure how content employees are with their roles, work environment, and company overall. 

360-degree feedback surveys gather comprehensive insights into an employee’s performance by collecting feedback from colleagues, direct reports, and managers. 

Inclusion and belonging surveys track how employees feel about the company’s efforts to create an inclusive, diverse, and respectful work environment. These questions provide insight into how employees experience and perceive inclusivity.

Career training and development surveys help assess how employees perceive their professional growth opportunities. These questions gauge whether employees feel they have access to the resources and support needed to advance their careers.

Employee benefits surveys gauge employee satisfaction with the company’s compensation package, including salary, bonuses, and benefits. This feedback helps HR teams ensure that compensation aligns with employee expectations.

Self-assessment questions encourage employees to reflect on their own performance and development. These types of questions allow employees to evaluate their strengths and identify areas for growth.

Job satisfaction surveys highlight how content employees are with their day-to-day roles, responsibilities, and work environment. 

Company culture surveys assess employees' perception of the organization’s core values, mission, and social environment. These questions help track whether employees feel connected to the company’s culture and values.

Management and policy satisfaction surveys assess employees' perceptions of leadership and company policies. These questions help determine whether employees feel supported by management and whether the company’s policies are effective and fair.

Manager effectiveness surveys evaluate how well managers are supporting their teams and promoting employee success. These questions help assess managerial skills and identify areas for leadership improvement.

By aligning employee feedback with key business objectives, HR surveys support recruitment efforts, enhance employee retention, and create a thriving company culture.

When employees feel engaged, they’re more likely to go above and beyond, collaborate with their teams, and contribute to the company’s long-term goals. Gathering feedback on engagement factors like employee satisfaction, recognition, communication, and career development enables HR to create tailored strategies for a more engaged workforce.

Measuring employee engagement helps track progress toward engagement goals. By monitoring levels over time, companies can identify trends, understand employee motivation, and address challenges early. This process keeps organizations on track to create a valued, supportive environment that inspires top performance. 

HR surveys allow employees to express their thoughts on various aspects of their roles, including workload, compensation, benefits, and work-life balance. This feedback helps HR teams address and improve employee disengagement, boosting morale, performance, and workplace happiness.

High employee turnover is costly for organizations in terms of time and money. HR surveys help pinpoint the underlying causes of turnover by capturing feedback on factors contributing to employees leaving, such as management style, career growth opportunities, and workplace culture. 

Use your HR survey data to implement retention strategies, address dissatisfaction, and boost employee loyalty to reduce turnover rates.

HR surveys help measure employee perceptions of the company culture, allowing HR teams to foster collaboration, encourage innovation, or promote inclusivity. Use HR surveys for deeper insights into policies and workflows that support a strong, positive company culture, and areas that negatively impact employee satisfaction.

HR surveys are essential in tracking the effectiveness of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Use these surveys to highlight and close gaps in DEI policy and ensure that the organization fosters an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and supported.

HR surveys can support employee performance management efforts by assessing employees’ perceptions of the performance review process, feedback from managers, and opportunities for professional growth. 

By collecting this feedback, HR can ensure that performance management processes are clear, transparent, and effective, helping employees reach their potential and align their goals with organizational objectives.

HR surveys serve as an excellent gateway to uncovering skill gaps and blossoming organizational training opportunities. By inviting employees to share insights about their current skill sets, past training experiences, and the areas they aspire to develop, HR teams can craft dynamic development programs tailored to foster individual growth and the company’s strategic objectives. 

Effective communication is essential for any organization to function smoothly. HR surveys can highlight areas where communication may be lacking or unclear, such as poor information flow between departments, unclear messaging from leadership, or a lack of transparency in decision-making processes. These gaps can cause frustration, lower employee morale, and even hinder collaboration.

By using HR surveys to address communication specifically, organizations can better understand how employees perceive internal communication and where improvements are needed. Taking action based on this feedback ensures that employees feel more informed, involved, and connected to the company’s goals, leading to a more cohesive and motivated workforce

HR surveys give employees a voice, allowing them to share their thoughts on management, leadership styles, and company policies. This feedback fosters trust, as employees feel their opinions are valued and considered in decision-making. Strengthening these relationships increases employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty, ultimately benefiting the company.

HR surveys also help ensure the company complies with workplace regulations and policies. Surveys can include questions related to workplace safety, discrimination, harassment, and other legal requirements. HR teams can use surveys to identify and address issues and ensure the company adheres to legal standards and maintains a safe, respectful workplace for all employees.

HR surveys help uncover what drives employee productivity and satisfaction, allowing companies to align their efforts with business goals and optimize overall performance. As a result, companies can achieve higher levels of success while maintaining a happy, motivated workforce.

One of the most powerful aspects of HR surveys is their ability to facilitate data-driven decision-making. By collecting quantifiable data on various aspects of the employee experience, HR teams can make informed decisions about where to invest time, resources, and efforts. 

This data empowers HR departments to prioritize initiatives that will significantly impact employee satisfaction, retention, and overall business performance, ultimately leading to better outcomes for employees and the organization.

Upholding best practices when conducting HR surveys is crucial for ensuring the feedback collected is accurate, actionable, and leads to meaningful improvements. When these surveys are conducted with care and attention to detail, organizations can make informed decisions to support organizational success. 

Try these proven strategies and best practices for more effective surveys and reliable insights:

Anonymous surveys allow employees to be open and transparent in their responses, allowing HR teams to gain a true and comprehensive understanding of the workplace environment.

When employees know their responses are confidential, they are more likely to provide honest insights without fear of retaliation. Anonymous surveys can also encourage more employees to participate, ensuring a larger and more diverse pool of responses that provides a more accurate snapshot of the topic. 

Email invitations and reminders are key to maximizing participation rates and ensuring a high response rate. Use a clear, engaging subject line paired with a concise message outlining the survey’s purpose, how long it will take to complete, and the deadline for submission to set the tone for a positive survey experience. 

Explain why the survey matters and how employee feedback directly impacts the company's future. Additionally, sending well-timed reminders throughout the survey period can help keep it top of mind for employees who may have forgotten to participate.

Customizing HR surveys with your company’s branding effectively makes the survey feel more professional, personalized, and connected to your organization's identity. A well-branded survey looks polished and trustworthy and helps employees feel like they are taking part in a vital initiative directly tied to the company’s goals.

Branding the survey also strengthens the connection between the survey and the organization, ensuring that employees know it’s a genuine effort by the company to gather meaningful insights. Use company colors, logos, and a consistent tone of voice to reinforce the survey’s importance and signal to employees that their opinions are valuable.

Employees often have limited time to dedicate to surveys, so keeping them short, focused, and actionable is crucial. Aim for a survey that takes no more than 10-15 minutes to complete—enough time to gather valuable feedback without overwhelming employees. 

Focus on the most critical questions that address key aspects of the employee experience, such as job satisfaction, engagement, or leadership effectiveness. Avoid lengthy surveys with open-ended questions that may feel like a chore to complete. Instead, use a mix of multiple-choice, rating scales, and targeted questions to make the survey more user-friendly and efficient. 

Once the survey has been completed and the results have been analyzed, communicate the findings with employees through a company-wide meeting, a dedicated email, or a report shared with the team. Sharing the results shows employees that their opinions matter and helps foster a sense of ownership and accountability.

When sharing the survey results, it’s important to clearly outline the next steps the company plans to take in response to the feedback. Employees will appreciate knowing that the organization is committed to making changes based on their input, and it shows that their voices can make a difference. 

Be open about areas where the company is performing well and areas that need improvement. This level of transparency promotes a culture of openness and continuous improvement, making employees feel more connected to the company’s goals and more engaged in shaping the future of the workplace.

Tracking key metrics helps you evaluate whether the survey achieved its intended goals, whether the data collected is reliable, and whether the feedback leads to meaningful improvements. 

Using these metrics ensures you continuously refine your survey process, increase participation, and make data-driven decisions that benefit employees: 

This metric shows how many employees took the time to complete the survey, indicating how engaged your workforce is with the survey process. 

A higher response rate typically suggests that employees feel the survey is relevant, that their input is valued, and that they trust the organization to act on their feedback. If the response rate is lower than expected, it may point to issues with survey accessibility, timing, or communication. 

The amount of time employees take to complete the survey can provide insights into the survey's effectiveness. If the survey is too long or too complicated, employees may abandon it before finishing, which can skew the results. 

Monitoring the average completion time can help ensure the survey is timed appropriately and structured, offering a user-friendly experience. A well-crafted survey should take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete. If employees take much longer or shorter, reviewing the survey’s length, clarity, and relevance might be worth revisiting to ensure it isn’t overwhelming or underdeveloping key topics.

Participation levels go beyond just the response rate and focus more on the demographics and diversity of respondents. Measuring whether all employee groups are represented in the survey responses, including different departments, job levels, and demographic segments, is essential. 

A diverse range of participants ensures that the feedback is representative of the entire workforce, which can help HR teams make decisions that support the needs of all employees. Tracking participation rates by different segments can highlight areas where certain groups may feel disengaged or where communication efforts could be improved to reach broader audiences.

The true success of an HR survey lies in its ability to generate actionable insights. This means that the survey results should provide clear, specific information that can be used to make tangible improvements. 

After analyzing the data, HR teams should be able to identify trends, patterns, and pain points that require action. If the results are too vague or generalized, it may indicate that the survey questions were not targeted enough or that the data needs to be better interpreted. 

Measuring how many of the insights lead to concrete changes, policies, or initiatives can help assess whether the survey impacts the organization meaningfully.

HR surveys should be designed with company objectives in mind, whether that’s improving employee engagement, enhancing company culture, reducing turnover, or boosting productivity. If the survey results support these goals, it indicates that the survey effectively captures the data that matters most to the company’s success.

While survey results are important, it’s equally essential to measure employees' satisfaction with the survey process. Employees who are satisfied with the process are more likely to engage in future surveys, leading to more comprehensive feedback. 

Gauge employee satisfaction through follow-up surveys or feedback channels that ask about their experience with the survey. Key questions to consider include:

The ultimate goal of an HR survey is to drive improvements in key HR metrics, such as employee engagement, job satisfaction, retention, and productivity. Measure these metrics before and after surveying to assess whether the actions taken based on survey results have a positive impact. 

For example, if the survey revealed low engagement levels in specific departments and HR implemented new initiatives to address this, tracking improvements in engagement after these actions can help measure success. This metric allows HR teams link the survey directly to tangible outcomes, showing that the process has contributed to positive organizational change.

Finally, it’s important to benchmark your survey results against industry standards to gauge how your organization compares to others. Industry benchmarks provide context for interpreting your results and help identify areas where your company may outperform or fall behind competitors. 

Comparing employee satisfaction, engagement, and other HR metrics with similar organizations can help HR teams set realistic goals, understand trends, and ensure they follow best employee experience management practices.

HR surveys are essential for building a thriving, engaged workforce. The insights gained from employee feedback help HR teams make data-driven decisions that improve employee engagement, performance, and retention. Explore our collection of employee feedback and employee engagement survey templates for customizable solutions that make collecting and analyzing feedback simple and effective.