100 employee engagement questions to ask your frontline employees
Are you on a quest to improve employee engagement? You’re trying all the right tactics and strategies but you just aren’t sure if your efforts are proving to be that effective? If this sounds familiar to you, it’s time to start asking the right questions so you can understand how engaged your employees really are.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is a term used to describe how committed your employees are to their job and your organisation. An engaged employee is someone who truly cares about the performance of the company and will go above and beyond to deliver work that helps you exceed your targets. They understand how they contribute to the overall success of your business and they come to work every day with a positive, can-do attitude.
An engaged employee is a step above a happy employee
A happy employee will come to work with a positive attitude and genuinely loves their job and the people they work with. However, they are not quite as committed as the engaged employee. They will not put in discretionary effort to ensure a project is completed on time and they may not help others out if it means they have to work late. These employees are happy because their own needs are being met but they are not so concerned about the well-being of your business.
What does it take to make your employees feel motivated and engaged?
We are all human and we all have unique needs and desires in order to feel motivated and engaged. Paul Turner, author of ‘employee engagement in contemporary organisations’ cites employee engagement as a psychological state. This is because psychological investment is needed in order for an employee to be engaged.
He believes that when the goals and objectives of an employee align with those of the organisation they will be engaged. This is subject to whether they receive the right resources and support to achieve their goals. With this in mind, it’s vital that you provide the critical psychological states that influence how your staff are motivated and engaged.
Let’s use an example to illustrate the point above...
For example, let’s say your organisation is very money motivated. You hold morning meetings that discuss monetary targets and you praise staff who hit those targets. You pay little attention to how the work is done and see success as money.
Now let’s say you have an employee whose goal is to become an expert in their field of work. Because of this, they take longer to hit their monetary targets because they spend more time reading and researching the best practice for the way things should be done. Their colleagues cut corners in order to hit their targets faster but this is something they would never do.
As you can tell, their goals and objectives in the workplace are misaligned with the goals and objectives of their organisation. Because of this, they are disengaged. They feel undervalued and misunderstood. They are never praised for their meticulous attention to detail and they feel their colleagues are rewarded for all the wrong reasons.
To improve engagement you need to understand what drives your employees to be more motivated
As you can tell from the example above, employees can feel motivated and engaged for a whole host of different reasons. One individual may be driven purely by money and another may be driven by the need to feel like they are making a difference in the organisation.
To truly improve employee engagement within your organisation, you first need to understand what the goals and objectives of your employees are. Use the questions below to discover what those are.
20 employee engagement questions to find out what motivates each of your employees
What does success look like to you as an employee within our business?
When do you feel like you have truly achieved your goals?
What motivates you at work?
What would an ideal day look like for you in the workplace?
If you were the boss, how would you motivate your employees?
What makes you feel accomplished as an employee?
What makes you feel successful in your career?
What drives you to be a better employee?
What goals do you have for your career?
When do you feel most determined at work?
What inspires you at work?
What makes you excited about coming to work in the morning?
What three words would you like to be able to use to describe yourself in the workplace?
What three words would you actually use to describe yourself in the workplace?
What do you hope to achieve at work in the next 3 months?
How would you describe your performance in the last 3 months, what went well, what did not?
What are the recent accomplishments that made you feel proud and successful?
If you successfully achieve your personal goals how will you feel?
What makes you feel unstoppable at work?
What pushes you to keep going at work even when you feel like quitting?
Now you’ve asked the questions to understand what drives and motivates your employees, it's time to find out how you’re doing. We have split the following questions up into categories that reflect the core elements of an effective employee engagement strategy.
What are the core elements of an effective employee engagement strategy?
Having inspiring leaders who nurture and support employees
Effective communication, keeping your employees in the loop at all times
A strong company culture that aligns with your employee’s values
Making your employees feel valued and recognised for their hard work
Supporting your employees to grow and develop
Ensuring everyone is accountable and responsible for their actions
Being clear on what the vision and mission of the company is
10 employee engagement questions to assess the performance of your leaders
We’ve all heard the saying “People don’t leave their job they leave their manager” and that’s because there is so much truth in that sentence. Leaders have the power to make or break a company’s culture and if they aren’t inspiring their team members on a daily basis then engagement levels are going to be low. Use these questions to discover how well your leaders are performing and find out what they could be doing better.
Do you feel inspired by our leadership team?
Do you think the leadership team motivates you in the best way possible as an employee?
Do you feel supported by your manager?
How does your manager make you feel on a daily basis as an employee?
What can your manager do better to make you feel more motivated and engaged at work?
If you were a manager how would you motivate and engage your employees?
Do you think our leadership team is fair and approachable?
Do you feel your manager understands your personal goals and targets?
Do you feel recognised and valued by your manager?
Do you feel like your manager wants you to succeed as an employee?
10 employee engagement questions to assess communication levels within your organisation
Good communication within an organisation is important for building trust because your employees are much more likely to be engaged when they feel like they can rely on you. To build trust, you need to be completely transparent and make them feel like their opinions and ideas are valued. Use the questions below to assess your level of communication and find out what you could be doing better.
On a scale of 1-10 how good are we at keeping you updated and informed?
Do you feel like we are totally transparent as an organisation?
How helpful do you find our communication methods? How would you like to receive your communications?
Do you feel like your voice is heard?
Do you feel like we take action on what you and the rest of the team have to say?
Is it always clear what is expected of you as an employee?
Do we clearly communicate our mission, values and purpose?
What would you do differently if you were the communications manager?
Do you feel as informed as senior management?
What do you think about the information you receive currently?
15 employee engagement questions to assess your company culture
The first port of call when looking to improve your employee engagement levels is to assess your company culture. This is because company culture has a direct impact on engagement levels, in fact, employee engagement rises as a result of a strong, positive company culture. Use these questions to find out how your employees view your company culture and whether it matches what you want your culture to be.
How would you describe our company culture?
What do you think about our approach to career development?
On a scale of 1-10 how likely are you to recommend our company to a friend?
Do you feel like you have a good work-life balance here as an employee?
Do you feel like we do enough to help you bond with your teammates?
Do the personality traits of your teammates align with your personality traits?
What do you think it takes to succeed in this company as an employee?
Is there anything you would change about our company culture if you could?
Do you feel like we offer enough benefits and perks?
On a scale of 1-10 how happy do you feel with the environment at work?
Is there anything you would change about the work environment?
Do you feel like we work collaboratively here?
What do you think about the structure of our company?
Is our company culture energising?
How often do you feel stressed at work?
10 employee engagement questions to assess reward and recognition efforts
Rewards and recognition are fundamental when looking to improve employee engagement levels. In fact, organisations that have strong reward and recognition programmes are more likely to see improved revenue, better productivity and decreased turnover rates. Use these questions to find out how recognised your employees feel.
Do you feel like you are rewarded for the work that you do at this company?
Do you feel like your efforts are noticed and that you are appreciated as an employee?
Do you feel like we fairly promote people within this company?
What rewards would you like to receive for your hard work?
When was the last time someone made you feel appreciated at work, what did they do or say?
Do you feel like all employees are treated equally within the company?
What level of work deserves reward and recognition in your eyes as an employee?
If you were the leader how would you reward and recognise your staff?
Do you feel recognised by your teammates?
What could we do to make you feel more valued, respected and appreciated at work?
15 employee engagement questions to assess growth and development efforts
Growth and development is a key driver for employee engagement levels. Employees need to feel like they are progressing in their career in order to feel fulfilled. Only when they feel fulfilled will they be fully engaged and committed to their role. Use these questions to find out how much you are supporting your employees to grow and develop.
Is it clear how you can progress as an employee within the organisation?
Do you like how our training is delivered? Would you like it delivered in different methods?
Do you feel like our training supports your career development?
On a scale of 1-10 how much do we help you develop in your career?
How much do you think you’ve grown in terms of skills since you first started working here?
When was the last time you felt like you achieved something great at the company?
How often do you feel challenged in your role here?
Do you feel like we support you enough to be the best you can be in your role?
How seriously do you feel like your manager takes your growth and development?
Which member of the leadership team takes growth and development the most seriously?
On a scale of 1-10 how much do you think we make use of your strengths in the business?
Does your manager frequently provide you with feedback about your work?
Do you feel like we do enough to tackle your weaknesses at work?
Do we do enough performance reviews to assess your ability as an employee?
Do you feel like your thoughts and opinions are taken seriously in your performance reviews?
10 employee engagement questions to assess accountability and responsibility
Accountability and responsibility are crucial elements to improve employee engagement levels. This is because when an employee is fully committed and dedicated to their role they don’t mind being held responsible for their actions and behaviours. Creating a culture of accountability and responsibility is much more likely to enhance engagement levels across your organisation. Use the questions below to discover how well you do this.
Do you feel like everyone is held accountable for their work here?
If there was no manager here, do you feel like you could be responsible for your area?
Do you feel like you have the skills you need to be wholly responsible for your area at work?
Do you know how your work contributes to the overall success of the company?
Do you feel like leaders are held accountable for the performance of the company?
Do you feel like you are trusted to get on with work or do you feel micromanaged?
Do you feel like responsibility is delegated fairly?
On a scale of 1-10 how well do you think we respond when a team member doesn’t pull their weight?
Do you feel fully supported by your team when carrying out group projects or tasks?
When was the last time you were held accountable for something at work?
10 employee engagement questions to assess our vision and mission
The power of a strong vision and mission statement should never be underestimated. In fact, a Gallup survey found that “71% of millennials who strongly agree that they know what their organisation stands for and what makes it different from its competitors say they plan to be with their company for at least one year.” Find out if your employees are clear on what yours are and what you can do to improve.
Is it clear what our vision and mission are?
Do we talk about our vision and mission enough?
Do you feel like we continuously work towards our vision?
Do you feel like our mission is achievable?
Do you understand how your work contributes to our mission?
Is there anything you would change about our vision and mission?
Do you feel like our vision and mission is well reflected in the work we do and the service that we offer?
Do you feel like the senior team takes our vision and mission seriously enough?
What can we do to make you feel more involved with the mission and vision of the company?
Do you feel like our vision and mission unifies everyone/ makes everyone feel more connected?
Use these 100 employee engagement questions to tweak and refine your employee engagement strategy. Employee engagement is a task that is never finished. You constantly need to improve your efforts to increase employee engagement levels and the only way you can do that is by discovering how your employees are really feeling.
Are you looking for a comms and training app that boasts a 98% engagement rate? Even in retail!
Ocasta Engage is used by Virgin Media, Next and Tesco Mobile to keep their frontline teams engaged, knowledgeable and motivated. If you want to see how it could work in your organisation book a free demo.
You shouldn’t demo Engage if:
You want low engagement rates.
You want a confusing comms and training platform which does more to repel your frontline teams than engage them.
You want your frontline teams to feel overwhelmed with the amount of information they have to remember.
You like a clunky, frustrating experience when it comes to engagement platforms for frontline teams.
You enjoy having to go through central teams to post anything which slows the progress of your frontline teams down.
You don’t want a 98% engagement rate for your frontline teams.
You should demo Engage if:
You want a dedicated app for your frontline teams which makes it easy for them to find what they need and serve your customers in the best way possible
You want enviable engagement rates which other platforms in your business could never compare to
You want an engaged, happy and knowledgeable team of experts who are always ready to deliver the best customer service.
You enjoy working with a team of friendly experts who genuinely care about the performance of your frontline teams
You’re finally ready to end your engagement struggles and embrace a new streamlined way of working where everyone is always efficient and productive.
You’re just three steps away from supercharging engagement in your teams:
This is how it will work 👇
Book your 25-minute demo.
You enjoy your 2 months free pilot.
Enjoy next-level engagement.
