30 team survey questions to assess employee engagement

You may think that employee surveys don't fit the vibe of your small business. When you only have a few team members that you see every day, you can assume you can rely on your friendly company culture and open door policy to gather employee feedback regularly.

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But employee surveys can complement your existing feedback processes. Even if you have a great relationship with your staff members, they may still have issues that they are uncomfortable raising. Plus, there are always areas for improvement in any workplace, and your employees may have ideas that can take your business to the next level.

Then check out our comprehensive guide to employee surveys, which includes:

The benefits of writing surveys for your team What to Consider Before Writing an Employee Survey The most popular types of surveys Five steps to writing an effective survey 30 questions to use in your own questionnaires The best survey tools to use for your small business Homebase makes payroll painless.

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The Benefits of Employee Surveys

Conducting employee surveys allows you to take a general look at your company's performance internally, which can have a ripple effect in other areas. Here are some of the benefits you might see:

Fix small problems before they snowball. Employees may bring a problem to your attention that you hadn't noticed before. This means you can fix it sooner before it escalates and costs you money or scares off staff. Optimization of workflows. Your employees may have noted certain problems or considered opportunities to perform certain tasks more efficiently, which would save everyone time, money and effort. Make employees feel seen and heard. Polls let your team members know that you are interested in their opinions. But that's only as long as you act on their feedback. If you don't, your surveys can come across as performative. Have a healthier corporate culture. All of the above benefits can contribute to more efficient business practices and happier employees. This can increase your team's job satisfaction and improve their relationship with each other. Enjoying better employee retention rates. In turn, higher job satisfaction leads to fewer employees leaving your company in the long run. Improve your recruiting practices. If your employees are constantly complaining about aspects of their jobs that are fundamental to the business – for example, working late at night in a bar – it's a sign that you are hiring people who are not a good fit for your team. Using this information, you can reevaluate how you attract new hires and who you choose for open positions. Perform a spot check of turnover. Employee surveys also show how many staff members plan to leave soon, giving you more time to plan for hiring. What should I consider when creating an employee survey?

While employee surveys are a great way to find out what your team needs to thrive, you need to think about it to get the results you're looking for. Consider the following:

Write your questions intentionally

There are many great examples of employee surveys online. And while it's a good idea to take inspiration from them, resist copying them entirely. You should adapt your questions to the specific context of your business.

When crafting your questions, target them to your staff members. Learn about practices that are relevant to your business and industry. If you include too many high-level questions that apply more to large organizations than small businesses, you won't get much actionable insight.

Plus, employees can answer generic questions and feel like your survey is just a box-ticking exercise for management. In this case, they will be less inclined to take it seriously and make efforts to respond to it.

Aim for high employee engagement rates

No matter how much time you spend crafting your employee survey, it won't work if no one actually takes it.

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