---
title: "Employee Engagement Survey"
description: "An employee engagement survey measures how committed and motivated employees are. See 15 example questions, the right scale, and how to act on results."
url: "https://sageo.ai/glossary/employee-engagement-survey"
source: "Sageo (sageo.ai)"
---


# Employee Engagement Survey

An employee engagement survey is a questionnaire that measures how committed, motivated, and connected employees feel about their work and organisation. It usually combines rating-scale questions with a few open questions, is run anonymously, and is repeated over time so trends can be tracked. The results only matter if leaders share them and act on them.

**Also known as:** engagement survey, pulse survey, employee survey, engagement survey questions

## Key takeaways

- An engagement survey measures how committed and motivated employees feel.
- Run it anonymously, repeat it over time, and keep it under 15 minutes.
- The question that predicts success: “I believe action will be taken on these results.”
- Share results fast and pick two or three actions; the follow-through is the hard part.

## At a glance

- **What it is:** Anonymous, repeated engagement questionnaire
- **Cadence:** Full survey 1–2x/year + pulses
- **Key question:** “I believe action will be taken”
- **Related:** eNPS, engagement metrics, employee engagement

## Why do employee engagement surveys matter?

Engagement surveys are the most direct way to hear from everyone at once, including people who would never raise an issue in a meeting.

## 15 example questions (5-point agree scale)

*Engagement:* 1. I am proud to work here. 2. I would recommend this company as a great place to work. 3. I see myself working here in two years.

*Manager:* 4. My manager gives me useful feedback. 5. My manager cares about me as a person.

*Growth:* 6. I have opportunities to learn and grow here. 7. I understand what I need to do to progress.

*Clarity:* 8. I know what is expected of me at work. 9. I understand how my work contributes to company goals.

*Recognition:* 10. I receive recognition when I do good work.

*Wellbeing:* 11. My workload is manageable. 12. I can switch off after work.

*Voice:* 13. I believe action will be taken on the results of this survey.

*Open:* 14. What is one thing we should keep doing? 15. What is one thing we should change?

## What are the best practices for employee engagement surveys?

Keep it under 15 minutes. Guarantee anonymity with a minimum group size before showing team results. Share results within a few weeks. Pick two or three actions, not twenty.

## Worked example

Results show "I understand what I need to do to progress" at 38% favourable, the lowest item. Leadership publishes career levels for every function within the quarter. The next survey shows 61%.

## Frequently asked questions

### How often should you run an engagement survey?

A full survey once or twice a year, plus short pulses in between.

### What is a good response rate?

Higher is better. A falling rate is itself a signal that people do not believe the survey leads to change.

### What questions should an employee engagement survey include?

A mix of engagement (“I'm proud to work here”), manager, growth, clarity, recognition, wellbeing, and voice items, plus one or two open questions.

### What is a good engagement survey response rate?

Higher is better. A falling rate is itself a signal that people do not believe the survey leads to change.

### Should employee engagement surveys be anonymous?

Yes, responses are almost always anonymised and aggregated above a minimum group size. Anonymity is what makes people answer honestly; reporting that could identify small teams breaks trust.

### What should you do after an engagement survey?

Share results within a few weeks, pick two or three concrete actions, and report back on them so people see that feedback leads to change.