Employee Survey

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create an employee engagement or satisfaction survey
• Design a pulse check survey for quick team health reads
• Build a comprehensive annual culture assessment
• Gather anonymous feedback on specific workplace issues

DO NOT use this skill for customer surveys, market research, or exit interviews. This is for internal employee feedback collection only.

Core Principle

EVERY SURVEY QUESTION MUST BE ACTIONABLE — IF YOU CANNOT CHANGE SOMETHING BASED ON THE ANSWER, DO NOT ASK THE QUESTION.

Phase 1: Brief

Required Inputs

GATE: Confirm brief before proceeding.

Phase 2: Design

Question Category Framework

Build the survey from these categories, selecting based on the user's focus areas:

1. Overall Satisfaction — general happiness and likelihood to recommend
2. Management and Leadership — communication, support, trust in leadership
3. Growth and Development — learning opportunities, career path clarity
4. Culture and Belonging — inclusion, team dynamics, values alignment
5. Workload and Wellbeing — stress levels, work-life balance, burnout risk
6. Compensation and Benefits — pay satisfaction, benefits adequacy
7. Tools and Environment — resources, workspace, technology

Question Design Rules

• Mix rating scales (1-5 Likert) with 2-3 open-ended questions
• Keep total survey under 15 minutes (max 25 questions for full survey, 10 for pulse)
• Group questions by category with clear section headers
• Include one eNPS question: "How likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work?" (0-10)
• End with one open-ended: "What is the one thing we could change to make this a better place to work?"

GATE: Present the question list and wait for approval.

Phase 3: Build

Deliverables

1. Complete Survey Document

• All questions with response options formatted for the chosen platform
• Section introductions explaining why each category matters
• Estimated completion time noted at the top

2. Introduction Message

• Why the survey exists and what will happen with results
• Anonymity assurance with specific details on how data is protected
• Deadline and estimated time to complete

3. Reminder Message

• Sent at the halfway point before the deadline
• Restate anonymity and purpose

4. Results Analysis Framework

• How to calculate scores per category
• Benchmarks: what scores indicate healthy vs. concerning
• Priority matrix: high importance + low score = act first

Phase 4: Polish

Action Planning Template

Provide a framework for turning results into action:

1. Top 3 Strengths — celebrate and protect these
2. Top 3 Improvement Areas — pick one to act on immediately
3. Quick Wins — changes implementable within 2 weeks
4. Longer-Term Initiatives — changes requiring 1-3 months
5. Communication Plan — share results and action plan with the team within 2 weeks of survey close

Results Communication Template

A message template for sharing results transparently, including what scored well, what needs work, and what specific actions the company will take.

Example 1: Quarterly Pulse Check (10 questions, 8-person team)

• 6 Likert scale questions across satisfaction, culture, and workload
• 1 eNPS question
• 3 open-ended questions (best thing, biggest frustration, one change)
• Estimated time: 5 minutes

Example 2: Annual Engagement Survey (25 questions, 30-person company)

• 18 Likert scale questions across all 7 categories
• 1 eNPS question
• 3 ranking questions (prioritize benefits, rank development preferences)
• 3 open-ended questions
• Estimated time: 12 minutes

Anti-Patterns

• Surveying without acting — if you collect feedback and change nothing, trust erodes. Commit to acting on at least one finding.
• Leading questions — "Don't you agree our culture is great?" biases responses. Use neutral phrasing.
• Too many questions — survey fatigue kills response rates. Respect the time limits.
• False anonymity — if a team of 3 has demographic filters, responses are identifiable. Remove demographics for tiny teams.
• Annual-only cadence — once a year is too slow. Quarterly pulse checks catch issues early.

Recovery

• Team too small for anonymity: Remove all demographic questions. Consider using an external facilitator or anonymous suggestion box instead.
• Low response rates: Shorten the survey, extend the deadline, have leadership personally encourage participation (without pressure).
• User wants to ask about specific person: Redirect to a 360 review process. Engagement surveys should not target individuals.
• No action plan from last survey: Acknowledge this honestly in the introduction. Commit to a specific action timeline this round.