Glossary Terms

Glossary of Human Resources Management and Employee Benefit Terms

Table of contents

Staff Engagement Surveys

A staff engagement survey is a structured tool used by organizations to gather feedback from employees on their experiences, satisfaction, and commitment at work.

It includes carefully designed staff engagement survey questions that explore key areas such as culture, leadership, recognition, wellbeing, and growth opportunities.

Many companies use a staff engagement survey template to standardize the process and ensure consistency across departments.

What are staff engagement surveys?

Staff engagement surveys, also commonly referred to as employee engagement surveys, are a tool used by organizations to measure how invested and enthusiastic their employees are about their work.

The surveys aim to gauge employee satisfaction, sense of purpose, and overall commitment to the company's goals.

At Empuls, staff engagement surveys are part of a broader employee listening strategy that covers eNPS, pulse surveys, lifecycle surveys, and 360-degree feedback to collect actionable insights throughout the employee journey.

What are some staff engagement survey questions?

Good staff engagement survey questions focus on measuring how employees feel about different aspects of their work environment. These questions can be grouped into several key areas:

1. Leadership and communication

Do you trust the leadership team to make the right decisions?
Are you kept informed about changes that affect your work?

2. Recognition and rewards

Do you feel recognized for your contributions at work?
Is your performance appreciated and rewarded appropriately?

3. Career development

Do you have opportunities for learning and growth?
Is there a clear path for your career advancement here?

4. Work-life balance and well-being

Do you feel you can maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life?
Does the company support your mental and physical well-being?

5. Teamwork and collaboration

Do you feel connected to your team and coworkers?
Is collaboration encouraged and supported?

6. Purpose and alignment

Do you understand how your work contributes to the company’s success?
Are you proud to work for this organization?

Including a mix of rating scale questions and open-ended feedback allows employees to share both measurable and qualitative input.

What is an effective staff engagement survey template?

An effective staff engagement survey template is structured, easy to complete, and captures meaningful insights across all areas of employee engagement.

Here’s a simple framework you can customize:

Section 1: Company alignment

I understand the company’s mission and values.
My work aligns with the company’s goals.

Section 2: Leadership

Leaders communicate openly and transparently.
Leadership demonstrates care for employees.

Section 3: Job satisfaction

I feel motivated to give my best at work.
My role makes good use of my skills and talents.

Section 4: Recognition and rewards

I feel adequately recognized for my work.
My contributions are valued.

Section 5: Career growth

I have opportunities for professional development.
I receive feedback that helps me improve.

Section 6: Well-being

I can maintain a good work-life balance.
The company cares about my wellness.

Section 7: Open feedback

What is one thing we could do to make your work experience better?

A strong staff engagement survey template ensures consistency and makes it easier to track progress over time.

What are some staff engagement survey examples?

Many organizations use a variety of staff engagement survey examples depending on the specific goals:

‍Annual engagement survey: Covers all aspects of engagement, including leadership, job satisfaction, recognition, and culture.‍
Pulse surveys: Short, frequent surveys focusing on specific topics like leadership communication or workload balance.‍
Onboarding surveys: Gather feedback from new hires about their onboarding experience and early impressions of company culture.‍
Exit surveys: Collect insights from departing employees to understand reasons for turnover and areas needing improvement.‍
Manager effectiveness surveys: Assess how well managers support, motivate, and develop their teams.

Using tailored staff engagement surveys for each stage of the employee lifecycle helps capture the right feedback at the right time.

Why conduct a staff engagement survey?

Staff engagement surveys help organizations:

Understand employee sentiment and morale.
Identify drivers and barriers to engagement.
Pinpoint areas needing leadership attention.
Build data-driven action plans for improving employee experience.
Boost retention by addressing issues before they escalate.

When HR teams use tailored staff engagement surveys, they ensure that feedback is specific, relevant, and aligned with business goals, improving both participation and outcomes.

When should you run staff engagement surveys?

Timing is critical for effective surveys:

Quarterly pulse surveys to capture real-time sentiment.
Annual or bi-annual deep-dive engagement surveys.
Lifecycle-triggered surveys at key stages like onboarding, training, performance reviews, or exit.
Event-driven surveys after organizational changes, mergers, or new policies.

Using staff engagement survey examples from Empuls allows organizations to schedule surveys with built-in templates and automation, ensuring consistent feedback without overwhelming employees.

Employee pulse surveys:

These are short surveys that can be sent frequently to check what your employees think about an issue quickly. The survey comprises fewer questions (not more than 10) to get the information quickly. These can be administered at regular intervals (monthly/weekly/quarterly).

One-on-one meetings:

Having periodic, hour-long meetings for an informal chat with every team member is an excellent way to get a true sense of what’s happening with them. Since it is a safe and private conversation, it helps you get better details about an issue.

eNPS:

eNPS (employee Net Promoter score) is one of the simplest yet effective ways to assess your employee's opinion of your company. It includes one intriguing question that gauges loyalty. An example of eNPS questions include: How likely are you to recommend our company to others? Employees respond to the eNPS survey on a scale of 1-10, where 10 denotes they are ‘highly likely’ to recommend the company and 1 signifies they are ‘highly unlikely’ to recommend it.

Based on the responses, employees can be placed in three different categories:

Promoters
Employees who have responded positively or agreed.
Detractors
Employees who have reacted negatively or disagreed.
Passives
Employees who have stayed neutral with their responses.

How do staff engagement surveys work?

The process typically involves:

Designing the survey using staff engagement survey templates.
Selecting target groups and scheduling distribution.
Encouraging participation through automated nudges.
Analyzing results with AI-powered insights, including sentiment analysis and benchmarking.
Creating actionable improvement plans based on data.

Empuls enhances this process with AI-driven personalized conversations, weekly achievement nudges, signal-based prompts, and automatic action planning. This makes the entire feedback loop more responsive, inclusive, and continuous.

How to have great staff engagement surveys?

Creating great staff engagement surveys goes beyond just asking questions. Here’s how to ensure your surveys are effective:

Be clear about the objective: Know what you want to learn — whether it’s overall engagement, leadership effectiveness, or employee well-being.
Use tailored staff engagement surveys: Customize surveys to reflect your organization’s culture, goals, and workforce demographics.
Keep surveys short and focused: Avoid survey fatigue by limiting the number of questions while still covering critical engagement drivers.
Ensure anonymity: Allow employees to respond honestly without fear, which leads to more genuine feedback.
Share results transparently: Communicate key findings with employees to build trust and demonstrate that their voice matters.
Take visible action: Act on the feedback collected. Employees are more likely to participate when they see real changes happening.
Leverage technology: Use digital platforms to automate distribution, analyze responses, and track trends over time. AI-powered staff engagement surveys can even offer predictive insights and personalized action plans.

With the right approach, staff engagement surveys become a powerful tool to strengthen company culture and employee satisfaction.

Explore how Empuls can help your organization