Here are the employee satisfaction survey questions we use in Org360. There are 2 versions: a 12-question pulse that takes 3 to 4 minutes, and a 24-question version that takes about 10.
Copy them into whatever tool you use. Or send them from Org360, where they're ready to go in 8 languages.
Short or long: which one to use
Start with the 12. Seriously.
A short survey gets more replies, and you can run it every quarter without people groaning. The 24-question version is for when the pulse shows something's off and you need to know why. Low scores on "growth", for example: is it a lack of opportunities, or nobody explaining how promotion works? The long version asks both.
What works well for teams of 20 to 200 people: the 12 every quarter, the 24 once or twice a year in place of one of the pulses.
The 12-question employee satisfaction survey
1 recommendation question, 9 rated questions, 2 open questions. Rated questions use a 1 to 5 scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
Recommendation
1. How likely are you to recommend this organization as a great place to work? (0 to 10)
Core experience (1 to 5)
2. I find my work meaningful.
3. I have the autonomy and resources I need to do my work effectively.
4. I feel supported by my manager.
5. Internal communication is clear and consistent enough to keep me informed.
6. I have opportunities to grow and develop.
7. I feel safe to speak up and be myself at work.
8. I feel recognized and valued for my contributions.
9. How likely are you to stay with this organization over the next 12 months?
Wellbeing
10. How would you rate your current burnout level? (1 to 10)
Open questions
11. What's contributing to your work-related stress, and what could help?
12. What's one thing we should keep doing, and one thing we should change?
See the 12-question Team Pulse survey
The 24-question employee satisfaction survey
Same ground as the pulse, with 2 questions per topic where it matters, plus pay and work-life balance.
Recommendation
1. How likely are you to recommend this organization as a great place to work? (0 to 10)
Purpose and role
2. I understand how my work contributes to the mission.
3. I find my work meaningful.
4. I understand my responsibilities.
5. I have the autonomy I need to do my work effectively.
Tools and workload
6. I have the tools, resources and information I need to do my work well.
7. Systems and processes support rather than hinder my productivity.
8. How would you rate your current stress level? (1 to 10)
9. My workload allows me to consistently do quality work without burnout.
Feedback, growth and managers
10. I receive useful and timely feedback.
11. I feel recognized for my contributions.
12. I see meaningful opportunities to grow and advance here.
13. My manager supports me and cares about my wellbeing.
14. I feel comfortable raising concerns with my manager.
Team and culture
15. I feel a sense of belonging on my team.
16. Team collaboration is effective.
17. Our organisational values are reflected in everyday actions.
18. I feel informed about key decisions that affect my work.
19. I feel empowered to suggest and implement improvements in how we work.
20. Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities.
Pay and balance
21. I am fairly compensated for my work.
22. I understand how compensation and advancement decisions are made.
23. I maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Open question
24. If you could change one thing about working here, what would it be?
See the 24-question Team Health survey
How to read the recommendation question
Question 1 gives you your employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS). It's the number most teams end up tracking over time.
Take the share of people who answered 9 or 10, and subtract the share who answered 0 to 6. The 7s and 8s don't count either way.
Say 20 people reply: 9 give a 9 or 10, 4 give a 0 to 6. That's 45% minus 20%, so an eNPS of +25. Anything above 0 means more fans than critics. The trend matters more than the number, so watch how it moves from one quarter to the next.
Questions to leave out
- Two questions in one. "I have the tools and the training I need" can't be answered if you have one and not the other. Split it.
- Questions you won't act on. If the office isn't moving, don't ask people to rate the office. Asking raises hopes.
- Demographic questions in a small team. In a team of 15, "department" plus "years at the company" can point to one person. Then nobody's honest.
- Too many open questions. 2 is plenty. By the fourth open box people type "n/a".
Make it anonymous for real
People only answer honestly if they believe the survey is anonymous. So the protection has to be built into the tool, where they can see it.
In Org360 the report only opens once at least 3 people have replied (5 in the Highest confidentiality mode, on the Pro plan). Open answers are never shown with names, and in Highest mode they're replaced by an AI summary, so nobody's writing style gives them away.
What to do with the results
This is where most surveys die. The results arrive, someone makes a slide, and nothing changes. Next quarter, fewer people bother to reply.
- Share the results with the team within 2 weeks.
- Pick 1 or 2 things to work on. 10 is too many.
- Say what will change and by when.
- In the next survey, mention what you changed since last time.
Org360 writes the first draft for you: when the survey closes, the report shows your scores by area, the eNPS, the main themes from the comments and a short action plan. You can refresh it as late replies come in.
Send it
Both surveys are free to read and copy. You can edit any question, add your own and save your version for next time.
Your first survey on Org360 is free, and after that a single survey is $49. Nonprofits get 40% off annual plans. Start here.