Life is so much easier when you know exactly what your employees need.

An efficient employee survey backed with insightful data helps you understand your employees' perceptions and provide them with an excellent work environment in which to thrive.

What's the Main Goal of Employee Surveys?

The ultimate end-goal for any HR or people leader is to improve the experience at every stage of the employee lifecycle, right from onboarding to their exit.

Here are some of the most important employee survey templates for every stage of the employee lifecycle, along with sample questions for each.

1. Employee Engagement Survey

Goal: Evaluate employee engagement and pinpoint areas in need of improvement.

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Sample questions to begin with.

  • How satisfied are you with your current role (1–5)?
  • Do you feel your contributions are valued by others?
  • Does your manager support your professional growth?
  • Are you proud to work at this company?

Try rolling this employee engagement survey for free.

2. Employee Pulse Survey

Goal: Get up-to-date information on employee sentiment on various aspects of the workplace and uncover pressing issues.

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Example Questions

  • How satisfied are you with your workload this week?
  • Do you have the tools and resources to do your job well?
  • How would you rate your work-life balance (1–5)?
  • What’s the biggest barrier to your productivity right now?

You may also like: 101 pulse survey questions for your ready reference.

Explore other pulse survey templates

3. Employee Onboarding Survey

Goal: Evaluate how well the onboarding procedure works and get input from recent hires.

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Example Questions

  • Did onboarding meet your expectations of the role and company?
  • Was the onboarding process engaging and informative?
  • What challenges did you face during onboarding?
  • How can we make onboarding better for future hires?

Read more: 19 employee onboarding questions to make every new joiner's experience a great one.

4. Exit Interview Survey

Goal: Gain insight into the causes of employee departures and pinpoint opportunities for organizational development.

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Example Questions

  • What led to your decision to leave the company?
  • Were there specific challenges that influenced your choice?
  • What changes would you recommend to improve the organization?
  • Would you consider rejoining in the future? Why or why not?

Measuring employee net promoter scores can help you take preventive measures to lower turnover rates and enhance loyalty.

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5. Survey on Diversity and Inclusion

Goal: Find out how employees feel about the company's dedication to diversity and inclusion.

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Example Questions

  • Do you feel the company genuinely values diversity?
  • Have you witnessed or experienced bias or discrimination here?
  • Do you believe all employees have equal growth opportunities?
  • What steps could the company take to foster greater inclusion?

6. Employee Performance Review Templates

Goal: Gather performance evaluations from employees to support their professional development.

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Example Questions

  • On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate Carl's performance this quarter?
  • How well does Carl collaborate in a team?
  • What major achievements has Carl made thus far during this performance period?
  • Have there been any obstacles or difficulties that have affected your performance?

Explore other performance review templates

7. Evaluation of training and development needs

Goal: Determine what training and development needs employees have in order to facilitate their progress.

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Example Questions

  • Have you gotten enough training to carry out your current position well?
  • Which particular knowledge or skill sets would you like to expand on?
  • Do you think the company offers enough chances for professional development?
  • How can the company help you advance your career more effectively?

8. Survey on well-being and wellness

Goal: Evaluate employee well-being and pinpoint areas where programs for their welfare should be strengthened.

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Example Questions

  • How would you rank your general state of health?
  • Do you think the organization's wellness efforts and programs are up to par?
  • Do you think the company encourages a good work-life balance?
  • Which health-related programs should be enhanced or put into action, in your opinion?

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9. Remote Work Satisfaction Survey

Goal: Address any issues and get input on the remote work experience.

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Example Questions

  • How pleased are you with remote work arrangements, on a scale of 1 to 10?
  • Do you have the equipment and resources you need to operate efficiently from home?
  • Do you have any particular issues or worries about working remotely that you would want to discuss?
  • What recommendations do you have to make working remotely better?

10. Pulse Survey on Teamwork and Communication

Goal: Evaluate the effectiveness of teams in your company.

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Example Questions

  • In what way would you rank the team's communication?
  • Do you think your team works well together on tasks and projects?
  • Are there any problems or obstacles to communication that need to be resolved?

The Anatomy of an Effective Employee Survey Template

Now that you know about the various types of templates, let's breakdown the essential components of a successful employee survey template.

1. Clear goals

Clear objectives underpin every successful staff survey. The survey is guided by these goals. They're important because:

  • Deloitte discovered that surveys relevant to organizational goals generate more meaningful information. Survey findings correspond with the organization's strategic goals with clear objectives.
  • Organizations can collect targeted and meaningful data by having a clear goal. Survey fatigue and lower response rates might result from adding irrelevant items without clear objectives.

2. Clear on the audience

Choosing the correct survey audience is crucial for meaningful results. Questioning certain groups guarantees targeted and actionable survey results. Why audience segmentation matters:

  • Employees can have different viewpoints and experiences. Tailoring queries to these categories helps firms gain relevant insights.
  • The International Journal of Market Research found that tailored surveys with audience-relevant questions got better response rates. Employees are more likely to complete questionnaires about their experiences.

3. Relevant questions

Your employee survey questions should support your goals and provide relevant information. An effective survey requires relevant questions:

  • Long surveys with unrelated questions might lower response rates. SurveyMonkey found that shorter, targeted questionnaires work better.
  • Choose quantitative or qualitative questions carefully. Open-ended questions yield valuable qualitative insights, whereas closed-ended questions efficiently collect quantitative data.

4. Privacy and anonymity

Any survey must build trust and make employees feel comfortable giving honest feedback. Anonymity and secrecy matter:

  • Anonymity promotes honesty in feedback, according to Harvard Business Review research. Knowing their replies won't be traceable makes employees more inclined to be honest.
  • Anonymity reduces reaction bias. If they fear sanctions, employees can not voice concerns.

5. Scalability

Survey templates can be scaled to suit companies of different sizes and configurations. Why it's crucial:

  • Survey needs vary with organizations. Scalable survey templates can adjust to changes without a total rebuild.
  • Scalable templates are cost-effective for surveys of a small team, department, or company. This cost-effective method optimizes resource use.

The Need for Quality Employee Feedback

Most companies run feedback surveys. But only the ones that treat them as more than a checkbox activity unlock real value. Done right, employee feedback becomes a powerful tool for growth, engagement, and innovation. Here’s why it matters:

1. Better Decisions

Employee feedback is rich with insights that can guide smarter business moves.

  • Data-driven choices: PwC found that companies using employee input for decision-making are 79% more likely to succeed.
  • Spotting pain points: Surveys highlight inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and cultural issues that leadership may overlook. Fixing them starts with listening.

2. Higher Employee Engagement

Engagement thrives when people feel heard. Feedback makes employees feel respected and part of the bigger picture.

  • Ideas that count: Aon Hewitt research shows employees are more engaged when they believe their opinions matter.
  • Open communication: TINYpulse found that regular, two-way dialogue is a strong driver of engagement.

3. Stronger Retention and Recruitment

People stay where they feel valued—and talent is drawn to companies with that reputation.

  • Reduced turnover: SHRM reports that companies with a strong culture of feedback and recognition see 14.9% lower turnover.
  • Attractive brand: Candidates are more likely to join an employer known for listening to its people.

4. Fuel for Innovation

Feedback doesn’t just solve problems—it sparks ideas.

  • Fresh perspectives: BCG found that diverse leadership teams generate 19% higher innovation revenue. Surveys help surface those varied viewpoints.
  • Creative input: Simply asking employees for ideas can unlock new ways to improve processes, products, and culture.

Maximizing the Impact of Your Employee Surveys

Employee surveys are a vital tool for understanding and enhancing the workplace environment. To maximize their impact, it's essential to focus on clear goals, targeted audiences, relevant questions, privacy, and scalability. By employing various survey types like engagement, pulse, onboarding, and exit interviews, organizations can gain comprehensive insights into employee experiences.

ThriveSparrow lets you create employee surveys in 2 minutes using research-backed question banks.

Simply select a template for your use-case, configure the survey cut-off dates, choose the participants, hit launch, and lay back. You can also schedule surveys when you want.

ThriveSparrow's Employee Survey Analytics
An overview of ThriveSparrow's employee survey analytics

Try ThriveSparrow for free and see it yourself.