Are your employees happy with their work environment? If not, chances are you’re missing out on some key talent and productivity. If you’ve ever wondered how to attract top talent in a tight and competitive human capital market, the first place to look is within your own company. 

One way to do this is through an employee satisfaction survey. It’s no secret (and there are many measures) that a happy, invested employee is key to positive morale and motivation, employee goal achievement, cost savings, customer satisfaction, employee productivity, reduced turnover and more in the workplace. Whether you roll out surveys once a month or once every three months depends on your business. Surveys can be rolled out anonymously and electronically so employees can share their thoughts without fear of retribution.

The same employee satisfaction survey can also highlight problems if less motivated and mediocre employees stay because they are satisfied and happy with their work environment. This will require a different conversation like performance management, measure and constructive feedback.

When asking questions in employee satisfaction surveys, you should be as straightforward as possible, avoiding humour and corporate jargon. That way, you receive honest answers and reflect how your employees feel. Here are some examples of questions you can ask:

What do you like most about the company’s culture?

Do you have the tools and resources to perform your job well?

Do you feel you are adequately rewarded for the work that you do?

Do you think there is an opportunity to grow?

Do you feel supported and valued by your manager?

How can we better support you to reach your goals?

Suggest one improvement for our company we should implement.

You can include questions about the employee, their team, and the company. Form the questions for the future or past lessons learned for what could be improved next time.