How to write employee survey questions

Seven rules that separate a question people can answer honestly from one that produces confusing results.

Ask about one thing at a time
A question with two ideas in it cannot be answered clearly. "My manager is supportive and communicates well" mixes two things. Split it in two.
Use words people use at work
Choose everyday words over HR language. "My manager gives me feedback" is clearer than "performance feedback frequency is adequate".
Do not lead the answer
"How much do you enjoy our great culture?" tells people what to say. Ask "I enjoy working here" and let them agree or not.
Ask about things the organization can change
A question about something nobody will act on builds distrust. Leave it out.
Use the same scale all the way through
Switching between scales confuses people. A 5-point agreement scale works for most statements.
Keep it short
Cut every question that does not lead to a decision. Short surveys get more complete answers.
Put sensitive questions after easy ones
Start with the job and the team. Ask about leaders and pay once people are in the habit of answering.

Bad question, better question

Problem	Question to avoid	Better version
Two ideas in one	My manager is supportive and communicates clearly.	My manager is supportive. (Ask about communication separately.)
Leading	How much do you enjoy our excellent benefits?	The benefits I receive meet my needs.
Vague	Is communication good here?	I get the information I need about changes that affect my work.
Absolute words	I never feel stressed at work.	My workload is manageable most weeks.
Negative wording	I do not feel unable to speak up.	I can speak up here without fear of negative consequences.
Hard to answer	Rate how well leadership aligned strategy with execution.	Leaders here have a clear direction for the organization.

Scale	Best for	Note
5-point agreement (strongly disagree to strongly agree)	Most employee statements	Easy to answer on a phone. Easy to compare over time.
5-point satisfaction (very dissatisfied to very satisfied)	"How satisfied are you with..." questions	Use only with satisfaction questions.
0 to 10 recommendation	One question about recommending the organization	Keep it separate from the other questions.
Open text	What the scales miss	Use 2 or 3 at most.

How many questions should an employee survey have?

5 to 10 for a pulse, 25 to 50 for an annual survey. Each extra question lowers the number of people who finish.

Should I include a neutral option?

Yes, on a 5-point scale. People who are neutral should be able to say so, not forced into agreeing or disagreeing.

Open or closed questions?

Use closed questions for scores you can compare and open questions to find out why. Two or three open questions per survey is enough.