Survey questions to collect analyzable data for your employee journey map

Survey questions to collect analyzable data for your employee journey map

Since organizations consist of living, breathing autonomous people, a vital part of what you need to do to understand how to influence the organization's performance is to collect feedback from living breathing people. (people analytics)

In this post, I offer you some sample survey questions you can use to put data from people in your employee journey map. You can use some of this feedback to trend, to measure the success or failure of experiments, and to analyze in conjunction with other data. Some open text questions just provide feedback fro you to ponder if it is what you expect it to be. A careful evaluation of expectation versus reality can help inform your next action. A lot more on the employee journey map in my post: Mapping the Employee Journey

<Remember> When you use the survey items, I outline in the following sections, simply replace <Company> with your Company's name and replace <Insert Competitor> with relevant talent competitors. <Scale> provides the suggested scale option associated with the survey site. <Logic> Refers to the navigation logic of the survey. This is sometimes referred to in survey applications as Skip Logic. These and other callouts like <Remember>, <Tip> and <Technical-Stuff> are thoughts just for you. These thoughts are not intended to appear in the body of the survey.

Pre-Recruit Market Research Survey

On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to seriously consider a new job opportunity in the next year? (0= not at all, 10 = very likely) <Scale> Not-at-all-likely-0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10-Very-Likely

“Which top three employers would you consider for your next career move?” (Select three)<Scale> Choose three

<Your custom list here>

<Insert Competitor>

<Insert Competitor>

<Company>

<Insert Competitor>

<Insert Competitor>

<Insert Competitor>

Other: _______________

Other: _______________

Other: _______________

<TIP> Make sure to include a balance of industry and non-industry names because people don't have to stay in the same industry and in most cases don't think about jobs in that light. Also, consider that some workers & jobs would present themselves in national or global markets so your true talent competitors, especially the ones you should be concerned about, may not be local. Set up your list according to the types of organizations you get the best talent from and the types of organizations that steal your best talent.

On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to consider a job opportunity at < Company>? (0= not at all, 10 = very likely) <Scale> Not-at-all-likely-0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10-Very-Likely

When you think of <Company> brand and culture, what words come to mind? (List as many as you can) <Scale> Open text

When you think of <Company> brand and culture, what words do you agree with? (Selected all that apply) <Scale> Choose many

<Insert list of adjective options here>

<Adjective 1>

<Adjective 2>

<Adjective 3>

....

<TIP> Be sure to use some adjectives you think to describe your brand culture and a range of other adjectives that are plausible but that you don't think describe your culture. Be sure to present both positive and negative forms of words. In an ideal survey instrument, the adjectives list will be presented to each participant in a random order to remove order bias. Examples: Arrogant, Conservative, Creative, Diverse, Ethical, Friendly, Fun, High-Performance, Innovative, Intelligent, Intimidating, Professional, Quality, Successful, Snobby, Traditional, Trustworthy, Unethical.

At <Company> we want to learn how to assist employees in their well-being. In pursuit of this interest, please describe a moment when you have felt genuine happiness at work. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything preventing you from being as happy as you could be where you are now. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything that is preventing you from being as successful as you could be where you are now. <Scale> Open text

Brand Exposure

Have you ever used the products and services of < Company>? <Scale> Yes/No

On a scale of 0 to 10, how familiar with < Company> are you? (0= not at all, 10 = very familiar) <Scale> Not-At-All-Familiar-0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10-Very-Familiar

Have you ever been to an event sponsored by < Company>? <Scale> Yes/No

Have you ever been approached before by a recruiter at < Company>? <Scale> Yes/No

Do you know anyone who works at < Company>? <Scale> Yes/No <Logic> If yes, detail who: _______.

Have you ever applied for a job at < Company>? <Scale> Yes/No <Logic> If yes, detail what jobs: _______.

Sourcing Channels

How did you find out about your current job? <Scale> Open text    ·      

What professional websites or blogs do you follow? <Scale> Open text    ·

What periodicals and magazines do you read regularly? <Scale> Open text    ·

What professional associations or meetup groups do you regularly attend? <Scale> Open text    ·

What websites do you use to learn about or look for job opportunities? <Scale> Open text    ·

Pre-Onsite-Interview survey

On a scale from 1 to 5, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:

<Scale> 1) Strongly disagree. 2) Disagree. 3) Neither agree nor disagree. 4) Agree. 5) Strongly agree.

The person I spoke to has clearly defined what the job is.

The person I spoke to has expressed a unique selling point for the job.

The opportunity, as described, is compelling.

I know everything I need to know about the job opportunity for now.

 I have a clear understanding of <Company>'s brand identity and products.

<Company> seems like it’s in a position to succeed in today's world.

<Company> compares favorably with competitors as an attractive place to work.

I think that I can meet my long-term career goals at <Company>.

I’d be proud to work for <Company>.

On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to consider a job opportunity at <Company>? <Scale> Not-Likely-at-All -0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10-Very-Likely

When you think of <Company>’s brand and culture, which words, if any, come to mind? (List as many as you can) <Scale> Open text

Post-Onsite-Interview survey

On a scale from 1 to 5, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:

<Scale> 1) Strongly disagree. 2) Disagree. 3) Neither agree nor disagree. 4) Agree. 5) Strongly Agree.

I was provided the information I needed to prepare for the interview.

The interviewers showed up on time.

The interviewers made me feel welcome and as comfortable as I could be at an interview.

The interviewers were well prepared to speak with me

The interviewers were knowledgeable about the line of work I do.

The interviewers were interested and curious about me.

The interviewers explained and applied an interview method designed to reduce bias.

The interviewers have realistic expectations about the job.

 In the interviews, I had the opportunity to describe what is unique about me.

The hiring process at <Company> is much better than my experience with other companies.

How can we improve our recruiting process? <Scale> Open text

What aspects of the opportunity are most compelling to you? <Scale> Open text

What aspects of the opportunity are a concern to you? <Scale> Open text

When you think of <Company>’s brand and culture, which words, if any, come to mind? (List as many as you can.) <Scale> Open text

Post-Hire Reverse Exit Interview survey

Immediately before joining us at <Company>, did you work for another company in a full-time capacity <Scale> Yes, No

<Remember> In the reverse exit survey are not trying to collect all possible hire types, which in their variety will occur too infrequently to provide value to know. The first thing you are looking to achieve is to determine the skip logic in the survey, so the person gets survey questions that are relevant to them. Most will answer "Yes," they came from another employer, so they will skip to the next set of questions. If they answered the "No" and select one of these personal endpoints, then the survey mechanics should skip all of the questions about the previous job, which will not apply.

<Logic, if no> Will you tell us more about what you were doing: (Select the best answer for your situation)

<Scale> Choose one

 I was taking a break

 I was caring for children or significant others

I was in school

 Other

 I don't want to say

<Logic, if yes>

Was your previous job in the same industry? <Scale> Yes/No

Is your new job here at <Company> a higher level of responsibility?  <Scale> Yes/No

What was the name of your previous employer? <Scale> Open text

<Remember> Here above, you know the employee is coming from another employer, and now you want to be able to report, filter, and analyze hires by the yes/no questions to reveal important patterns in questions below in the reverse-exit survey, as well as compare to your own exit survey. We also ask the name of the previous employer - this is to begin to accumulate a running list, which could help you identify companies where you are having more or less success recruiting employees and to develop an understanding of relative value proposition.

Coming here to <Company>, do you expect to gain or lose in the following areas?

<Scale> 1. Lose a lot. 2. Lose a little. 3. Neither lose nor gain. 4. Gain a little. 5. Gain a lot.

Overall quality of the company/organization

Quality of leadership

Manager relationship

Peer relationships

Quality of work

Learning and development opportunity

Level of responsibility

Medium to long-term career opportunity

Expected value of total compensation package (base, bonus, & stock, if applicable)

Benefits (health & retirement, if applicable)

Perks (food, onsite services, and fitness, for example)

<Remember> Here above you provide a spectrum of items that characterize the nature of the employee and employer relationship, and a scale so as to determine on balance how your company stands versus its talent competitors, and if any of these broad categories may be pushing or pulling employees. The nature of the question is easy for the employee to respond to. They simply scan the list and select a number between 1 and 5. The structure of this set of items provides for the possibility of analyzing multiple influences, without over-taxing the employee to reconcile complex logic. I suggest that you provide this same set of questions to employees you have acquired from other organizations to compare the responses of those coming to your organizations with those leaving your organization. The comparison of the responses from those acquired from other companies versus those leaving your company will be a useful visual. From that comparison, you will see overall what motivates people to leave jobs across any talent competitor and where on balance, you are winning and losing in your talent market.

On balance, how would you characterize your decision to leave your previous job? (Select one) <Scale> Choose one

Mostly for reasons within my previous employers' ability to address.

Mostly for reasons outside of my previous employers' ability to address.

Did any recent actions or events affect your decision to leave <Company>? (Select all that apply)

<Scale> Choose many

Actions or inactions by your manager

Actions or inactions by the leadership team

Actions or inactions by peers in your immediate workgroup

Actions or inactions by others at work not in your immediate workgroup

Work-Related Other

Personal changes or events

If you would like to clarify or qualify any of the choices you made above, please do so here: <Scale> Open text

Is there anything your previous employer could have done differently to keep you longer? <Scale> Yes/No

<If yes> Please tell us what your previous employer could have done differently to keep you longer: <Scale> Open text

At <Company> we want to learn how to assist employees in their well-being. In pursuit of this interest, please describe a moment when you have felt genuine happiness at work. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything that prevented you from being as happy as you could be at your previous employer. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything that prevented you from being as successful as you could be at your previous employer. <Scale> Open text

14-Day On-Board survey

On a scale from 1 to 5, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:

<Scale> 1) Strongly disagree. 2) Disagree. 3) Neither agree nor disagree. 4) Agree. 5) Strongly agree.

I feel welcomed by the people I will work with here at <Company>.

I received all the information and learning resources I needed to get up to speed quickly.

I have received the time I need with others to get up to speed quickly.

This onboarding process at <Company> is well thought out and well designed.

I was given accurate information during the interview process.

<Company> compares favorably with competitors as an attractive place to work.

How can <Company> improve the onboarding process?

How can <Company> make the first few days of working better?

When you think of our company brand and culture what words, if any, come to mind? (List as many as you can.) <Scale> Open text

90-Day On-Board Survey

On a scale from 1 to 5, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements: 1) Strongly disagree. 2) Disagree. 3) Neither agree nor disagree. 4) Agree. 5) Strongly agree.

I feel welcomed by the people I will work with here at <Company>.

I received all the information & learning resources I needed to get up to speed quickly.

I have received the time I need with others to get up to speed quickly.

This onboarding process at <Company> is well thought out and designed.

I was given accurate information during the interview process.

<Company> compares favorably with competitors as an attractive place to work.

The work I have to do in the next 12 months is compelling.

I have everything I need to perform at my best.

My manager is working with me to adapt myself to the team and role.

My manager is working with me to adapt the role to my strengths.

 I have a clear understanding of the difference between an average and a great contribution to my role.

 I have a clear understanding of what I need to do to make a great contribution to my role.

 I have the capabilities I need to make a great contribution to my current role at this time.

The actions I need to take to be successful in this job are achievable and within my control.

 I care about achieving great work here.

 I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that of the average person to be successful here.

I have the cooperation and support I need to be successful.

I have the resources and tools I need to be successful.

How can <Company> improve the onboarding process? <Scale> Open text

How can <Company> improve the first 90 days? <Scale> Open text

When you think of our company brand and culture, which words, if any, come to mind? (List as many as you can.) <Scale> Open text

Once-Per-Quarter Check-In survey

On a scale from 1 to 5, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:

<Scale> 1) Strongly disagree. 2) Disagree. 3) Neither agree nor disagree. 4) Agree. 5) Strongly agree.

I have a clear understanding of the difference between an average and a great contribution to my role.

I have a clear understanding of what I need to do to make a great contribution to my role.

I have the capabilities I need to make a great contribution to my current role at this time.

The actions I need to take to be successful in this job are achievable and within my control.

I care about achieving great work here.

The work I have to do in the next 12 months is compelling.

I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that of the average person to be successful in my current role.

I have the cooperation and support I need to be successful.

I have the resources and tools I need to be successful.

My manager is helping me develop in my career.

My manager communicates clear goals for the team.

My manager regularly gives me actionable feedback.

My manager avoids micromanaging me.

My manager consistently shows consideration for me as a person.

My manager keeps the team focused on priorities, even when it means declining interesting projects or putting less critical projects on the back burner.

My manager regularly shares relevant information from senior leadership.

My manager has had a meaningful discussion with me about my career development in the past six months.

My manager has the functional expertise required to manage me effectively.

My manager makes tough decisions effectively.

My manager effectively collaborates across the organization.

My manager values my perspective, even when she doesn’t agree with it.

I would recommend my manager to others.

I can recommend <Company> as a great place to work.

I can recall a moment in the past three months when I felt genuine happiness at work.

At <Company> we want to learn how to assist employees in their well-being. In pursuit of this interest, please describe a moment when you have felt genuine happiness at work. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything preventing you from being as happy as you could be now. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything that is preventing you from being as successful as you could be now. <Scale> Open text

Once-Per-Year Check-In survey

On a scale from 1 to 5, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements: 1) Strongly disagree. 2) Disagree. 3) Neither agree nor disagree. 4) Agree. 5) Strongly agree.

I have a clear understanding of the difference between an average and a great contribution to my role.

I have a clear understanding of what I need to do to make a great contribution to my role.

I have the capabilities I need to make a great contribution to my current role at this time.

The actions I need to take to be successful in this job are achievable and within my control.

I care about achieving great work here.

I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that of the average person to be successful here.

I have the cooperation and support I need to be successful.

I have the resources and tools I need to be successful.

My manager is helping me develop in my career.

My manager communicates clear goals for the team.

My manager regularly gives me actionable feedback.

My manager avoids micromanaging me.

My manager consistently shows consideration for me as a person.

My manager keeps the team focused on priorities, even when it means declining interesting projects or putting less critical projects on the back burner.

My manager regularly shares relevant information from senior leadership.

My manager has had a meaningful discussion with me about my career development in the past six months.

My manager has the functional expertise required to manage me effectively.

My manager makes tough decisions effectively.

My manager effectively collaborates across the organization.

My manager values my perspective, even when she doesn’t agree with it.

I would recommend my manager to others.

I would like to pursue career advancement at <Company> in the next 12 to 24 months.

I would be thrilled to be working in the same job 12 months from now.

Overall, I think that I can meet my career goals at <Company>.

I can recommend <Company> as a great place to work.

I can recall a moment in the past three months when I felt genuine happiness at work.

I am proud to work for <Company>.

I fit in well in the <Company> employee culture.

The people I work with at <Company> inspire me.

I find personal meaning in the work I do at <Company>.

I have the opportunity to do what I do best at <Company>.

I am motivated to do more than expected to help those I work with succeed.

I have no desire to leave <Company> right now.

At <Company> we want to learn how to assist employees in their well-being. In pursuit of this interest, please describe a moment when you have felt genuine happiness at work. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything preventing you from being as happy as you could be now. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything that is preventing you from being as successful as you could be now. <Scale> Open text

Sample Exit Survey Questions

After you leave <Company>, will you immediately be working for another employer? <Scale> Yes/No

<Remember> In the exit survey are not trying to collect all possible exit types, which in their variety will occur too infrequently to provide value to know. The first thing you are looking to achieve is to determine the skip logic in the survey, so the person gets survey questions that are relevant to them. The second thing you are looking to do is to determine if this is an Avoidable or Unavoidable exit. Most will answer "Yes," they will be going on to another employer, so they will skip to the next set of questions. If they answered the "No" and select one of these personal endpoints, then the survey mechanics should skip all of the questions about the new job, which will not apply.

<Logic, if no> 

Will you tell us more about what you will be doing: (Select the best option) <Scale> Choose one

Retiring or taking a break

 Caring for children or significant others

Going to school

Other

I don't want to say

<Logic, if yes>

Is your new job in the same industry?  <Scale> Yes/No

Is your new job an increased level of responsibility? <Scale> Yes/No

What is the name of your new employer? <Scale> Open text

<Remember> Here above, you know the employee is going to a new employer, and now you want to be able to report, filter, and analyze exits by the yes/no questions to reveal important patterns in questions below in the exit the survey. We also ask the name of the new employer - this is to begin to accumulate a running list, which could help you identify companies actively targeting your employees and to identify companies that may be presenting a better value proposition for some reason. 

For your new employer, do you expect to gain or lose in the following areas?

<Scale> 1. Lose a lot. 2. Lose a little. 3. Neither lose nor gain. 4. Gain a little. 5. Gain a lot.

Overall quality of the company/organization

Quality of leadership

Manager relationship

Peer relationships

Quality of work

Learning and development opportunity

Level of responsibility

Medium to long-term career opportunity

Expected value of total compensation package (base, bonus, & stock, if applicable)

Benefits (health & retirement, if applicable)

Perks (food, onsite services, and fitness, for example)

<Remember> Here above you provide a spectrum of items that characterize the nature of the employee and employer relationship, and a scale so as to determine on balance how your company stands versus its talent competitors, and if any of these broad categories may be pushing or pulling employees. The nature of the question is easy for the employee to respond to. They simply scan the list and select a number between 1 and 5. The structure of this set of items provides for the possibility of analyzing multiple influences, without over-taxing the employee to reconcile complex logic. I suggest that you provide this same set of questions to employees you have acquired from other organizations to compare the responses of those coming to your organizations with those leaving your organization. The comparison of the responses from those acquired versus those leaving will be an interesting and useful visual. From that comparison, you will see overall what motivates people to leave jobs across any talent competitor and where on balance, you are winning and losing in your talent market.

On balance, how would you characterize your decision to leave <Company> (Select one)

<Scale> Choose one

Mostly for reasons within <Company>’s ability to address.

Mostly for reasons outside of <Company>’s ability to address.

Did any recent actions or events affect your decision to leave <Company>? (Select all options that apply)

<Scale> Choose many

Actions or inactions by your manager

Actions or inactions by the leadership team

Actions or inactions by peers in your immediate workgroup

Actions or inactions by others at work not in your immediate workgroup

Work-Related Other

Personal changes or events

If you would like to clarify or qualify any of the choices you made above, please do so here: <Scale> Open text

Is there anything we could have done differently to keep you longer? <Scale> Yes/No

<Logic, if yes> Please tell us what we could have done differently to keep you longer: <Scale> Open text

Is there anything we can do now or in the future to get you back? <Scale> Yes/No

<Logic, if yes> Please tell us what we can do to get you back? <Scale> Open text

At <Company> we want to learn how to assist employees in their well-being. In pursuit of this interest, please describe a moment when you have felt genuine happiness at work. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything that prevented you from being as happy as you could have been at <Company>. <Scale> Open text

Please describe anything that prevented you from being as successful as you could have been at <Company>. <Scale> Open text

This is an excerpt from the book People Analytics for Dummies, published by Wiley, written by me.

Don't judge a book by its cover. More on People Analytics For Dummies here

I have moved the growing list of pre-publication writing samples here: Index of People Analytics for Dummies sample chapters on PeopleAnalyst.com

You will find many differences between these samples and the physical copy in the book - notably my posts lack the excellent editing, finish, and binding applied by the print publisher. If you find these samples interesting, you think the book sounds useful; please buy a copy, or two, or twenty-four.

Three Easy Steps

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