The Great Resignation feels like it should’ve ended by now — but people are still quitting in droves. From the employee side, flexibility, benefits, and potential for growth are still top priorities. Younger generations are more than willing to leave for greener pastures if things are better for them. 

With these industry shifts not looking like they’re going away any time soon, companies need to set themselves apart not only in the minds of consumers/investors but in the minds of their employees as well. A big part of doing this is building a strong company culture.

Company culture is the inner dynamic of your business. Understanding how your employees interact and making sure they’re respected and valued within that culture is key to keeping folks around.  One of the most effective ways to gauge how employees feel about your culture is through an employee survey. Today we’ll be giving you a few questions you can pose to your workers that will have them speaking their minds, and keeping your team informed.

6 Employee Survey Questions About Culture

What is this company’s culture in a few words?

Good survey questions don’t lead the respondent on, allowing them to express themselves how they please. This question is a great open-ended way to start or end your survey because it gives your employees a chance to give a general overview of your culture. For the most part, your survey questions will target specific areas of concern/importance, so having a big-picture question or two can allow you to tie a survey response together. 

Has working with this company helped fuel your growth?

Personal and financial growth is the first priority for many younger workers. A business that allows them to prove their worth and receive suitable recognition is a business that they’ll start to consider home. As such, you should strongly consider asking how your company has pushed your employees to greater heights. 

If there are plenty of examples, as well as praise for your promotion and pay increase programs, you can rest easy. On the other hand, if your employees consistently don’t feel as if they have the potential to grow within the company — that’s your wake-up call. Review your promotional pathways, and whether or not they feel realistic and accessible.

Does this company have a safe/respectful work environment?

Having a welcoming workplace environment is a key component to a good retention rate. If your workplace isn’t respectful of individuals or their time, people aren’t going to stick around. Overtime shouldn’t be a constant expectation, especially unpaid overtime. People who are overworked get burnt out quickly and are likely to leave for a more relaxed environment. 

Make sure that discrimination of any kind doesn’t stick around — address it as soon as you become aware of it. That could mean holding an acceptance seminar or two, but it could also mean addressing a certain individual or group if they’ve been called out. 

Assuring that people feel safe and valued will keep your top talent at your company, saving you thousands of dollars and plenty of man-hours in the long run.

How would you define this company’s management style?

Leadership is an art. Finding the sweet spot between being demanding and approachable is every manager’s greatest challenge. If they’ve strayed too far to one side or another, productivity will suffer. While different employees may respond differently to various leadership styles, it’s important to gauge the overall sense of how leaders are performing.

Do you feel satisfied/secure working with this company?

Asking your employees if they feel satisfied and/or secure is a question hidden within a question. People are unlikely to leave when they feel secure or satisfied, so by asking workers this, you can more accurately gauge who is looking to leave. 

Prompt them to answer why or why not. By doing this you can pinpoint both areas of general dissatisfaction and personal gripes with the company.

How likely are you to recommend this business to others?

This prompt urges employees to give their opinion on how well the business functions. At the end of the day, even if an employee isn’t 100% satisfied with their treatment they may still feel that the company is chugging along just fine. In a similar vein, those who love their jobs are also likely to sing the business’s praises. 

If things have really taken a downward turn, and the majority of your employees would not recommend your business — things likely have to change. Consult your seasoned veterans and management on why this might be, as well as your team members.

Let the Data Guide Your Culture Efforts

Asking employees these survey questions about company culture can help paint the picture of how you think your company culture looks vs. how it actually looks. The most important element of surveying employees on culture is listening to the results—even when they aren’t what you expect or want to hear. Confronting less-than-ideal results can lead to making improvements to company culture that can help keep employees around—and help bring new hires on.