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Content reviewed October 2026.

CalmER · Workplace guides

Staff survey questions: what to ask, and how to run the survey

For employers in the UK: example questions for engagement, pulse, wellbeing, culture, sexual harassment, exit and new starter surveys, the answer scales to use, how to keep answers anonymous, and what to do with the results.

Last updated 4 November 20269 min read
At a glanceWhich survey to runEngagement survey questionsPulse survey questionsWellbeing and stressCulture and speaking upSexual harassmentExit survey questionsNew starter questionsAnswer scalesHow to run itFree question bankFAQs
At a glance, as at 4 November 2026

A staff survey shows how people experience their workload, their manager and the way you run things. Ask only what you will act on, keep answers anonymous, report only groups big enough to protect people, and tell staff what you changed.

WhatIn short
What to askStatements about workload, support, recognition, development, voice, fairness and change, rated on a five-point scale, with one or two open questions.
Which surveyA full engagement survey once a year, short pulse surveys in between, and exit and new starter surveys as people leave and join.
AnonymityUnder UK GDPR, truly anonymous answers aren’t personal data; answers you can link to a person are.
Small groupsReport no group with fewer than 10 responses, the floor the NHS Staff Survey uses.
Where the law comes inA survey can feed your stress risk assessment and your steps to prevent sexual harassment.
Where to startOur free question bank collects the questions below in one document.
Choose the survey

Which staff survey to run

SurveyWhat it tells you
Engagement surveyHow committed people are, and what drives it: workload, management, recognition, development and voice.
Pulse surveyWhether things are changing, from a few questions you repeat often.
Wellbeing and stress surveyWhere work puts pressure on people, across HSE’s six Management Standards.
Culture and speaking-up surveyWhether people see wrongdoing, would report it, and trust what happens next.
Sexual harassment surveyWhether staff experience or see harassment, and whether they report it.
Exit surveyWhy people leave, and what would have kept them.
New starter surveyWhether joining went well, while it’s still fresh.
Once a year

Employee engagement survey questions

Ask staff how far they agree with each statement, from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

  1. I understand what my job involves and what good work looks like.
  2. I have the tools and information I need to do my job well.
  3. My workload is manageable.
  4. My manager gives me useful feedback on my work.
  5. People notice and value the work I do.
  6. I can see how to develop my career here.
  7. I can raise a concern without worrying about the consequences.
  8. When I suggest an improvement, someone acts on it or tells me why not.
  9. I trust the decisions senior leaders make.
  10. I expect to be working here in a year’s time.
  11. How likely are you to recommend working here to a friend? (0 to 10)
  12. What one change would most improve working here? (open)
Monthly or quarterly

Pulse survey questions

Keep a pulse survey short and the wording the same each time, so you can compare the results.

  1. My workload over the past month has been manageable.
  2. I’ve had the support I needed from my manager this month.
  3. I feel informed about changes that affect my work.
  4. I feel able to speak up about problems.
  5. How likely are you to recommend working here to a friend? (0 to 10)
  6. What’s getting in the way of your work right now? (open)
HSE’s six areas

Staff wellbeing and stress survey questions

One statement for each of HSE’s six Management Standards, rated from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

  1. Demands: I can get my work done in the time I have.
  2. Control: I have a say in how I do my work.
  3. Support: I can get help from my manager when work gets difficult.
  4. Relationships: People treat me with respect at work.
  5. Role: I know what my responsibilities are.
  6. Change: Managers consult me about changes that affect my work.
  7. Is anything about your work affecting your health? (open)

For a full stress risk assessment, HSE’s 35-question Indicator Tool covers the same six areas: see our stress risk assessment guide.

Speaking up

Culture and speaking-up survey questions

  1. Managers here treat people fairly, whatever their background.
  2. In the past 12 months, I have seen behaviour at work that I thought was wrong. (yes, no, prefer not to say)
  3. If I saw wrongdoing at work, I would know how to report it.
  4. I would feel safe reporting it.
  5. When people here report a concern, something happens.
  6. Managers here act on what staff tell them.
  7. What’s one thing about the way we work that you would change? (open)

To go further, our free speak-up scorecard on the psychological safety guide scores speak-up culture across 21 questions.

The duty to prevent it

Sexual harassment survey questions

The EHRC suggests an anonymous survey that describes behaviours, and asks whether people reported them, why not, what happened and what else you should do.

  1. In the past 12 months, has anyone at work, including customers, clients or patients, made unwelcome sexual comments or jokes to you? (yes, no, prefer not to say)
  2. In the past 12 months, has anyone at work touched you in a sexual way you didn’t want? (yes, no, prefer not to say)
  3. In the past 12 months, has anyone at work sent you sexual messages or images you didn’t want? (yes, no, prefer not to say)
  4. In the past 12 months, have you seen or heard any of these happen to someone else at work? (yes, no, prefer not to say)
  5. If any of these happened, did you report it? If not, why not? (open)
  6. If you reported it, how did we handle it, and how satisfied were you with the outcome? (open)
  7. If it happened again, would you report it? (yes, no, not sure)
  8. What else should we do to prevent sexual harassment here? (open)

Compare the results with your formal complaints: the EHRC says complaint numbers don’t show the true level, so monitor the gap. Since 30 October 2026, employers in Great Britain must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers: see our guide to the duty.

When people leave

Exit survey questions

  1. What’s the main reason you’re leaving? (open)
  2. What would have made you stay? (open)
  3. How well did your manager support you? (five-point scale, very poorly to very well)
  4. Was your workload manageable? (yes, no, sometimes)
  5. Did you have the chance to develop here? (yes, no, partly)
  6. Did people treat you fairly and with respect? (yes, no, partly)
  7. Did you see or experience anything at work that you felt you couldn’t report? (yes, no, prefer not to say)
  8. How likely are you to recommend working here to a friend? (0 to 10)
  9. Is there anything else we should know? (open)
When people join

New starter survey questions

  1. Is the job what you expected from the advert and the interview?
  2. Did you have what you needed on your first day?
  3. Do you know who to go to with questions?
  4. Have you had the training you need so far?
  5. Do you know how to raise a concern?
  6. What would have made your first weeks easier? (open)
Scoring

Answer scales for staff survey questions

ScaleUse it for
Strongly disagree to strongly agree (five points)Statements about work, managers and culture.
0 to 10How likely someone is to recommend working here: the employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS).
Yes, no, prefer not to sayQuestions about what someone has experienced or seen.
Open textOne or two questions that ask what to change.
In practice

How to run a staff survey

  1. Decide what you’ll do with the answers before you ask. Cut any question that won’t lead to a decision.
  2. Tell staff who will see the answers and how you’ll report them.
  3. Keep it anonymous. Under UK GDPR, truly anonymous answers aren’t personal data. Answers you can link back to a person are, and so are answers where you swapped names for codes you hold.
  4. Report only groups of 10 or more responses. The NHS Staff Survey uses that floor.
  5. Read the results next to your other data: sickness absence, staff turnover, exit reasons, grievances and complaints. Our employee relations metrics guide shows how to put survey results next to case numbers.
  6. Share the results and what you will change, with dates, then repeat the survey to see whether it worked.

Request the Free Question Bank

Free question bank

Free staff survey question bank

A Word document with the questions on this page, ready to copy into a survey, sent to your inbox. It covers:

  • Employee engagement survey questions
  • Pulse survey questions
  • Wellbeing and stress questions, by HSE's six Management Standards
  • Culture and speaking-up questions
  • Sexual harassment survey questions
  • Exit and new starter survey questions
  • The answer scales, and when to use each
  • How to keep answers anonymous and report the results
  • An action plan for what you will change
Free question bank

Request the free question bank

Enter your work email and the team will send you the staff survey question bank (Word).

Or hear from staff between surveys

Staff raise a concern in Slack or Microsoft Teams whenever something happens, by name or anonymously, and it goes straight to the people you choose, who can reply and ask questions. Every concern stays in one log. From £99 a month.

See how anonymous reporting works →Give Staff a Safe Route
FAQs

Common questions

What questions should you ask in a staff survey?

Ask about the things that shape people's work: workload, support from their manager, recognition, development, whether they can speak up, fairness and how you handle change. Use statements people rate on a five-point scale, add one or two open questions, and ask only what you will act on.

What is a pulse survey?

A short staff survey of a few questions that you repeat often, for example monthly or quarterly, to see whether things are changing between full surveys. Keep the wording the same each time so the results compare.

What questions should an exit survey ask?

Why the person is leaving, what would have made them stay, how well their manager supported them, whether their workload was manageable, whether they could develop, whether they were treated fairly, and whether they saw anything they felt they couldn't report.

Should staff surveys be anonymous?

Anonymous answers make it easier to be honest about workload, managers and behaviour. Under UK GDPR, truly anonymous answers aren't personal data, and answers you can link back to a person are, so tell staff who sees the results and report only groups of 10 or more.

What is eNPS?

The employee Net Promoter Score. Staff answer from 0 to 10 how likely they are to recommend the organisation as a place to work. Answers of 9 or 10 are promoters and 0 to 6 are detractors; the score is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors.

What is the Gallup Q12?

Gallup's 12-question employee engagement survey. Staff rate each statement on a five-point agreement scale, and the questions build from basic needs, such as clear expectations, to individual contribution, teamwork and growth. The questions are Gallup's own, so you use them through Gallup.

How often should you run a staff survey?

Run a full survey once a year and short pulse surveys in between. For a stress risk assessment, HSE suggests repeating the survey periodically, for example once a year.

What scale should staff survey questions use?

A five-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree for statements, 0 to 10 for the recommend question, and yes, no or prefer not to say for questions about what someone has experienced.

What is an employee engagement survey?

A staff survey that measures how committed people are to their work and the organisation, and what drives it, such as their manager, workload, recognition, development and voice. Run it in full once a year.

Sources & further reading

References

General information, not legal advice. It reflects our understanding of the law and official guidance as of November 2026, so check the sources above for the current position.