Employee Job Satisfaction Survey: 60 Questions for Different Organization Types

When employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, both their productivity and the quality of work suffer. This is why the HR service should identify signs of job dissatisfaction in employees’ behavior, figure out where these signs come from, and take the corrective actions. We’ll look more closely at why it is so important to address employees’ levels of satisfaction and what factors determine their general satisfaction.

Contents:

• • When it is required to study job satisfaction;
  • Why it is crucial to use this metric;
  • What risks a low level of job satisfaction may carry;
  • How to conduct an employee survey;
  • How to use the eNPS index for regular pulse surveys;
  • What factors determine the overall job satisfaction.

When It Is Required to Study Job Satisfaction

Poor productivity. Low job satisfaction can contribute to employee’s productivity decline. A survey will help you to identify barriers and drivers to productivity at workplace and understand how to restructure the labor process in a way that benefits both you and your employees.

High turnover rates. According to various estimates, the cost of firing one valuable employee can be as much as one and a half times their annual salary. By surveying employees, you can find out quickly why job satisfaction is declining and take preventive actions.

Assess the present state of affairs. If executives want to implement organizational changes or introduce a new HR management strategy, they should review the current state of affairs. That way you will be able to identify problem areas and points of growth that call for immediate attention.

Create an employer’s value proposition. A satisfaction survey will highlight the business procedures that have been established and work well. Collected data can be used to develop an employer’s value proposition that helps the employer to stand out against competitors and draw in top talent.

Assess how effective the changes are. If the HR director intends to implement some changes, staff surveys at regular intervals will allow him or her to assess the immediate and long-term effects that the new initiatives may have on job satisfaction levels.

Why It Is Important to Address a Job Satisfaction Level

By asking feedback from staff members, you acknowledge their valuable contributions to the company and inspire them to be more thoughtful when charting their career pathways.

So, you’ll be able to take a fresh look at the company as an employer and see what it does well and what it could do better. Using this information, you can implement changes that will have a positive effect on employee engagement levels and the productivity of the team as a whole.

By conducting regular surveys of your employees, you can set a baseline for your company to track its progress.

If you collect and use feedback on a regular basis, you can improve the overall satisfaction of your team and, therefore, increase your employee retention rate.

What Risks a Low Level of Job satisfaction May Carry

Clients are leaving, and revenues are going down. Unsatisfied employees are not sensitive to clients’ needs and do not care to delve into the nuances of a product or software. This means fewer clients and less money for the company.

The manager’s focus and efforts are misdirected. Managers have to keep a close eye on deadlines and quality of work, rather than focusing on process optimization and business development.

The microclimate inside the team is getting worse. Employees with a low level of satisfaction are likely to take their frustrations out on their colleagues, which makes communication more challenging and reduces the overall team performance.

Bureaucracy. Unsatisfied employees are less likely to suggest improvements that could shorten the amount of time wasted on unnecessary activities.

How to Do a Job Satisfaction Survey

Levels of satisfaction are usually measured no more than once or twice a year, or more often depending on special circumstances, such as a drop in job performance, a rise in employee turnover, or expected organizational changes.

It is not advisable to conduct surveys during a high season or when many employees are on vacation. During such periods, the amount of work that employees have to do and the amount of stress they are under both go up significantly. As a result, their level of satisfaction with their jobs declines.

Use a mix of multiple methods to measure employee satisfaction, such as an online survey, a trend analysis of turnover rate and dismissal interviews, to get a more comprehensive picture of how things are going.

If respondents know for certain that the survey is anonymous and the data collected cannot be used against them, then they will be more willing to fill it out and give honest answers. When inviting employees to participate in the survey, make it clear that the main goal is not to punish unsatisfied people, but to improve the workplace environment and the team climate.

eNPS Index for Measuring Job Satisfaction

We’ve already written about how to calculate the Net Promoter Score (NPS) of your product or service. This tool can also be used in HR surveys to assess staff job satisfaction.

The eNPS survey consists of two questions:

• • • On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company as a place of work to your friends and acquaintances?
    • Please also explain why in a few short sentences.

Based on the survey results, the employees are split into 3 groups: a score of 0–6 — detractors, 7–8 — passives, 9–10 — promoters. The index is then calculated as a difference between the number of promoters and detractors in percentage terms. The eNPS index range varies from -100 to +100.

Promoters have high satisfaction levels, agree with the management’s decisions, and do not plan to change their job anytime soon.

Passives are not willing to criticize the company openly, but also cannot say confidently that they are satisfied with their job. You can and should work with this group to try and turn them into promoters.

Detractors are dissatisfied with work, and plan to change their job or are already looking for a new one. Their opinions should be closely examined to identify the issues that call for immediate attention.

The survey results can tell you:

• • whether the team is ready to grow and evolve,
  • how effective the HR team is,
  • the role the corporate culture plays in business processes,
  • whether you have HR brand ambassadors in your company,
  • the expected turnover in the next period.

Job Satisfaction Survey Templates

Your questions for the survey depend on the size and profile of your company. Below you can find a list of factors that affect job satisfaction. You can expand or adjust this list in accordance with the specific features of your company.

Working environment

• • Working conditions;
  • Workplace equipment;
  • Physical and mental load;
  • Sanitary and hygienic conditions;
  • Provision with consumables.

Job management

• • Job management in the company;
  • Work schedule;
  • Vacation policy;
  • Extent to which labor activities are regulated;
  • Matching between your job and competences;
  • How fairly tasks are distributed between staff members;
  • Availability of resources for effective work;
  • Matching between your tasks and job description;
  • Awareness of ways to accomplish your tasks;
  • The level of workplace discipline in the company.

Remuneration system

• • Salary;
  • Timeliness of payments;
  • Payroll accounting (how clear the payroll process is to you);
  • Bonuses and premiums;
  • Standard of living the salary can provide;
  • Matching between your salary and complexity of work.

Social policy

• • Perks and benefits;
  • Matching between perks/benefits and your needs;
  • Corporate health coverage;

Bonuses and penalties

• • Level and fairness of the performance reward system;
  • Severity of penalties and fines;
  • Fairness of penalties and fines.

Status in the company and career advancement opportunities

• • Position held and status in the company;
  • Level and scope of authority;
  • Career advancement opportunities;
  • Professional and personal growth opportunities;
  • Professional recognition from colleagues and management.

Job content

• • Job content and diversity;
  • Level of self-reliance and independence at work;
  • Level of personal responsibility for results;
  • Opportunities for self-actualization and reaching your full potential;
  • Creative potential of work;
  • Opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills;
  • Opportunities to take on new challenges;
  • Importance of your work for the company and society at large.

Performance

• • Personal performance;
  • Performance of your business unit;
  • Overall performance of the company.

Management and leadership

• • Company management policy;
  • Management style of top managers;
  • Management style of the line manager;
  • How competent the management is;
  • How demanding the management is;
  • HR management methods and practices;
  • Attitude towards employee initiative and suggestions;
  • How sensitive the managers are to the needs of employees.

Labor relations

• • Relations with the company management;
  • Relations with the management of your business unit;
  • Relations with colleagues.

Awareness and personal involvement in team management

• • How informed you are of the current events and problems in the company;
  • How informed you are of the management’s plans;
  • Level of your involvement in discussing and making important decisions that affect the company.

Corporate spirit

• • Corporate culture (corporate values, norms and rules);
  • Corporate events (team outing, celebrations, sports activities);
  • Psychological environment in the team;
  • Opportunities to interact and communicate with people.