Describe your workforce, the workplace moments you need to understand, and how leaders will use the findings. Makeform turns that brief into an employee experience survey with focused rating scales, open-text prompts, and optional context questions HR can edit before sharing.
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Sample prompts for the survey builder
Choose a complete brief, adapt it to your workforce, or send it into the Makeform builder. Each example shows a practical survey structure, not a live AI result.
Prompt ready4 formats
Audience
All employees across departments and locations
Format
Ten-minute benchmark survey with theme sections
Prompt size
670 chars
Brief qualitySends to builder
Example survey structure
Ten-minute benchmark survey with theme sections
Prompt exampleEditable in builder
I understand what is expected in my role
Opinion scaleFirst ask
2
My manager helps remove barriers to good work
Opinion scale
3
Which two areas would most improve your experience?
Checkboxes
4
What should this organization never change?
Long answer
Suggested analysis tags
Suggested
Strengths
Friction points
Needs follow-up
Ask about one workplace idea per rating item. Combining workload, tools, and manager support in one question produces a score nobody can interpret confidently.
Step 1
Frame
define the decision, audience, and experience moments
Step 2
Ask
use clear scales, optional context, and focused comments
Step 3
Segment
compare useful groups without exposing individuals
Step 4
Act
share themes, owners, and the next listening date
Measure the working experience
Move past one overall happiness score.
Employee experience is created by everyday systems: whether priorities are clear, managers help, workloads are sustainable, tools work, people belong, and growth feels possible. A useful survey separates those mechanisms so leaders know where to look next.
Themes leaders can diagnose
Group items into clear themes such as leadership, manager relationship, enablement, belonging, recognition, workload, and development. A theme score points to an operating area; a generic satisfaction number does not.
Scales built for comparison
Use the same balanced response scale and direction across core questions. Stable wording makes quarter-to-quarter and lifecycle comparisons easier to interpret without forcing employees to relearn the choices.
Comments with a purpose
Place an optional comment after a theme or low rating instead of adding a blank essay box everywhere. Prompts such as what gets in the way invite concrete context that a rating cannot carry.
Listening moments
Use the right survey for the moment.
A yearly benchmark, a short pulse, and a lifecycle check answer different questions. Start with the moment that matches the decision HR needs to make, then keep a small core of comparable items.
Annual experience benchmark
Cover the full experience in theme sections, then ask employees to prioritize the areas that would make the greatest difference. Use the result to choose a limited set of organization-wide commitments.
Quarterly pulse
Repeat a short core on energy, priorities, support, workload, belonging, and confidence. Add only a few timely questions about the change or initiative leaders are prepared to address.
Lifecycle listening
Ask at 30, 60, and 90 days, after an internal move, or near exit. Branching keeps each employee on questions relevant to that stage instead of mixing unrelated moments.
Team or location follow-up
Build a focused follow-up when one function or site has a known issue. Ask what is happening, how often, and which change would help, without repeating the entire company survey.
Survey workflow
Build a survey employees can answer and leaders can use.
The best employee experience survey begins with a decision, not a list of fashionable questions. Define what leaders can change, generate a focused draft, review the response experience, and plan the follow-through before launch.
Write down who will receive the survey, what experience period they should consider, and which decisions the results will inform. If no owner can act on a topic, remove it or explain why it is being measured.
02
Generate a theme-based draft
Tell Makeform the workforce context, listening moment, core themes, desired length, and context fields. Request one idea per rating item, a stable response scale, optional comments, and branching only where it reduces irrelevant questions.
03
Review language and privacy cues
Remove double-barreled questions, unexplained HR jargon, and identifying fields you do not need. State how responses will be reviewed, make sensitive context optional, and add prefer-not-to-answer choices before sharing.
04
Launch with a follow-through plan
Tell employees why you are asking, how long it takes, when it closes, who will see results, and when themes will be shared. Afterward, publish a small number of actions, owners, and the date of the next check-in.
Annual survey vs pulse vs lifecycle
Choose a listening format that fits the decision.
More questions do not automatically produce more insight. Match survey depth and timing to the workplace moment, preserve only the measures you truly need to compare, and avoid asking for feedback faster than the organization can respond.
Format
What it reveals
Best use
Format
Annual experience survey
What it revealsA broad view across leadership, managers, belonging, enablement, workload, recognition, and growth.
Best useSetting priorities and establishing a theme-level benchmark.
FormatQuarterly or monthly pulse
What it revealsMovement in a small stable core plus reactions to one current issue.
Best useChecking whether conditions are changing between deeper surveys.
FormatLifecycle survey
What it revealsFriction tied to a specific moment such as onboarding, an internal move, or exit.
Best useImproving a defined employee journey with milestone-specific questions.
Field guide
What an employee experience survey should include.
A strong questionnaire connects the conditions employees experience to decisions leaders can make. Use these six sections as a practical starting point, then keep only the questions that match your workforce and listening goal.
Role and enablement
Can people do the work they were hired to do?
Start with clarity and enablement: whether employees understand priorities, have authority appropriate to the role, can access information, and have reliable tools and processes. These questions distinguish motivation problems from operating friction. Ask about actual conditions, not whether someone is generally positive.
I understand what is expected of me in my role.
I have the information and tools needed to do good work.
Processes help me complete work without avoidable delays.
Manager and team
Measure the relationships closest to the work.
Employees often experience the organization through their manager and immediate team. Ask separately about useful feedback, barrier removal, respectful treatment, collaboration, and the ability to raise a concern. Keeping these ideas separate makes a low score easier to investigate and discuss.
My manager gives feedback that helps me improve.
People on my team cooperate when priorities compete.
I can raise a work concern without being dismissed.
Leadership and communication
Test whether direction reaches everyday decisions.
Leadership communication is more than sending messages. Ask whether employees understand the direction, see consistency between words and decisions, and receive information early enough to act. During change, add a targeted question about what remains unclear instead of asking only whether communication was good.
I understand the organization's current priorities.
Leadership decisions are consistent with stated values.
I receive important information in time to adjust my work.
Belonging and voice
Find out whether people can contribute as themselves.
Belonging questions should focus on observable experiences: respect, access to opportunities, ability to offer a different view, and confidence that concerns are considered. If you collect demographic context, explain why, keep it optional, offer prefer not to answer, and review whether small groups could become identifiable.
I am treated with respect by the people I work with.
Different perspectives are considered in team decisions.
I have a fair opportunity to contribute and grow.
Workload and wellbeing
Ask about sustainable work, not private health details.
Measure work design through workload, staffing, pace, recovery, scheduling, and the ability to disconnect. These conditions are more actionable for an employer than asking employees to disclose diagnoses or personal medical information. Add not-applicable choices for schedules or arrangements that do not affect everyone.
I can sustain my current workload over time.
Staffing and deadlines allow work to be done well.
I can take breaks or time away without avoidable pressure.
Recognition, growth, and retention
Connect contribution today with a future here.
Finish with whether good work is noticed, feedback supports progress, development feels accessible, and employees can imagine staying. Intent-to-stay is a useful signal but not a prediction about any individual. Pair ratings with a priority question so leaders can see which improvement employees value most.
Good work receives meaningful recognition.
I can see opportunities to learn and develop here.
Which two changes would most improve your experience?
Related tools
Build the rest of your employee listening program.
Use a broad experience survey for the whole workplace, then choose a focused tool when you need to understand engagement, onboarding, benefits, remote work, happiness, or the exit experience in more detail.
Practical answers for HR leaders designing a workplace survey employees will understand and managers can follow through on.
What is an employee experience survey?
An employee experience survey asks people about the conditions and moments that shape working life, from onboarding and role clarity to manager support, leadership communication, belonging, workload, recognition, development, and intent to stay. It is broader than a single satisfaction question. A useful survey separates those themes, combines structured ratings with focused optional comments, and connects every topic to a decision or follow-up the organization can make.
What questions should an employee experience survey include?
Include one clear item at a time on role expectations, tools and processes, manager feedback, team cooperation, leadership direction, respect, voice, workload sustainability, recognition, growth, and future intent. Use a consistent five-point agreement scale for the core, add not-applicable where it is genuinely needed, and include a small number of optional comment prompts. A top-two priority question is especially helpful because it asks employees where change would matter most rather than treating every theme as equally urgent.
How long should an employee experience survey be?
Length should match the listening moment. A quarterly pulse may need only six to ten stable rating items plus one timely topic and one comment. An annual survey can be longer if each section supports a real decision, but employees should know the expected completion time before they begin. Remove repeated wording, avoid long grids on mobile, and use branching for milestone-specific sections. A shorter survey with clear follow-through is usually more useful than a long inventory of questions leaders cannot address.
Should an employee experience survey be anonymous?
Choose the response model based on the purpose and explain it plainly. If you do not need names, employee IDs, email addresses, or exact job titles, do not ask for them. Keep sensitive context optional, include prefer-not-to-answer choices, and consider whether team, location, tenure, and role could identify someone in a small group. If follow-up requires contact, make details an optional, separate choice.
How often should we survey employees?
Survey only as often as the organization can interpret findings, communicate what it heard, and make visible progress. Combine a deeper annual or semiannual survey with shorter pulses, while lifecycle surveys run at moments such as 30, 60, and 90 days. Keep core items stable when comparison matters, rotate timely topics, and avoid repeating questions merely because a calendar reminder fired.
How should we analyze employee experience survey results?
Begin with response distributions and theme patterns, not only an overall average. Compare the same item over time, look for gaps between related items, and read comments alongside their ratings. Segment only by groups large enough to interpret responsibly; avoid tiny cuts that could expose individuals. Separate strengths from friction points, choose a few actions with named owners, and specify when employees will hear an update.
Is this employee experience survey generator free?
Yes. Makeform supports unlimited free forms and responses, so you can generate an employee experience survey, edit the questions, and publish it without a response cap. The paid tier removes the Makeform badge. You can still start with the complete survey structure, adjust scales and wording for your workforce, and share the finished form on the free plan.
How do we improve employee trust before launching the survey?
Explain why the survey is happening, whether responses are named or anonymous, what context is optional, who will review results, and when themes will be shared. Avoid unnecessary identifying details. Before launch, decide who owns analysis, how priorities will be chosen, how managers will discuss local results, and when progress will be checked. A specific process is more credible than a vague promise.
Turn workplace experiences into questions leaders can use.
Generate an employee experience survey built around the moments that shape work.
Unlimited free forms and responsesFour complete survey briefsTheme-based questions and comments
