Employee Satisfaction Survey Template: Ready to Use
You do not have to build an employee satisfaction survey from scratch. This page gives you a complete, ready-to-run template — the exact questions, in the right order, with the reasoning behind each one — so you can launch in minutes and customize from there.
The template below is deliberately balanced: short enough that people finish it, broad enough to cover the drivers that actually move satisfaction, and structured so the results are easy to analyze and act on.
For the wider program context — cadence, anonymity, benchmarks and analysis — see the employee satisfaction survey guide. When you are ready, generate this survey with AI and edit anything.
The ready-to-use template
This is a complete 18-question survey covering every core driver — about six minutes to complete. Use it as-is, or delete the questions that do not apply to your organization.
- 1Overall, how satisfied are you with your job? (1–5 rating, required)
- 2I would recommend this company as a great place to work. (Likert)
- 3I feel fairly paid for the work I do. (Likert)
- 4I am satisfied with the benefits offered here. (Likert)
- 5My manager gives me the support I need to succeed. (Likert)
- 6My manager genuinely cares about my wellbeing. (Likert)
- 7I trust the decisions made by senior leadership. (Likert)
- 8Information I need to do my job reaches me in time. (Likert)
- 9I receive recognition when I do good work. (Likert)
- 10I have real opportunities to learn and grow here. (Likert)
- 11My workload is manageable most of the time. (Likert)
- 12I can maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life. (Likert)
- 13I feel like I belong here. (Likert)
- 14I have the tools and information I need to do my job well. (Likert)
- 15How likely are you to still be working here in two years? (1–5 rating)
- 16What is one thing we should keep doing? (open text)
- 17What is one thing we should change? (open text)
- 18Is there anything else you would like leadership to know? (open text, optional)
Why each question is included
| Question group | Driver measured | Why it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| Overall satisfaction + recommend | Headline sentiment | Gives you the top-line number to track over time and an eNPS-style advocacy signal. |
| Pay + benefits | Compensation fairness | The most common source of quiet dissatisfaction; two questions keep it light but present. |
| Manager + leadership | Management quality and trust | Manager relationship is the single biggest driver of day-to-day satisfaction. |
| Communication | Information flow | Poor communication erodes satisfaction even when everything else is fine. |
| Recognition + growth | Being valued and developing | People stay where they feel seen and can see a future. |
| Workload + balance | Wellbeing | Catches chronic overload while it is still fixable. |
| Belonging + tools | Culture and enablement | Belonging predicts retention; tools remove daily friction. |
| Open text | The reasons behind the scores | Where the explanations, and the surprises, live — and where AI analysis adds most. |
How to customize the template
- Shorten it for a pulse — keep questions 1, 5, 9, 11 and one open text for a two-minute check-in.
- Add a segment question — a single demographic question (department, team, location or tenure) lets you compare groups, but keep group sizes large enough to protect anonymity.
- Adapt the language to your context — remote, frontline or hybrid teams may need reworded questions about tools, communication and balance.
- Keep scales consistent — do not mix 1–5 and 1–7 across Likert questions, or trends become impossible to read.
- Reuse the same core questions each round so results are comparable over time.
Describe your organization in AI Studio and it will tailor this template to your team structure, concerns and tone. You review and edit before sending. Compare plans and limits on the pricing page.
How to launch it in minutes
- 1Generate the survey with AI or start from a template and paste in the questions above.
- 2Turn on anonymity and set a minimum group size for reporting.
- 3Add one segment question if you want to compare teams.
- 4Share the link with a short note from leadership explaining why it matters and how long it takes.
- 5Watch AI analysis summarize themes and sentiment as responses arrive, then share results and actions within a few weeks.
Build this survey with AI or browse the full template library. Then read the question bank and examples for every team to adapt it further.
Frequently asked questions
Keep reading
The complete guide to employee satisfaction surveys: what to ask and when, question banks by category, a full example and template, common mistakes and AI-powered analysis.
50+ employee satisfaction survey questions organized by category — compensation, benefits, management, communication, growth, recognition, work-life balance, culture and tools.
Real employee satisfaction survey examples — company-wide, remote teams, managers, benefits and compensation — with the exact questions and when to send each one.
How to run a staff satisfaction survey end to end: what to ask, anonymity, timing, response rates and turning results into action — for any size of team.
When anonymity helps, when it hurts, minimum group sizes, and how to build the trust that makes employees answer honestly.
The complete cornerstone guide to running satisfaction surveys.
Describe your goal and generate a tailored satisfaction survey.
Compute your percent-favorable satisfaction score instantly.
Browse ready-made employee survey templates.