Employee climate survey

Employee climate survey: questions, an example and how to run it

What to ask, how often to run it, how to get people to answer honestly and what to do with the results. With a complete example and a quarterly pulse, question by question.

What is an employee climate survey

It is a survey of your team to understand how people experience their work: leadership, recognition, the environment, workload and room to grow. The results show where the workplace climate is healthy and where it is weighing on people, before that turns into resignations. It has several questions because it needs to explain the why; eNPS, a single question, tracks the temperature between one climate survey and the next.

eNPS: the single question that tracks engagement →

2 employee climate survey examples

A complete questionnaire to run once or twice a year and a short pulse for the months in between. Next to each question is its answer type. You can build both on the platform, with questionnaires available from the Pro plan.

Complete climate survey

Once or twice a year, for the whole company: each topic on a scale, the most cited reasons, eNPS and an open comment field.

Rate each aspect of your work
Matrix
Direct manager · Recognition · Internal communication · Environment and relationships · Workload · Tools and resources · Growth opportunities — from 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree
Does your manager give you clear feedback on your work?
Scale
1 = Never · 5 = Always
Do you know what is expected of you in your role?
Yes or no
What gets in the way of your day-to-day work the most? Select as many as you like.
Multiple choiceOptional
Too many meetings · Lack of information · Tight deadlines · Inadequate tools · Little autonomy · Conflicts within the team · Workload · Other
Do you see yourself working here a year from now?
Single choice
Definitely · Probably · Not sure · Probably not
What would make you think about leaving?
Long textOptional
Shown only to people who answered "Not sure" or "Probably not" to the previous question.
From 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the company as a good place to work?
NPS (0 to 10)
This is the eNPS question.
Any comments or suggestions?
Long textOptional

Build this survey

Quarterly climate pulse

Between one complete survey and the next, every quarter: four questions, less than a minute to answer.

From 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the company as a good place to work?
NPS (0 to 10)
This is the eNPS question.
How would you rate your quarter at work?
Scale
1 = Very poor · 5 = Very good
Do you feel recognized for your work?
Yes or no
If you could, what would you change first?
Short textOptional

Build this survey

Step-by-step guide to building and sending a questionnaire, in the Help Center →

Climate survey questions by topic

Pick topics based on what the company can actually change afterward. These questions are a starting point; use the same scale for the ones you want to compare with each other.

Leadership: "Does your manager give you clear feedback on your work?" and "Do you feel comfortable bringing a problem to your manager?"
Recognition: "Do you feel recognized for your work?"
Communication: "Do you get the information you need to do your job well?"
Environment: "Do you feel respected by your coworkers?"
Workload: "Can you get your work done within your working hours?"
Growth: "Do you see opportunities to grow here?"
Retention: "Do you see yourself working here a year from now?"
Recommendation (eNPS): "From 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the company as a good place to work?"

How to run a climate survey in 6 steps

The survey only works if the team believes answering is safe and that something will change. The steps below take care of both.

Define what you want to decide with the results and choose the topics from there
Guarantee anonymity and say so in the invitation, in the right words
Pick the timing: away from layoffs, salary reviews and the end of a target period
Keep the survey open for one or two weeks and send a reminder
Share the results with the team, including what did not go well
Choose two or three actions, each with an owner and a deadline, and report what was done in the next survey

How to keep answers anonymous

Without anonymity, scores go up and stop telling the truth. For the climate questionnaire, use the open link or the QR code: respondents are not identified and each device can answer once. For eNPS sent by email, turn on the "Allow anonymous responses" option: name and email stay out of reports, exports and the dashboard. In very small teams, do not show results for any department with fewer than five responses, because people can guess who answered.

How often to run it

Run the complete survey once or twice a year, always at the same time of year, so you can compare one cycle with the next. In between, the quarterly pulse with eNPS shows whether the climate is improving or slipping. Surveying every month wears the team out and, without visible action between rounds, drags the response rate down.

How to calculate eNPS, with an example →

What to do with the results

Start with the lowest-scoring topics and the open comments, which explain the why. Sentiment AI groups comments by topic, so you see the pattern without reading them one by one. Then compare with the previous survey: a topic that dropped needs more attention than one that has been low for years and already has a plan.

Sentiment AI for open-ended comments →

Questions about employee climate surveys

What should you ask in an employee climate survey?

Questions about the topics the company can change: leadership, recognition, communication, environment, workload and growth, usually on a 1-to-5 agreement scale. Include the eNPS question to track the trend and an optional open field for the reason.

How many questions should a climate survey have?

Eight to twelve questions are enough for the complete survey, using a matrix to rate several topics on the same scale. The quarterly pulse, with three or four questions, keeps the team responding between one complete survey and the next.

What is the difference between a climate survey and eNPS?

eNPS is a single 0-to-10 question that shows whether engagement is going up or down. A climate survey has several questions and explains the why. The most common approach is to run eNPS every quarter and the climate survey once or twice a year.

Does a climate survey need to be anonymous?

Yes, so people answer honestly. In WiseData NPS, a questionnaire sent through an open link or QR code does not identify respondents, and eNPS by email has the "Allow anonymous responses" option.

How often should you run a climate survey?

The complete survey once or twice a year, always at the same time of year. In between, a quarterly pulse with eNPS. More than that wears the team out, especially if they see no action between rounds.

Can I build a climate survey in WiseData NPS?

Yes. eNPS is included in every plan, including Free. The multi-question questionnaire, with matrix and conditional questions, is available from the Pro plan and unlocked in the 14-day free trial.

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