Employee Engagement Surveys: How to Capture Genuine Feedback

An employee engagement survey isn’t just about collecting feedback—it’s about understanding what truly motivates your workforce and turning insights into action. Simply gathering responses won’t drive change; the real value lies in employee engagement survey analysis and how the results are used to create a better workplace.

But here’s the challenge—surveys can backfire if employees feel their feedback disappears into a black hole. That’s why knowing how to communicate employee engagement survey results is just as important as the survey itself. Transparency, clear follow-ups, and real action based on feedback build trust and encourage employees to share honest opinions.

In this blog, we will walk you through not just designing a powerful employee engagement survey, but also decoding responses, sharing findings effectively, and making tangible improvements that boost morale, retention, and productivity. Because a survey isn’t just a tool—it’s a conversation that shapes the future of your workplace.

What is an employee engagement survey?

An employee engagement survey is a set of questions designed to gauge the engagement level of teams, departments, and the company overall. While the concept is simple, measuring engagement can be more complex than it seems.

Organizations use various methods—some rely on the Gallup Q12 (12 key questions), others conduct an in-depth annual survey, and many prefer shorter, more frequent pulse surveys like the employee net promoter score. All these methods aim to measure engagement, so choose one that fits your goals and budget.

Remember, engagement surveys differ from employee satisfaction surveys. An employee might be satisfied with their salary or location but still be disengaged if their work feels monotonous or overly controlled, which can negatively impact business performance.

The importance of employee engagement surveys

Employee engagement surveys provide a space where employees can communicate any concerns or issues, they have. It isn’t always possible to interact with their employers individually, especially in larger workspaces.

In these cases, it’s easy for any concerns to go unnoticed as there is no space in which clear communication can occur. Surveys are a great way to identify and solve any employees' issues.

By putting in the effort and using your employees' feedback, you can improve things in the workspace to make them feel happier. This will make your employees feel heard, appreciated, and included - which are key factors in job satisfaction.

Employee engagement surveys are a quick yet effective method of improving employee satisfaction. You can boost your business's productivity and success by conducting them and making improvements based on them.

Survey as a data collection method

The primary purpose of employee engagement surveys is to obtain information about the people’s opinions, motives, and assessments, on the group's state and individual consciousness.

The data gathered by survey methods express the subjective views of respondents. They need to be compared with information of an objective nature, which must be developed in other ways.

The development of a research program should precede the survey, a clear definition of goals, objectives, concepts (categories of analysis), hypotheses, objects, and subjects, as well as research tools.

Each survey involves an ordered set of questions (a questionnaire) that serves to achieve the research goal, solve its problems, and  prove or disprove a hypothesis.

The wording of the items must be carefully considered in many ways, but, above all, it must be used to fix categories of analysis.

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Key indicators of employee engagement

Now that we have understood what an employee engagement survey is, let’s look at the most important indicators of employee engagement? They might surprise you a little!

1. Trust in the chain of command

Suppose your employees don’t feel that they can trust the information they get from their direct manager, department head, or the top levels of your company.

In that case, they will start to feel like they’re not being treated as professional adults who are handled with honesty.

Getting too much spin and double-talk from the higher levels can be condescending or frustrating and decrease the organization's emotional commitment.

2. Frequent, fair recognition

Do your employees know when they’ve done a great job on a task - whether it’s a large project or a small piece of work? Are you promoting these behaviors across the org to let employees know what success looks like and that hard work is recognized and rewarded?

If you’re not, you’re missing out on a big driver of engagement. If your recognition strategy is based on a concept like “Employee of the Month,” where everyone is recognized similarly, no one will truly feel recognized.

Keeping rewards personal and performance-based is a best practice endorsed by SHRM.

3. Asking for feedback

Simply asking employees for their opinions in a thoughtful, purposeful way can slightly increase engagement.

Your employees like to be asked what they think about life at your company - it shows you value their opinions and feedback.

Of course, to get the engagement boost from asking for feedback, you need to put the changes employees suggest into action often enough to show you’re truly listening to what they say. This is where a post-survey action plan comes in handy.

How to create and run an employee engagement survey that drives real change

A successful employee engagement survey isn’t just about collecting feedback—it’s about gathering insights that lead to measurable improvements. Many organizations struggle with engagement not because they lack data, but because their surveys fail to uncover real sentiment, key concerns, and actionable solutions.

To get meaningful, data-driven results, organizations must structure their surveys strategically. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to create and run an engagement survey that drives real change—not just reports numbers.

1. Define a clear objective tied to business outcomes

Instead of vague goals like “measuring engagement,” link the survey to specific business challenges. Are you trying to reduce turnover? Improve leadership effectiveness? Identify productivity blockers? A well-defined objective helps frame the right questions and ensures that survey data translates into action.

2. Ask the right questions to uncover root causes

Many engagement surveys focus on surface-level indicators—job satisfaction, work-life balance, or leadership perception—but fail to dig deeper into the ‘why’. A powerful survey balances quantitative and qualitative questions to pinpoint areas that need attention.

• Instead of just asking, “Do you feel valued at work?”, follow up with “What specific actions from leadership make you feel valued?”
• Move beyond engagement scores by asking, “What barriers prevent you from being more engaged in your role?”
• Leverage Empuls employee engagement survey templates, which include structured questions designed to uncover actionable insights.

3. Ensure anonymity to encourage honest feedback

Employees hesitate to share critical feedback when they fear repercussions. Empuls ensures survey anonymity while providing HR teams with AI-driven insights, making it easier to identify trends without exposing individual responses.

Clearly communicate who will see the results, how data will be used, and how confidentiality is maintained. Without these reassurances, survey participation and honesty suffer.

4. Choose a survey cadence that fits your organization’s needs

• Quarterly pulse surveys are great for tracking ongoing engagement trends.
• Annual engagement surveys provide a comprehensive review but need fast action to stay relevant.
• Real-time sentiment analysis, like that offered by Empuls, helps HR teams detect engagement shifts instantly.

Organizations should balance frequency with actionability—too many surveys without follow-through lead to survey fatigue, while infrequent surveys fail to capture changing sentiments.

5. Drive participation with a strong internal campaign

A survey is only useful if employees take it. Instead of sending a generic email with a survey link, craft a clear, compelling message that answers:

• Why is this survey important?
• How will the company use the feedback?
• What changes have been made based on past surveys?

Consider using multiple touchpoints—emails, internal chats, leadership endorsements, and Empuls’ AI-driven notifications—to maximize participation.

6. Analyze survey results with a focus on trends, not just scores

Organizations often get caught up in benchmarking eNPS or engagement scores without analyzing why certain groups are more engaged than others. Break down survey responses by:

• Department or role: Are engagement issues concentrated in specific teams?
• Leadership levels: Do managers feel more disengaged than employees?
• Historical trends: How do this year’s scores compare to last year’s?

Empuls’ advanced analytics help organizations spot patterns, heatmaps, and sentiment trends, making it easier to pinpoint systemic issues rather than surface-level complaints.

7. Communicate results transparently to build trust

Knowing how to communicate employee engagement survey results is as important as collecting them. Employees want to see how their feedback drives change.

• Share high-level results in a town hall or internal newsletter.
• Focus on key themes rather than just numerical scores.
• Acknowledge areas needing improvement—employees appreciate honesty over sugarcoating.

Avoid vague responses like: “We appreciate your feedback and are working on improvements.” Instead, be specific: “Survey results indicate that employees seek more career growth opportunities. Over the next quarter, we are launching a mentorship program to address this.”

8. Take action and show visible improvements

A survey without follow-through erodes trust. Use survey data to implement targeted, visible improvements and communicate progress consistently. Some quick wins include:

• If employees feel underappreciated, introduce recognition programs via Empuls.
• If employees feel disconnected from leadership, hold monthly leadership Q&As.
• If employees lack growth opportunities, create clear career progression paths.

Regularly updating employees on how feedback translates into change ensures that future surveys receive higher participation and more honest responses.

9. Measure impact and continuously refine your survey approach

The real success of an employee engagement survey isn’t in the first report—it’s in the long-term impact on workplace culture. Track post-survey actions, conduct follow-ups, and assess whether changes have positively influenced engagement scores.

Use tools like Empuls to monitor engagement trends over time and adjust strategies accordingly. Engagement isn’t a one-time effort—it’s an ongoing conversation that requires data, action, and refinement.

What should be done with the employee engagement survey results?

So, what do you do next once you run your employee engagement survey - especially if you’re doing it for the first time? If you’ve designed a well-crafted and thoughtful survey, you’ll have plenty of data, statistics, and potential verbatim feedback to go through.

But if you think your work is now done - not yet! It’s just beginning. That’s because what you do with your employee engagement survey findings is the most important part of your survey process.

But don’t worry - we’ve got you covered with how to use your employee engagement survey results and action plan. Your complete guide to drafting your post-survey plan of action is right here.

Just follow these dos and don’ts to derive actionable insights and take the right steps.

1. Do act transparently

Employees took time out of their busy workdays to provide thoughtful feedback on your survey - so what will you tell them when it’s over?

If your feedback is much more negative than you thought, it can be tempting to stuff the results in a drawer or server somewhere and hope everyone forgets about them. (Research shows that 20% of companies essentially do just that.)

But employees aren’t going to forget that easily - and it looks like you’re hiding the results, which erodes trust and engagement. So take a deep breath and thank employees for taking the time to take the survey.

It was an optional activity initially for the company's benefit, not them, after all. Now is the time to deliver an action plan that shows employees that taking the survey benefits them too because you’re listening to what they say and taking action on their feedback.

They’ll be even more likely to take the survey next year - and that simple act of listening might raise engagement scores all on its own.

2. Don’t lump every person together

It’s a best practice from the experts at SHRM - once your survey results are in, don’t just look at the data as a whole. Even for smaller companies, employees in different roles and departments will have very different experiences at work, and their engagement scores and factors likely look very different as well.

Instead, look at the overall data for any broad trends, and then keep diving into relevant groupings. This could be by department employee level organizational units and/or by demographic results. Looking at the data this way will help you better spot important trends.

For example, say you look at your engagement data and find low scores in one particular department. What’s going on? Well, check the data further. Is there a generational disconnect, with younger workers feeling less happy and more frustrated?

Or individual contributors are engaged, but the management level is not. Once you identify the gaps, you can start thinking about solutions.

3. Do take tangible action

If you’re only surveying employees because you’re curious about what they think, but their thoughtful feedback responses don’t lead to any actual change, employees will realize you’re not actually interested in taking action.

And then, they will stop providing real answers in upcoming surveys. Why should they share their thoughts, after all, if you’re not listening? That’s why sharing employee engagement survey results and action plans becomes crucial.

You should take the data you’ve just gleaned from your analysis and start deciding changes you will make as a result. These changes don’t need to be huge - it can be as simple as eliminating a process employees find frustrating or making it easier for managers to recognize employees at the moment with the right recognition tools.

The important thing is to do something meaningful to show you’ve listened and you care.

4. Don’t let defensiveness get in the way.

While feeling a bit defensive might be a natural first response, if your emotional reaction to open and honest feedback is getting in the way of actually seeing the need to make changes in your workplace, then you have a problem.

Getting actionable insights from your employee engagement survey means you need to commit to accepting and acting on feedback before your HR and leadership team sends the survey out.

5. Do communicate proactively

You need to make real changes if you’re getting lots of negative feedback - but those changes can take time.

That’s ok, as long as you’re consistently communicating with employees about what you heard them say, what changes you’re going to make, and when they should expect to see and feel those changes.

Your employees know that things take time - they want to feel reassured that their feedback was heard. Having a solid communications plan for announcing and sharing employee engagement survey results and action plans, thanking employees for taking the time to answer, and letting them know what you’re doing with their feedback is an essential part of your post-survey plan.

6. Don’t obsess over one number

While hard data is important in analyzing survey results, focusing too much on a single data point is often counterproductive.

When employee engagement is much larger than any single issue, it can lead to superficial efforts to boost that single engagement element.

At AT&T, for example, executives give them trends and verbatim feedback from their most recent pulse surveys instead of giving line managers and supervisors access to scores. This focuses on the root causes of issues instead of targeting a single number to fixate on.

7. Do keep surveying employees regularly

While you can certainly get interesting information from running a survey once, you’ll find many more insights to be had if you consistently survey employees so you can track trends and progress over time.

This might mean committing to a large annual survey or adding in targeted pulse surveys like the ones in the Empuls platform so you can get feedback in real-time. Whatever your preference, be sure you keep at it.

While it might be challenging for your organization to take in feedback and make changes at first, you’ll reap the rewards over time.

Capture real employee sentiment with Empuls’ engagement surveys

Employee engagement isn't just about job satisfaction—it’s about creating a work environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and aligned with business goals. Empuls employee engagement surveys help organizations measure workplace sentiment, identify challenges, and implement meaningful improvements to enhance the employee experience.

With AI-driven analytics and real-time sentiment tracking, Empuls makes it easier to listen to employees and act on feedback. By capturing insights at every stage of the employee journey, businesses can create a workplace that fosters trust, collaboration, and high performance.

Why choose Empuls employee engagement surveys?

1. Measure engagement in real-time.

Traditional surveys provide delayed insights, but Empuls offers instant sentiment analysis through pulse and engagement surveys. Get real-time data on employee motivation, morale, and workplace culture to make quick, informed decisions.

2. Capture feedback at every stage

Employee experiences evolve over time, and so should your surveys. Empuls offers lifecycle surveys, tracking engagement from onboarding to exit. This ensures organizations understand employee needs at key touchpoints, improving retention and satisfaction.

3. Personalized, AI-driven conversations

Static surveys don’t always capture genuine feedback. Empuls uses AI-powered, adaptive conversations to engage employees in meaningful discussions. This helps uncover deeper insights into what truly matters to your workforce.

4. Customizable surveys for targeted insights

Every workplace is different, so Empuls allows businesses to customize surveys based on specific engagement challenges. With a rich question bank and flexible templates, organizations can tailor surveys to focus on leadership, work-life balance, recognition, or any other key area.

5. Data-backed decisions for meaningful change

Survey results are only useful when translated into action. Empuls provides AI-powered analytics, heatmaps, and benchmarking tools to identify trends and problem areas. This enables leadership teams to implement targeted improvements that drive engagement and business success.

ANCA’s journey to transform employee engagement with Empuls

ANCA Machine Tools, a global leader in CNC machines with over 1,000 employees, faced challenges with its rewards and recognition (R&R) processes. The existing system lacked consistency, transparency, and efficiency, leading to disengagement and a need for a more structured approach to boost employee morale.

The Solution

After evaluating various options, ANCA adopted Empuls for its seamless features tailored to their needs. The platform's reward automation simplified the process, and its extensive redemption catalog offered employees meaningful choices. Empuls’ user-friendly interface ensured an effortless transition for the HR team and employees alike.

The Results

Empuls transformed ANCA's employee engagement with remarkable outcomes:

• 90% reduction in time spent managing rewards: Automation allowed the HR team to preset criteria, ensuring automatic point allocation with minimal effort.
• 100% increase in engagement scores: Consistent and transparent R&R processes fostered a stronger sense of value among employees.
• 80% employee satisfaction with the platform: Employees appreciated the ability to choose from a diverse catalog, reinforcing their motivation and loyalty.

A Satisfied Partnership

Rukmini Divakar, HR Manager - Asia at ANCA, praised the platform, saying: "We didn’t evaluate anybody else because Empuls gave us exactly what we wanted. The team presented how it works, and I only had to coordinate with one point of contact. The rest was taken care of."

Key takeaways

There’s so much to know about employee engagement surveys - why they are important, how to do them properly, and what they truly mean for your business.

This guide has given you a starting point to measure employee engagement levels.

The first step towards raising your engagement rate is knowing where your company stands right now - that’s why you need to start creating your employee engagement survey today if you haven’t already.

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