If you’ve ever tried to run an employee engagement survey from scratch, you know it’s a pain: picking the right questions, making sure the survey isn’t too long (or too fluffy), and actually getting useful answers. The good news? You don’t have to build one from the ground up. SurveyMonkey’s templates can save you time—if you know how to use them right.
This guide cuts through the noise. I’ll show you, step by step, how to use SurveyMonkey templates for employee engagement surveys, what’s worth tweaking, and the pitfalls to avoid. Whether you’re in HR or just the person who got “volunteered” to run the survey, you’ll get practical advice to make the process easier—and actually useful.
Step 1: Know What You Want to Measure (Seriously—Don’t Skip This)
Before you even log in, ask yourself: what do you want to learn? “Employee engagement” is a buzzword that means a hundred different things. Are you trying to measure morale? Burnout? Trust in leadership? Whether people want to quit? Be specific.
Write down your main goals. Here are a few to get you started:
- How satisfied are people with their work environment?
- Do folks feel recognized for their efforts?
- Are managers actually supporting their teams?
- Is there a sense of purpose or is everyone just clocking in?
Pro tip: If you can’t sum up your goal in one sentence, you’re not ready to pick a template.
Step 2: Find the Right SurveyMonkey Template
Once you know what you’re trying to measure, log into SurveyMonkey and head to the “Templates” section. You’ll see dozens of options. For employee engagement, look for templates like:
- Employee Engagement Survey
- Employee Satisfaction Survey
- Pulse Survey
- Workplace Culture Survey
Don’t overthink it. Most of these templates cover similar ground, but with slightly different focuses. If you’re new to this, start with the basic Employee Engagement Survey template.
What’s Good About the Templates
- They save time—no staring at a blank page.
- Questions are written in plain language. You won’t find weird corporate speak.
- They’re short enough that people might actually finish them.
What’s Not So Great
- Some questions are vague. “Do you feel valued at work?”—sure, but what does that actually mean?
- Templates can be generic. If your company has unique quirks or issues, you’ll need to tweak.
- Not all questions are actionable. Avoid questions you can’t do anything about, or you’ll just annoy people.
Ignore the urge to use every question “just in case.” More isn’t better. It’s just more.
Step 3: Customize the Template (But Don’t Overdo It)
Now’s your chance to make the survey fit your company. Here’s where most people go wrong: they either change nothing, or they add way too much.
What to Edit
- Wording: Make questions sound like your workplace. If you never use the term “leadership team,” swap it with “managers” or whoever actually makes decisions.
- Add or remove questions: Cut anything that doesn’t fit your goals. If you care about remote work, add a question or two. If your company is tiny, skip questions about “departments.”
- Scales: SurveyMonkey templates usually use 5-point scales (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree). That’s fine—just be consistent.
Examples of Useful Tweaks
- Change “I feel my contributions are valued by the organization” to “Does your manager give you credit when you do good work?”
- Add, “How comfortable are you giving honest feedback here?”
What to Avoid
- Jargon or HR-speak. People tune it out.
- Leading questions. “How great is your manager?” isn’t going to give you honest answers.
- Questions you can’t act on. If you ask about something you can’t change, you’re just collecting complaints.
Reality check: The best survey is one people will actually finish. Aim for 10–15 questions, tops.
Step 4: Set Up Anonymity (and Actually Mean It)
If you want honest answers, people have to trust the survey is anonymous. SurveyMonkey offers anonymous response collection, but you have to turn it on.
- Go to your survey’s “Collect Responses” section.
- Choose “Anonymous responses.” Read the fine print—sometimes metadata (like IP addresses) can still be collected unless you disable it.
- Be clear in your intro: Tell people exactly what’s anonymous and what isn’t.
Don’t: Promise anonymity if you’re going to look at individual names or email addresses. People aren’t dumb—they’ll figure it out, and your results will be garbage.
Step 5: Test Your Survey Before Sending It Company-Wide
This is where most people get lazy. Don’t just hit “Send.” Test your survey first:
- Send it to a small group (3–5 people). Ideally, pick people who’ll give honest feedback.
- Ask them:
- Were any questions confusing or awkward?
- Did any questions feel loaded or pointless?
- How long did it take to finish?
Use their feedback to fix issues. If everyone says it’s too long, cut questions. If nobody understands a question, rewrite it.
Pro tip: If it takes more than 10 minutes to complete, it’s too long.
Step 6: Send Out the Survey (With a Decent Explanation)
When you’re ready, use SurveyMonkey’s distribution tools (email, link, or Slack—whatever works for your company). But don’t just drop it in people’s inboxes without context.
- Write a quick, honest intro. Tell people why you’re running the survey, how you’ll use the results, and that it’s anonymous.
- Set a deadline. A week is usually plenty. Any longer and people forget.
- Send a reminder or two. But don’t nag—one reminder is enough.
What works: A direct ask from a leader or manager gets better response rates than a faceless HR email.
What doesn’t: Guilt-tripping people (“We really need 100% participation!”) just annoys everyone.
Step 7: Look at the Results (and Don’t Panic)
SurveyMonkey gives you charts and data summaries. It’s tempting to overanalyze, but stick to your original goals.
- Look for patterns, not one-off comments.
- Pay attention to strong negatives. If a lot of people “strongly disagree” with a statement, that’s a flag.
- Don’t ignore the written comments. Sometimes the real issues are there, not in the numbers.
Don’t: Try to spin bad results or hide them. People will find out, and trust drops.
Do: Share high-level results with the team, even if it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
Step 8: Actually Do Something With the Feedback
This is the step everyone skips. If you run surveys and nothing changes, people stop answering honestly—or at all.
- Pick 1–2 things to work on. Don’t try to fix everything at once.
- Tell people what you’re doing. Even if it’s just, “We heard X, so we’re trying Y.”
- Set a date to check in again. Quarterly “pulse” surveys work better than annual “big bang” ones.
Skip: Writing long reports nobody reads. Action matters more than paperwork.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate, Repeat
SurveyMonkey templates are a shortcut, not a magic wand. They work best if you keep things simple, tweak what matters, and actually follow up on what you learn. Don’t chase the “perfect” survey. Just get started, fix what’s broken, and repeat.
Remember: a short, honest survey that leads to real changes beats a 50-question epic that nobody finishes (or believes). Start small, stay real, and you’ll get a lot further.