Best questions for civil servant survey about diversity equity and inclusion in public services

Here are some of the best questions for a civil servant survey about diversity, equity, and inclusion in public services and tips on how to create them. We know how much time it takes to draft surveys, so we use Specific to build tailored surveys in seconds—just generate your own and tweak it as needed.

Best open-ended questions for diversity, equity, and inclusion surveys for civil servants

Open-ended questions are a core way to spark honest dialogue and uncover in-depth perspectives. These questions work best when you want to go beyond compliance checkboxes and get to the “why” behind people’s experiences or perceptions—so you spot barriers, gaps, and successes that aren’t obvious through stoplight (red/yellow/green) survey metrics alone.

All of this matters: civil service organizations, from the UK to Canada, are increasingly diverse. For example, in 2021, 54.2% of the UK Civil Service workforce were women, but only 47.3% at the senior level—leaving clear room for greater equity.[1] You don’t see that in a basic multiple choice question.

1. Can you describe a time when you felt included or excluded at work? What factors contributed to this experience?

2. What does “diversity, equity, and inclusion” mean to you within your department or team?

3. In your opinion, what’s working well when it comes to DEI in our public service organization?

4. Where do you see the biggest challenges or roadblocks to true inclusion within your role or workplace?

5. Have you witnessed or experienced bias, discrimination, or microaggressions in the public service? If so, how was it handled?

6. What can leadership do differently to better support diversity, equity, and inclusion?

7. How comfortable do you feel sharing your identity (gender, culture, disability, etc.) in the workplace? What would help?

8. Which policies or resources would make the most positive impact on fostering an inclusive workplace for all civil servants?

9. What should we be measuring or keeping track of to really understand our progress on DEI goals?

10. If you could wave a magic wand, what’s one change you would make to improve equity and inclusion in public service?

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for diversity, equity, and inclusion in public services

Single-select multiple-choice questions are perfect when you want to quantify opinions, track trends, or lower the friction for a respondent (easy for them to tap, great for overall completion rates). Sometimes, it’s much easier to start with a few options, and dive deeper with a follow-up. For public sector surveys, you may want to track how inclusion feels across roles, so you can dig in by department or grade—crucial given that disability representation, for example, ranges from 6.1% to 15.2% by level in the UK Civil Service.[1]

Question: How would you rate the overall inclusivity of your workplace?

• Very inclusive

• Somewhat inclusive

• Neutral

• Somewhat exclusive

• Very exclusive

Question: Do you think leadership demonstrates commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?

• Yes, definitely

• Somewhat

• No

• Not sure

Question: Which area do you feel needs the most improvement in our DEI efforts?

• Recruitment

• Promotion

• Training

• Workplace culture

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" Follow up with “why?” when you want clarity on a selection or to dig into root causes. For instance, if someone selects “Somewhat exclusive” on inclusivity, a well-timed “Can you share what led to your answer?” surfaces specific pain points—maybe it’s meeting language, social events, or opportunities to lead. These are hard to spot without probing further, especially in large, complex organizations.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? “Other” is essential when you know your list isn’t exhaustive or you want to learn something new. It signals you’re open to fresh perspectives, and followup questions here often yield unexpected, actionable insights—such as policies or practices you hadn’t considered.

NPS-style questions for civil servant DEI surveys

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is widely used in user experience and employee engagement to gauge sentiment on a simple 0–10 scale. For public service DEI, it helps measure how likely someone is to recommend their department as an inclusive workplace—a quick, benchmarkable pulse that complements more detailed questions. NPS can spotlight shifts in perception across groups: remember, ethnic minority representation in the UK Civil Service is 14.3% overall, but only 8.2% at the senior level, so you want to see if experience aligns with representation.[1] Start with our DEI NPS survey template for civil servants here.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions are what turn flat survey responses into a rich, conversational experience. With automated AI follow-up questions, Specific takes every answer and probes further—clarifying ambiguity, exploring motivations, and capturing real-life stories you’d miss with static surveys. In civil servant DEI research, this dynamic is a game-changer.

• Civil servant: “Our meetings sometimes feel exclusive.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you give a specific example of what made the meeting feel exclusive, and how it affected you?”

• Civil servant: “I don’t always see diverse candidates considered for promotion.”

• AI follow-up: “Why do you think that is? What could be changed in the process?”

How many followups to ask? Typically, 2-3 follow-up questions strike the right balance: you get the full context without overwhelming the respondent. With Specific, you can customize the max number of followups or let the AI move to next question when it has enough detail.

This makes it a conversational survey—each answer leads seamlessly into the next question, just as a skilled interviewer would do in person.

AI survey analysis is straightforward with today’s tools. Even with lots of unstructured text, you can easily analyze responses using AI—simply chat with your survey data, filter by themes, and surface actionable insights without reading every single answer yourself.

These automated follow-up features are new—try generating a survey yourself and experience how much deeper your insights go when every answer gets the attention it deserves.

How to compose a prompt for ChatGPT (or other GPTs) to create strong DEI survey questions for civil servants

You can use prompts to generate or refine your own custom survey questions instantly. Start simple:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for civil servant survey about diversity, equity, and inclusion in public services.

The quality jumps when you provide further context—who you are, your goals, your challenges. Here’s how that looks:

I am an HR leader in a national government department where representation for women and ethnic minority civil servants is improving at junior levels, but lagging in senior ranks. My goal is to surface the barriers to advancement and get actionable recommendations for positive change. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for civil servant survey about diversity, equity, and inclusion in public services.

Once you have a list, prompt the AI to categorize the questions, then drill deeper:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then, pick the most important categories—say “barriers to advancement” or “leadership accountability”—and ask for more depth:

Generate 10 questions for the categories “barriers to advancement” and “leadership accountability.”

This workflow helps you quickly build a thoughtful, targeted survey without starting from a blank page.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey is fundamentally different from static forms. Rather than a dry list of questions, it mimics a real conversation—asking, reacting, and probing for clarity, just like a skilled researcher would. For example, with an AI survey builder, you can quickly design a survey that adapts dynamically to each respondent’s answers, making everything feel more human.

Why use AI for civil servant surveys? Because the scale, diversity, and complexity in public services make it almost impossible to catch every nuance using static methods. AI survey tools enable you to launch quick, adaptive, and engaging feedback loops, truly listening to every group—crucial when, for instance, LGBTQ+ representation is as low as 1.7% in some segments of the UK Civil Service.[1] Whether you want an AI survey example to start with or need to customize your own, AI makes it possible.

Specific stands out by offering a smooth user experience—respondents feel heard and comfortable, survey creators get deeper and better-quality data, and the whole process is a breeze compared to manual workflows. If you want a step-by-step guide, check out our article on how to create a civil servant DEI survey.

See this Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Public Services survey example now

Start collecting meaningful, actionable insights from civil servants—see real feedback unfold, harness the power of AI analysis and conversational followups, and elevate your DEI program. Don’t miss the chance to make every perspective count.