Best questions for employee survey about sense of belonging

Here are some of the best questions for an employee survey about sense of belonging, plus actionable tips to build truly insightful surveys. With Specific, you can generate a powerful conversational survey that gets to the heart of workplace belonging—in seconds.

Best open-ended questions for employee survey about sense of belonging

Open-ended questions let employees tell us their real feelings and stories without being boxed in. For sense of belonging, this is vital. These questions shine when we want deeper insights, richer stories, and context behind the numbers. Used at the start of a survey, or following a multiple-choice answer, they humanize the data.

• Why or why not do you feel like you belong at this company?

• Can you describe a recent experience when you felt included or excluded at work?

• What does a strong sense of belonging mean to you in the workplace?

• How comfortable do you feel expressing your true self among your colleagues?

• What makes you feel accepted and valued at work—or what’s missing?

• How has your sense of belonging here changed over time?

• What could leaders or coworkers do to help you feel more included?

• Is there anything about our workplace culture that challenges your sense of belonging?

• Have you ever considered leaving because you didn’t feel like you belonged?

• In your opinion, what could we improve to make everyone feel they belong here?

Open questions not only gather invaluable feedback, but they also increase response quality. When employees share openly, companies drive measurable improvements in productivity and engagement—remember that 88% of employed Americans agree that belonging leads to higher productivity [1].

Best multiple-choice questions for employee survey about sense of belonging

Single-select multiple-choice questions are excellent when we need clear, quantifiable metrics to benchmark results over time or between teams. Sometimes, it’s hard to articulate complex feelings in words—having a few concise options nudges employees to reflect and respond. These questions kickstart the conversation and make it easier to spot patterns, while optional follow-ups allow us to go deeper when needed.

Question: How strongly do you feel you belong at this company?

• Very strongly

• Somewhat

• Not at all

Question: What is the main factor influencing your sense of belonging here?

• Team dynamics

• Leadership behavior

• Company culture

• Physical workspace

• Other

Question: How comfortable do you feel sharing feedback or suggestions?

• Very comfortable

• Somewhat comfortable

• Uncomfortable

When to follow up with "why?" If someone selects “Not at all” or “Uncomfortable,” immediately prompt: “Can you share what’s behind that?” This can uncover specific barriers you’d otherwise miss, such as issues in team trust, leadership approach, or cultural dynamics.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Use “Other” when you know there may be reasons outside the standard options. Following up lets employees highlight unique challenges or opportunities you hadn’t considered—surfacing new themes that structured questions can miss.

Using these balanced question types, we also solve for turnover risk: employees who feel they belong are 50% less likely to leave [2].

NPS-type question for belonging surveys—does it make sense?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) typically measures how likely someone is to recommend a company or product. For employee belonging, a variant like “How likely are you to recommend this company as a workplace where people belong?” adds quantifiable insight and benchmarks sentiment over time.

It’s clear and familiar, plus it allows for segmented follow-ups: promoters, passives, or detractors all get tailored follow-up questions in conversational AI surveys. You can launch an NPS belonging survey in Specific with a single click.

The power of follow-up questions

To get truly actionable insights, we need context—and that’s where smart follow-ups shine. With conversational surveys, following up is seamless. Automated AI follow-up questions in Specific enable you to dive deeper in real time, guiding each conversation based on what was just said. It’s like having an expert interviewer uncovering the full story—without writing a custom script.

• Employee: “Sometimes I don’t feel comfortable in team meetings.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share what makes those meetings uncomfortable? Is it the team dynamic, the topics, or something else?”

How many followups to ask? Generally, 2–3 well-timed follow-ups are enough to capture rich context. Specific lets you set an auto-skip once you have enough detail, so respondents aren’t overwhelmed and answers stay on point.

This makes it a conversational survey: instead of a questionnaire, it feels like a back-and-forth chat—respondents stay engaged and provide fuller, more honest answers.

Easy AI analysis. Even with lots of unstructured text, you can use AI to analyze all the responses and spot themes within minutes. No need to manually sift through paragraphs—the AI does the heavy lifting.

These automated follow-ups are a new era for feedback. Try generating your own sense of belonging survey—you’ll experience how much richer conversations become, instantly.

How to prompt ChatGPT for great questions on employee belonging

If you want AI to help brainstorm survey questions, keep your prompts clear but contextual. Start broad:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for employee survey about sense of belonging.

But always add more detail—AI is strongest with clear context. For example:

We’re building a survey for a diverse global team with varying tenures. Our goal is to understand what helps and hinders their sense of belonging, and how managers can be more supportive. Suggest 10 open-ended questions employees would find relevant and engaging.

Once you have a list, structure them:

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

Next, drill down into promising categories. If “Team Dynamics” stands out, prompt:

Generate 10 survey questions to explore team dynamics and belonging in more depth.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey is an interactive chat-style feedback process where each answer gets a personalized, real-time follow-up and probes into authentic experiences. Instead of filling boxes or ticking options, respondents feel like they’re in dialogue with a smart interviewer—relaxed, candid, and attentive.

This is fundamentally different from manual or traditional online surveys, which tend to feel one-way and rigid. Here’s a quick comparison:

Why use AI for employee surveys? Because teams dive deeper, faster. Follow-ups provide clarity, reduce misinterpretation, and capture themes traditional surveys miss. Plus, it’s effortless to edit or launch new surveys with AI as your organization changes.

Specific delivers the best conversational survey experience. Creating, launching, and analyzing feedback is smooth for both survey creators and respondents. It’s the fastest route from questions to confident actions—explore how to create a survey in minutes with the survey generator, or start from scratch with the AI survey builder.

If you’re looking for an AI survey example or want to compare classic vs. conversational surveys, try the interactive demos—see firsthand how much more engaging and insightful it feels.

See this sense of belonging survey example now

Discover how a great sense of belonging survey pulls out honest answers, sparks reflection, and helps you move forward. Start now to unlock powerful, conversational insights unique to your team’s needs.