When I design an employee communication survey, the best questions for leadership communication often make or break the entire feedback process.
Getting authentic insights about how leadership messages land requires more than generic rating scales.
Conversational surveys can dig deeper into communication gaps through AI-powered follow-ups, revealing nuanced issues that traditional surveys miss.
Measuring how clearly strategy flows from leadership
People crave strategy clarity—they want to know not just what the company is doing, but why. Too many employee communication surveys only scratch the surface here, and research confirms this: 68% of employees feel their organization's leadership communication falls short in delivering clarity. [1] That’s huge, and it tells me leaders need to get more intentional about how strategies are explained.
"How clearly do you understand our overall business strategy and the reasons behind it?"
"Can you explain in your own words what our current priorities are and why?
"What parts of the strategy—if any—feel unclear or contradictory to you?"
AI-powered follow-ups probe deeper: when someone says “it’s confusing,” conversational surveys can immediately ask “Which aspects of the strategy are hardest to follow?” or “Can you give an example where the messaging felt unclear?”
This helps isolate real communication blockers, not just vague dissatisfaction. Here’s an example of how you might prompt a survey generator:
Create employee communication survey questions that ask how well employees understand the company's strategy and the 'why' behind recent strategic decisions. Add AI-powered follow-ups to clarify confusion.
If you want to create surveys that reach this level of depth, the Specific AI survey generator makes it easy to move from idea to live survey in a few minutes.
Building trust through transparent communication
Trust in leadership grows when words and actions consistently line up. This can’t be faked, and transparent communication is at the core. A massive 86% of employees and executives blame workplace failures on poor communication and collaboration. [2] That’s a sign that employees want honest, direct answers—not filtered statements.
"Do you feel leadership communicates openly about important company decisions and their implications?"
"Have you ever felt that a leadership message wasn’t fully authentic or left out critical context? Can you share an example?"
"When something goes wrong, does leadership own up to it and share what they’ll do differently next time?"
Conversational surveys outperform classic “agree/disagree” questions because they can quickly shape follow-ups: if someone says “leadership isn’t transparent,” the AI can ask for details like, “Was there a recent situation where you felt information was withheld?” or “What would help you trust the messaging more?”
Surface-level questions | Trust-revealing questions |
|---|---|
“Do you trust leadership?” | “Can you share an example when leadership built or lost your trust through their communication?” |
“Leadership is transparent.” (agree/disagree) | “How does leadership show transparency in their communications, if at all?” |
The true power of conversational AI surveys is surfacing the “why” behind trust gaps. Follow-ups can explore specific incidents, patterns, and what would actually close the trust gap. Automatic AI follow-up questions make this easy to operationalize across teams.
Navigating change communication effectively
Most change initiatives stumble—or fail outright—because communication breaks down. Only 12% of employees say their organizations communicate effectively, especially during change. [3] That’s shocking, and it’s a call to rethink how, when, and what leaders communicate during transformation. The right questions dig into readiness, clarity, and emotional response.
"How confident do you feel in understanding why the latest change is happening?"
"What questions or concerns do you still have about the change process?"
"How well did leadership address uncertainties or fears about this change?"
Change fatigue is real; people burn out if every update feels overwhelming, repetitive, or disconnected from their day-to-day.
Resistance patterns often come from unclear or inconsistent leadership messaging. When employees hear one thing and see another, skepticism builds fast.
Analyze employee feedback to identify which departments or teams report higher confusion or resistance to change, and what specific messages or methods led to those responses.
With modern tools, AI can quickly scan responses for frustration, confusion, or hidden blockers and highlight where change communication is failing. AI-powered response analysis lets leadership pinpoint problems before they snowball.
Ensuring messages cascade through management layers
The best-crafted leadership messages die on the vine without clear, motivating manager cascades. Employees are more likely to act on a message they hear from their direct manager—if, and only if, that manager truly understands it and passes it along effectively. Unfortunately, 69% of managers feel uncomfortable communicating with employees, which leads to breakdowns. [4]
"How well does your manager help you put leadership messages into context for your actual work?"
"Do you feel you can ask your manager for clarification about company-wide announcements?"
"What support would help managers communicate leadership updates more effectively?"
Direct from leadership | Through managers |
|---|---|
All-hands emails, CEO town halls | 1:1s, team meetings, manager-led workshops |
Broad context, vision statements | Day-to-day application, specific tasks |
Message distortion happens when managers aren’t prepped or confident—messages can be watered down, mistranslated, or lost entirely. AI-powered conversational surveys spotlight where in the cascade things get stuck by prompting “Where did this message become unclear for you?” or “What’s missing from the way managers share leadership communications?”
Communication NPS: beyond the simple score
Communication NPS gives a pulse check on overall communication health, not just isolated events. The standard adaptation:
"On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company’s communication practices to others?"
This number is only the start. Detractor follow-ups ask, “What one change would make you more likely to recommend our communication?”—then dig in on root causes like too many emails, inconsistent tone, or slow updates.
Promoter follow-ups surface what makes communication stand out. The AI can ask, “What’s one thing you’d never want us to change about our communication flow?” to help keep those strengths alive.
Here’s a simple branching logic for NPS questions:
Score 0–6: “What led you to this score? Please share specific examples.”
Score 7–8: “What, if anything, would move your score to a 9 or 10?”
Score 9–10: “What do we do well in communicating, and why does it work for you?”
Specific’s NPS framework goes further—each score bracket gets its own AI follow-up questions for maximum insight. Instead of just a number, you get actionable, scriptable takeaways you can actually use for change.
And when every follow-up turns the survey into a real conversation, that’s what makes it a true conversational survey (not just another feedback form).
Making your communication survey work in practice
If you want your employee communication survey to drive action, timing matters. Run them after big announcements, post-townhall, quarterly, or during periods of rapid change. Always close the loop—share back what you learned and, just as important, what you’ll actually do about it (or why you won’t).
Remember, survey fatigue is real: use global recontact periods to avoid burning people out (both in conversational landing pages and in-product conversational surveys for ongoing pulse).
If you’re not running these, you’re missing critical insights about communication breakdowns before they impact performance or morale.
Ready to understand your communication landscape?
Now is the time to move beyond static survey forms. A conversational approach to employee communication surveys exposes real barriers, builds trust, and ensures you act on what truly matters. Specific makes it effortless, with best-in-class user experience in conversational surveys that delight both respondents and survey creators. Transform your leadership communication feedback process starting today: create your own survey and see the difference firsthand.