What is a pulse survey and best questions for employee pulse survey

What is a pulse survey? It’s a quick, focused way to regularly check in with your employees about their workplace experience. A pulse survey stands apart from the typical annual review—delivering shorter, more frequent check-ins designed for real-time feedback. The goal is to spot changes in sentiment quickly, so you can address issues early and improve your organization before small frustrations snowball.

Core questions every employee pulse survey needs

Every employee pulse survey needs a strong foundation—questions that reliably surface engagement, satisfaction, and blockers. Regular pulse surveys don’t just collect information; they help you act before it’s too late.

Engagement questions are essential for understanding whether employees are motivated and feel connected to their work. Engaged employees drive performance—as offices with engaged staff can be up to 43% more productive[2], so these questions matter:

• How satisfied are you with your current role?

  What’s one thing that would increase your satisfaction with your role?

• Do you feel recognized for your contributions?

  Can you share an example of when you felt your work was (or wasn’t) acknowledged?

Workload questions tackle whether employees feel stretched too thin—which can quickly lead to burnout and turnover.

• Do you feel your workload is manageable?

  What, if anything, is making your workload harder to manage right now?

• Do you have the tools and resources to do your job well?

  Is there a specific tool or resource that would help you perform better?

You can generate and customize these questions—or design your own—using an AI survey generator that brings research best practices into every step.

Don’t expect instant results from a one-off; these core questions deliver their full value when asked consistently. According to research, organizations with effective feedback processes see 14.9% lower turnover rates[3]. Being proactive here isn’t optional if you want to keep great people—it's foundational to retention and culture.

Questions that reveal team health and collaboration

Team health is often the hardest to gauge—especially in distributed or hybrid teams. Asking the right questions about collaboration and safety helps expose unspoken blockers early on.

Team communication: Without clear communication, even talented teams struggle.

• How would you rate communication within your team?

  When has communication worked well, and when has it broken down recently?

• Does your team share information openly?

  Are there times when you felt left out of important updates or decisions?

Psychological safety: This is the sense that you can share ideas or raise concerns without fear. Without it, feedback drops—and innovation stalls[1].

• Do you feel comfortable sharing ideas and concerns with your team?

  Is there anything that would make it easier to speak up within your team?

• Do you trust your teammates to support you?

  Can you describe a situation where you felt supported (or unsupported) by your team?

Specific’s conversational surveys are intentionally designed to feel like a natural chat, which encourages people to share honestly—even on topics that might feel awkward in person.

Pulse surveys outpace traditional methods in both timeliness and accuracy. Shorter, focused, and more conversational surveys consistently achieve higher response rates, making it easier to track team health[5].

Measuring leadership impact through smart questions

Leadership is often cited as the single most influential factor in employee experience. Your pulse survey should include questions that invite honesty, while AI follow-ups tease out nuance and context for real improvement.

Manager support: Clear, supportive management directly affects retention and engagement.

• Does your manager provide clear direction and feedback?

  Can you describe the last time you received helpful guidance from your manager?

• Do you feel comfortable raising concerns with your manager?

  Are there topics you find difficult to bring up? Why?

Growth conversations: Employees crave opportunities to learn and advance—which is key to satisfaction and loyalty[1].

• Are you having regular career development discussions?

  What would you like to talk about more during these conversations?

• Do you feel supported in your professional growth?

  What support or resources would help you reach your next career goal?

AI-driven surveys can ask diplomatic follow-up questions automatically, probing areas that often go undiscussed. To go deeper or refine these for your own use case, check out how automatic AI follow-up questions uncover actionable feedback without making respondents uncomfortable.

Wellbeing questions that actually drive change

Employee wellbeing is finally getting the attention it deserves. The past few years proved that organizations who care for their people reap measurable rewards—including more resilience and creativity.

Burnout indicators: Burnout isn’t always visible, but it’s measurable if you ask the right way.

• How would you describe your current stress levels?

  Is there a main source of stress at work you wish you could change?

• Have you felt overwhelmed by work in the past month?

  What support would help lighten your load or make things feel more manageable?

Work-life balance: Protecting time off helps retention—burnout leads to departures and drops in productivity.

• Are you able to disconnect from work after hours?

  What, if anything, would help you better separate work from personal life?

• Do you feel encouraged to take breaks and use your vacation time?

  What would make it easier to fully unplug or take time off?

With conversational surveys, employees often describe the experience more as a check-in from a caring manager than an interrogation. The AI follow-ups turn responses into a two-way conversation, making it easier to spot brewing burnout quickly. Regular pulse surveys have even been shown to drive a 5.4% increase in employee happiness year-over-year[1].

Making pulse surveys work in your organization

None of these questions matter unless you execute well: getting the timing and follow-through right is where the value is unlocked.

Survey frequency: Aim to pulse monthly or bi-weekly. Too infrequent, and you miss trends; too frequent, and you risk survey fatigue. Regular cadence gives you leading indicators of engagement and culture shifts[6].

Response rates: Conversational survey formats consistently achieve higher participation than old-school forms. Higher completion means more accurate, actionable data—especially on sensitive topics. Specific’s user-friendly design and chat-like flow lower the barrier for real feedback from every employee.

If you’re not running regular pulse surveys, you’re missing early warning signs of disengagement, burnout, and turnover risks. It’s far better to catch “small” frustrations before they turn into resignation emails—especially as a strong employee experience is now a competitive differentiator.

Don’t let feedback disappear into a black hole: Close the loop by sharing what you learned and describing the actions you’ll take. Analyzing responses is simpler than ever with AI survey response analysis, which extracts patterns and lets you ask follow-up questions directly in an AI chat.

With every pulse, you build trust. With every action, you build loyalty. AI analysis makes it possible to track shifts across multiple surveys over time, turning feedback into a strategic asset—not just a report.

Start gathering meaningful employee feedback today

Launching your first conversational pulse survey can transform employee feedback from a chore into a real driver of engagement and retention. With conversational surveys, it’s amazingly easy to go deeper—getting honest perspectives, root causes, and specific ideas for change. Customize your pulse survey in minutes, launch instantly, and start building a great workplace—one conversation at a time. Better employee retention and engagement are waiting.