An employee pulse survey helps you understand what's really happening with your team—their challenges, wins, and everything in between. When done right, these quick check-ins surface actionable insights that can move your organization forward. Pulse surveys work best when they’re quick, focused, and actually spark conversations (not just data collection). Here, I’m sharing the 25 best questions for your next employee pulse survey, organized by five key themes.
What makes a great pulse survey question
Great pulse survey questions are specific, actionable, and open doors to deeper insights. Each question should serve a clear purpose—whether it’s about understanding alignment, workload, recognition, support, or wellbeing. The real magic happens when you can ask smart follow-up questions right after someone's initial response, letting you dig past surface-level answers and get to the heart of what matters most. Platforms like Specific shine here, with automatic AI follow-up questions that dynamically probe for clarity or deeper context. That’s why for every question in this list, I’ll suggest an AI-powered follow-up probe to level up your insights.
Alignment questions that reveal how connected employees feel
Alignment questions help you understand if employees know where the company is going and how their work fits into the bigger picture. Here's a set of five to start meaningful alignment conversations:
Do you feel clear about the company’s current goals and priorities?
AI follow-up: Can you share an example of a goal that feels especially clear or unclear?How well does your daily work align with our company’s mission and vision?
AI follow-up: What’s one way your work directly connects (or doesn’t) to the mission?Do you understand how your role contributes to our broader strategy?
AI follow-up: Which parts of the strategy impact your role most?How transparent is decision-making about changes affecting your work?
AI follow-up: Can you recall a time when you felt fully, or insufficiently, informed?Are you clear on what’s expected of you this quarter?
AI follow-up: What expectations could be clarified further?
These questions surface alignment gaps, revealing where leadership vision doesn’t quite match employee understanding—often the root of disengagement. Alignment clarity is foundational, especially considering that only 30% of US employees feel engaged in their roles today [2].
Workload questions that uncover balance issues
Workload questions light up where teams risk burnout, reveal under-resourcing, and point to process breakdowns. Here are five to ask:
Is your current workload manageable?
AI follow-up: What’s the biggest factor affecting your workload right now?Do you have the resources you need to do your job well?
AI follow-up: What additional resource would help you the most?How often do you feel you’re working on the most important tasks?
AI follow-up: What gets in the way of focusing on high-priority work?Are there regular bottlenecks or slowdowns in your work?
AI follow-up: What’s one process or tool that creates friction?Do you have enough time for non-work priorities outside your job?
AI follow-up: Is there something that would make work-life balance easier for you?
Following up here often reveals specific bottlenecks—maybe a slow approval queue, or too many meetings—and highlights practical improvements you can tackle now. Since organizations with highly engaged employees see 41% lower absenteeism and 21% higher profitability, keeping workloads balanced is not just about employee happiness, but business success [4][3].
Recognition questions that measure appreciation
Feeling recognized isn't a nice-to-have; it drives engagement and keeps talented people onboard. Try these questions:
Do you feel genuinely valued for your contributions?
AI follow-up: Can you recall a time you truly felt appreciated at work?When you do a great job, how often is it recognized?
AI follow-up: What form of recognition feels most meaningful to you?How regularly do peers or colleagues acknowledge your work?
AI follow-up: What’s one recent example of peer recognition (or its absence)?How are team or company successes celebrated here?
AI follow-up: Is there a recent win you think could have been celebrated better?Do you get specific and actionable feedback, or mostly vague praise?
AI follow-up: What’s the most helpful feedback you’ve received recently?
What stands out here: recognition issues are often systemic, not just about individual managers. Only 37% of employees say recognition is present where they work, but it’s the single strongest driver of job satisfaction [9]. Addressing recognition pays dividends for culture, retention, and team spirit.
Manager support questions that strengthen relationships
Your relationship with a manager makes or breaks engagement—managers literally matter most. Here are key manager support questions:
Do you have regular one-on-ones with your manager?
AI follow-up: What makes your one-on-ones valuable (or not)?Does your manager support your professional growth and career development?
AI follow-up: What's one thing your manager could do to better support your growth?Are your goals and expectations clear as communicated by your manager?
AI follow-up: When have expectations been unclear, and how did it impact you?Do you feel psychologically safe bringing up challenges or mistakes with your manager?
AI follow-up: Can you share an example where you felt heard (or not)?Does your manager advocate for your needs and wellbeing?
AI follow-up: What’s a specific way you’ve felt supported recently?
These questions give managers clear feedback on where they can help their team—not about ego, but effectiveness. Managerial support is a proven lever: organizations investing in manager development see much higher engagement scores [1].
Wellbeing questions that show you care
Wellbeing covers more than stress levels—it's the foundation of sustainable performance and satisfaction. Consider these five:
How are your current stress levels at work?
AI follow-up: What’s contributing most to your stress lately?Does the company provide adequate mental health or wellbeing resources?
AI follow-up: Are there additional resources or support you wish existed?How would you describe the workplace culture’s impact on your wellbeing?
AI follow-up: What's one change that could improve the culture?Do you feel flexibility is supported (remote work, time off, etc.)?
AI follow-up: Can you share a time when flexibility mattered to you?Overall, how happy are you working here?
AI follow-up: What’s one thing that would increase your overall happiness?
Wellbeing questions only work if people feel psychologically safe to answer honestly. High engagement here links directly to reduced absenteeism and improved retention—engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave [5].
Turn these questions into conversations with AI
Creating your pulse survey takes minutes, not hours. You can use the AI survey generator from Specific to assemble your own tailored employee pulse survey from scratch, or by starting with these 25 questions and probes. Just share what you want to measure—for example:
Create an employee pulse survey focused on alignment, workload, recognition, manager support, and wellbeing. For each question, include an AI-powered follow-up to probe for details wherever possible.
Once your responses roll in, analyzing doesn’t have to be manual drudgery. With AI survey response analysis, you can chat directly with an AI about results, asking things like “What are the top workload concerns?” or “How do high performers describe our feedback culture?” The platform’s AI summaries distill themes across every response—saving you hours of manual analysis and surfacing actionable insights, fast.
Ready to actually hear from your team?
Start understanding your team’s real experience—what’s working, what isn’t, and what you can do to move the needle. Create a conversational employee pulse survey your team actually wants to complete, and turn honest answers into smarter action.