How to create an employee satisfaction survey in Microsoft Forms

If you look at one of the most successful companies worldwide, you will realize that they generate the most money per employee. You may think that the reason for this is their training, workflow, or policies. While these also have an impact, the first reason for their success is having the best work environment for employee experience. Furthermore, they achieve this level of employee satisfaction by knowing how to use the right tools.

In this article, we will look at what an employee satisfaction survey is, its purpose, how to make an employee satisfaction survey in Microsoft Forms, and a better way to create your surveys. We will also look at why it is important to share an employee satisfaction survey, 20 essential questions for your employee satisfaction survey, and 7 expert tips to have the best survey possible.

What is an employee satisfaction survey?

It is used frequently by large companies and analyzed by employee satisfaction survey software, as it is the easiest way to collect survey data about employee contentment levels.

How to make an employee satisfaction survey in Microsoft Forms

If you would like to create a survey with a professional overlay, Microsoft Forms is one of the best choices to go with. Creating a Microsoft Forms employee survey ensures that you value professionalism and security. Furthermore, the process of creating an employee feedback survey is quite simple. Therefore, you do not have to spend unnecessary resources to create one.

1. Start from scratch or use a template

Template of MS Forms

When starting to create your employee satisfaction survey using Microsoft Forms, you can choose between one of two options: Start from scratch with a blank survey or use a Microsoft Forms survey example template for employee satisfaction. Simply click on New Survey to start from scratch with a blank survey, or find the template by clicking on the Template gallery.

2. Add & edit your questions and answers

Edit or add questions

After choosing your base, it is time to add and edit your questions and answer options. To add a new question, click on one of the question options and click on Add new question to add another. To edit a question, click on the question and make your changes.

3. Customize the visuals

Style your survey

Once you are done with the question-and-answer option process, we recommend spending time on the visuals of your survey. Often overlooked, the visuals of a survey can be a secret weapon to keep the attention of participants. To start the customization process, simply click on the palette icon at the top right corner of the page. 

4. Change the settings and preview your survey

Test your survey

After the overall creation process is done, you can change the general settings of your survey by clicking on the gear icon at the upper right corner of the page. The settings menu allows you to customize the settings regarding responses or the question order, and the Preview menu allows you to see how your form would look on a computer or a mobile device.

5. Share your survey and view responses

Share your survey

When the process of customizing the details is over, it is now time to share your survey with your employees and collect the necessary feedback. To share your survey, simply head to the Collect responses section. This section also allows you to change small settings in the sharing process and make customizations.

Check the results

After you share your survey and start collecting responses, you can begin to analyze the data you have collected by heading to the Responses section. The Responses section lets you see various aspects of your form and details about the question responses.

As we have mentioned, the value of employee feedback statistics is vital for the success of an organization, and the right tools should be used in order to collect high-quality data. While Microsoft Forms can considered to create this tool, apparent issues of lagging and the lack of variety when it comes to templates may force you to look for more suitable alternatives, such as forms.app.

A better alternative to MS Forms: forms.app

If you would like to get ahead of the competition and make a difference in your company with the best employee satisfaction survey possible, we recommend experimenting with the advanced features of forms.app. Not only do forms.app offers specialized features; it also takes standard features to the next level to allow the best experience for you and your employees.

1. Choose a template, start from scratch, or use forms.app AI

Choose a beginning option

When creating your survey base in forms.app, you have the option to choose between one of three starting points: start from scratch and have complete creative control with a blank form, use our employee satisfaction survey template, or use forms.app AI to create a personalized survey in a matter of seconds.

2. Edit the questions or add your own

Add or edit questions

After you choose your base to start creating your survey, you can begin editing the questions or adding your own. Simply go to the Fields tab within the Build section to add your questions, and edit or delete a question by clicking on any question you would like and making the necessary changes.

Use dedicated fields

One advanced feature we recommend experimenting with is dedicated fields. The dedicated fields are created for specific scenarios and can elevate your survey’s level of accessibility. Head to the Fields tab to see our collection of dedicated fields, such as an Opinion Scale, Terms & Conditions field, or a Picture Selection field.

3. Customize your survey design

Choose a beginning option

forms.app also offers many advanced features when it comes to the visual design department of your survey. To edit your form’s visuals, go to the Design tab within the Build section. However, you have the option to edit your theme and font colors, primary form colors, background images, border radiuses, and many other settings from the Customize section within the Design tab.

4. Connect your survey to your everyday apps

Use integrations

With forms.app, you can connect your survey to other business applications and sync your data with them. Go to the Connect section to link it to any third-party apps your business uses, such as Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, and Slack. This way, you will transfer your data to your other applications whenever you get a response.

5. Share your survey

Share your survey

Once everything is done, you can head to the Share section to share your form. The Share section is not just for sharing your form. You can also customize the domain of your form, use the shortcuts for sharing your form quickly on social media platforms, or customize the embedding of your form to your website.

Bonus: Enable email notifications

After you share your form, we recommend turning on your email notifications so as not to miss any updates from your employees. You can turn on your email notifications by heading to the Settings section, clicking Notification settings, and selecting the option to notify your email address.

Advantages of using employee satisfaction surveys

Now that you have learned the what and how of an employee satisfaction survey, it is time to learn the why. “Why should you use and share an employee satisfaction survey?” While often overlooked by companies, the employee satisfaction survey can ensure a boost in your success that you would not be able to get anywhere else. Further advantages of employee satisfaction surveys include, but are not limited to:

1. Cost-effective tool for valuable data collection: The employee satisfaction survey is arguably the most cost-effective way to collect crucial employee data. You can create a free survey from any form builder and connect your data to workflows.

2. Opportunity to track changes over time: By conducting several satisfaction surveys in a year, you can make yearly analyses and track changes in satisfaction levels.

3. Gives your employees a positive message: A well-crafted employee satisfaction survey gives your employees a positive message and shows them that you hear their complaints.

4. Improves communication and mental health: Employee satisfaction surveys improve communication between employees and managers. Furthermore, it spreads the message about the importance of mental health.

5. Improve customer satisfaction: By improving employee satisfaction, you can increase productivity and customer satisfaction. As the satisfaction of your employees and your customers are connected, you can hit two birds with one stone.

20 Essential employee satisfaction survey questions

If you want to create the best employee satisfaction surveys for your organization, you must know which questions to ask. Apart from our expert tips, which we will get to in a moment, knowing which questions to ask in an employee satisfaction survey can decide the quality of the data you collect. That is why we have gathered 20 of these vital questions to give you a good head start.

1. What is your full name?

2. What is your email address?

3. How long have you been working for our company?

4. Do you enjoy working with your colleagues?

5. Do you feel like you are part of a team?

6. Do you feel the company is open to your new ideas?

7. What is your level of satisfaction with working for our company?

8. How well does the company communicate within itself?

9. How well does the company handle minor and major problems?

10. Do you feel that you contribute to the success of the company?

11. Do you think that your work is meaningful?

12. Do you think that you are valued within the company?

13. Do you struggle when trying to achieve your work goals?

14. Do you think the company does well when distributing the workload?

15. Would you want your friends and family to work for our company?

16. Does your job cause you stress?

17. Do you feel that you are growing professionally?

18. Do you feel like you are developing new skills at your job?

19. Are you satisfied with your pay rate and compensation?

20. If you had the chance, how much would you change about your benefits package?

7 Expert tips for creating a better employee satisfaction survey

If you want to create the most engaging employee surveys, you must spend as much time as necessary on details. Apart from the questions you ask, always keeping in mind the crucial details can ensure your survey stands out from the competition. For this reason, we have gathered 7 expert tips to help you understand the importance of these details and implement them in your following survey.

1. Collect contact information: If your employees agree to participate in the survey using their names, try to collect contact information. This action will allow you to reach out to them when solving any personal complaints.

2. Experiment with different question types: Try to experiment with different question types, such as multiple-choice or open-ended questions, to keep the attention of the participant.

3. Try to keep it short: Try to keep it short and to the point to keep the quality of the data high and not bore the participants.

4. Make the form understandable and accessible: In order to combat misunderstandings and decrease the quality of the data, try to make the form as accessible and understandable as possible.

5. Send an automated response e-mail: Send an automated response email to the participants after they have completed the survey to notify them that you have received their data and will analyze it.

Wrapping it up

In short, an employee satisfaction survey is one of the best tools that you can use to increase productivity, solve ongoing problems, and gather essential data about your employees. It is a tool used by the most successful companies worldwide, and no matter how big or small, every company should have an employee satisfaction survey in their inventory.

In this article, we have looked at an employee satisfaction survey and its purpose, how to create an employee satisfaction survey in Microsoft Forms and a better way to create your surveys with forms.app. We have also looked at why it is vital to share your employee satisfaction survey and 20 questions to include in your survey, adding 7 expert tips. 

Armed with this knowledge, create the best employee satisfaction survey for your business.