15+ Essential company culture questions to ask employees & more

Every company has a unique culture and shared values that may not suit everyone. Luckily, a professional way to learn about a company’s policies and practices is by asking the employees firsthand.

That is why we have gathered 15+ essential questions to ask about a company's work culture that can easily be used in a structured and planned manner. We will also see some tips to have in mind, as well as easy steps to create a survey using the questions below. Let us get started.

What is a company culture?

By definition, company culture is the shared values, practices, behaviors, and working styles combined to make the whole of a company. 

In other words, according to Gary Vaynerchuk, ‘Company culture is the backbone of any successful organization.’ 

A company's work culture consists of many small or big details about the work environment, work-life balance policies, attire rules, etc. Determining if the candidate being interviewed is a good fit for the team is crucial. Asking these questions will ensure employee satisfaction, as both parties will know what to expect from the other.

15+ Must-ask company culture questions to ask in a survey

As a company owner or a manager, you can ask a series of questions to determine what the employees feel about the corporate culture and how the culture fits. The answers you get from the team members may not be what you expected. 

Here are the best questions to ask about company culture and their explanations:

1. How do you feel about the overall work environment in our company?

Asking this question as an open-ended question will allow the employees to write down their opinions freely. They can share their general perceptions and experiences, providing valuable insight.

2. How comfortable do you feel about providing feedback to your managers?

This question mainly assesses if there is open communication between employees and managers/supervisors. İt is also an indirect way of asking about the effectiveness of the feedback mechanisms.

3. Do you think there is a clear path for career advancement within our company?

Employees wish to move up on their career letters and should not feel that obstacles are holding them back. Supported employees feel more like team players, which will positively impact employee retention.

4. Do you feel recognized for the work you do?

You can ask this question to detail the effectiveness of recognition programs and, therefore, overall job satisfaction. Getting recognition for the work you do will directly influence employee engagement.

5. Do you believe that your workload is manageable?

Making sure the employees are not overworked will help prevent potential burnout. A bad scenario in which the employee and the company face serious problems can be very bad. Therefore, ask this question to see if there is any workload imbalance.

6. How well does our company support work-life balance?

Work-life balance is an important factor in employees' mental health and motivation to work. This question will assess the day-to-day effectiveness of policies and practices, unearthing the issues that impact people’s personal and professional lives.

7. Do you have the necessary tools and resources for the job?

It is a good idea to ask about any potential resource gaps and support employees need to do their jobs effectively. Failure to deliver the promised resources is also a factor that affects motivation in a bad way.

8. How well do you think different departments within the company collaborate?

Interdepartmental cooperation may be needed in some areas of the job. If that is the case for your company, you should ask questions that will evaluate and identify areas for improving cross-functional teamwork.

9. What do you think about the effectiveness of our training and development programs?

A company that offers professional development programs and training is a company that thinks about its employees. A question like this can help you assess the impact and effectiveness of these programs.

10. Do you think our company encourages creativity?

Find out if the managers and the overall company support thinking new ideas and creative problem-solving among teammates. Being heard by others is important for growth. If you have a problem with this aspect, you can ask for further details later.

11. How well do you think our company handles employee concerns?

Answering feedback and solving problems is an important factor in the workplace. With this question, you can assess whether supervisors can effectively address and resolve employee issues. 

12. Would you recommend our company as a great place to work to others? Why or why not?

This question helps gauge overall employee satisfaction. It will also let you see areas of improvement you need to work on. Therefore, this question will show you the details you missed.

13. How do you feel about the physical work environment?

In this question, the employees will assess the comfort of the physical workspace, including office layout, cleanliness, amenities, etc. This is an important question, as their work environment directly affects motivation and productivity.

14. Do you believe our company’s policies and procedures are fair and consistently applied?

This question is to determine the company's fairness and trust levels. If there is favoritism or unequal treatment among employees, it will damage team spirit and the sense of belonging. Therefore, consistency in the application of company policies is essential.

15. How effective is our company at recognizing and rewarding high performance?

Even though it is simple, the reward systems motivate employees to excel and go above and beyond. If an employee works hard with no payoff in the end, it is more than likely that they will stop trying as hard.

16. What changes would you suggest to improve our company culture?

Asking this open-ended question will be a safe space for employees to share their opinions and ideas. You never know which employee will have a great idea that will be implemented immediately.

How to create a company culture survey

When creating an online survey of any kind, using a smart tool is the best way to go. forms.app is an effective survey maker, with its completely customizable survey templates and many effective fields. Once you review the interview questions and determine what you want to ask about the workplace culture, you can start creating your company culture survey.

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

Once you log into your account on forms.app, you are presented with different options for creating a survey. The first is to start from scratch, where you pick everything. You can go there by clicking on 'My Forms' on the menu and clicking on 'Blank.' This option will give you a blank canvas to work your imagination to the max.

Start from scratch

The other and even faster option is choosing one of the ready-to-use templates. You can choose from more than 5000+ forms, surveys, and quiz templates. Simply review the surveys, find the most suitable one, such as a company culture survey, and work your way up!

Use template

The third and final option is to work with the smart AI feature of forms.app. It easily generates a survey that you can use in seconds. All you need to do is prompt it, such as, 'Generate a 10-question long company culture survey,' and watch as it does its magic.

Use AI to create your survey

2. Customize the survey

It does not matter how you started your survey; now, it is time to customize it. You can change all the details about the survey, from colors to images, questions, and answer options. You can set professional colors and add the company logo to the survey.

Customize the design

💡Pro Tip: You can also use the AI feature while customizing your survey. For instance, you can have the AI rephrase the questionin a different tone or write answer options for multiple-choice questions.

3. Share it

Share your survey

The next step of the survey is to share it with the appropriate audience. You can copy the unique link of your survey and share it across all social media accounts. You can also easily embed the survey on your website.

4. Analyze the results

Check results to analyze

The results of a company culture survey help identify key trends and patterns. From the data you collected, focus on areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. When analyzing the results, look for recurring themes in open-ended responses and compare quantitative data across different subjects.

5 Expert tips for a better company culture survey

If you follow the simple steps above when creating your survey, you are one step ahead of competitors. Here are 5 more expert tips to remember when you gather questions for company profiles and job satisfaction levels.

✨ Ask clear questions

When you write your questions, ensure the writing is straightforward for everyone to understand. Your questions should not be complicated or confusing, and they should not contain too much jargon.

❓Use different question types

Incorporating various types of questions in your surveys is a good idea. You can use a combination of multiple-choice, Likert scale, and ranking questions. These will provide quantitative data that is easy to analyze. Using open-ended questions will allow people to speak their minds freely. You can also check out the ultimate guide to form questions!

🧪 Test the survey before sharing

Conduct a pilot test with a few participants to ensure no misunderstandings. Use their feedback to identify areas that may need improvements. Then, you can make proper adjustments and ensure data quality.

💯 Keep the survey short

Regardless of the subject of the survey, it is better to keep it as short as possible. Aim for a shorter length rather than longer to avoid survey fatigue. Long surveys may lead to incomplete responses.

🎭 Try anonymity

You can try making the surveys anonymous, ensuring the employees can freely share their thoughts. When there is no guarantee that what they share will not cause them difficulties, they may be unable to speak their minds openly.

Conclusion

The bottom line is company culture is a unique aspect of every workplace, and it can be easily discovered by surveying the employees. We put this article together with company culture questions, an easy guide to conducting the survey, and some expert tips to help you on your journey. 

You can also check out company culture questions for businesses to find out which questions you can ask in the interview process as a job candidate. You can easily find out if that company's culture is suitable for you or not. Live long and prosper!