The point of a pulse isn’t the score, it’s the trend. Keep two or three anchor questions identical every time (energy, workload, eNPS), rotate the rest, and make it anonymous so the answers are worth reading. Why bother? Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace research puts the share of engaged employees worldwide at about one in five (20% in 2025, per its 2026 report). Most teams can’t afford to find out once a year.
Which questions measure engagement and energy?
Good anchor questions — ask them the same way every time.
- How would you rate your energy at work this week? (1–5)
- In one word, how does work feel right now? (word cloud)
- How motivated are you by the work you’re doing? (1–5)
- Do you look forward to starting the week? (yes / mostly / no)
- How proud are you of what your team shipped this month? (1–5)
- What gave you the most energy at work lately? (open text)
What should you ask about workload and wellbeing?
The early-warning questions. A slow drift here comes before burnout and resignations.
- How manageable is your workload right now? (light / manageable / heavy / unsustainable)
- How often did you work outside your normal hours this month? (never / sometimes / often)
- Can you switch off from work when your day ends? (1–5)
- What’s taking up time it shouldn’t? (open text)
- Do you have enough focus time to do your best work? (yes / sometimes / no)
- How sustainable is your current pace for the next three months? (1–5)
Which questions check manager support?
The questions that most need anonymity — people rarely rate their manager honestly with their name attached.
- Does your manager give you useful feedback? (1–5)
- Do you feel comfortable raising a problem with your manager? (yes / mostly / no)
- Did you get the support you needed this month? (1–5)
- Do you know what’s expected of you right now? (1–5)
- What’s one thing your manager could do more of? (open text)
- Do you feel recognized for good work? (1–5)
What should you ask about communication and alignment?
Whether the strategy reached the people doing the work — the same gap a town hall tries to close.
- How clear are your team’s priorities this quarter? (1–5)
- Do you understand how your work connects to company goals? (yes / partly / no)
- Do you get the information you need to do your job on time? (1–5)
- Which source do you trust most for company news? (single choice)
- What’s one decision you’d like explained better? (open text)
- How well do teams you depend on work with yours? (1–5)
Which questions cover growth and retention?
- Are you learning something new in your role? (1–5)
- Can you see a path to grow here? (yes / not sure / no)
- Do you see yourself working here a year from now? (yes / not sure / no)
- What would make you more likely to stay? (open text)
- Which skill would you most like support developing? (single choice)
How do you ask eNPS and the open-ended closers?
eNPS is the workplace version of the Net Promoter question: a 0–10 scale, scored as the % of 9–10s minus the % of 0–6s. Follow it with one open question so you know why the number moved.
- How likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work? (0–10, eNPS)
- How likely are you to recommend your team to a friend looking for a job? (0–10)
- What’s the main reason for your score? (open text)
- What’s one thing we should start doing? (open text)
- What’s one thing we should stop doing? (open text)
- Anything else leadership should hear? (anonymous, open text)
How to run a pulse survey people keep answering
- Keep it to five to ten questions. Two minutes, not twenty. Rotate the non-anchor questions.
- Make it anonymous — and say so plainly. What “anonymous” actually means is worth reading before you promise it.
- Ask in the room when you can. A three-question pulse at the start of an all-hands or team meeting gets answered by the people present; an emailed link competes with the inbox. See live polls for team meetings.
- Share the results and one action. “You said workload was heavy; here’s what we’re dropping” is the reason people answer the next one honestly.
Running a company-wide session instead? Use the town hall meeting questions and the guide on how to run a town hall meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should an employee pulse survey have?
Five to ten. A pulse is meant to be quick and repeated, so it should take a couple of minutes at most. Keep two or three anchor questions identical every time so you can see the trend, and rotate the rest.
How often should you run a pulse survey?
Often enough to see change, rarely enough that people still answer — monthly or quarterly suits most teams. Weekly works only if the survey is a single question and you visibly act on it.
Should pulse surveys be anonymous?
Yes. Questions about managers, workload and trust only get honest answers when nobody can be identified. In small teams, also avoid splitting results into groups so small that individuals become recognizable.
What is eNPS?
Employee Net Promoter Score is an adaptation of the Net Promoter Score question (introduced by Fred Reichheld in Harvard Business Review in 2003) to the workplace: "How likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work?" on a 0–10 scale. The score is the percentage of 9–10 answers minus the percentage of 0–6 answers.
Key takeaways
- A pulse is short and repeated — the trend matters more than any single score.
- Keep two or three anchor questions fixed; rotate the rest.
- Manager and workload questions need anonymity to be useful.
- Share the results and one action, or response rates fall.
Run a live, anonymous pulse in your next meeting
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