What Is an Employee Engagement Survey and Why Does It Matter?

In a previous post, we discussed the psychology of new beginnings. The New Year is a natural marker to bring about new ideas, change, and renewed energy. There is a real buzz to the new year that can fizzle pretty quickly if your senior leaders don’t take advantage of it.

So, why not begin 2026 by connecting with your employees in a meaningful way? Why not begin by asking your teams about how they’re doing?

Don’t underestimate the power of asking, listening, and acting.

What is an Employee Engagement Survey?

• Perceptions of senior management
• Confidence in organizational leadership
• Trust
• Fairness
• Values
• Respect


Survey items that measure how employees relate to supervisors and perceive manager performance include:

• Feeling valued and how they are treated
• The quality of feedback received from direct supervisors.
• Motivation
• The capacity of the managers to develop a cohesive team.
• Defining expectations
• Holding employees accountable
• Focused on delivering results.




Key reasons employee engagement surveys matter:

Employee engagement isn’t a compliance issue. It’s the foundation of any organization’s success. Without data, senior leaders can fall into creating policies based on anecdote and gossip.


“On what high-performing companies should be striving to create: A great place for great people to do great work.” - Marilyn Carlson, former CEO of Carlson Companies


Engagement surveys increase employee engagement (when done right!)



Here are the benefits of engagement surveys:




• They provide your staff with a formal platform to voice their opinions about company culture, senior leaders, and how they experience work.
• They are data-driven. This means they provide your senior leaders with concrete data on what’s working, what’s not, and why.
• A good survey platform has benchmark data – concrete numbers that reveal how your organization compares to others, not only within the same industry but also across the board.
• Staff questionnaires can drive strategic change. Actionable data provides your leaders with the necessary information to make targeted improvements. These can be tracked over time.
• They build trust and transparency. Surveys create a meaningful feedback loop where employees feel heard and see how their feedback is put into action.


Create a culture of accountability with data you can trust. Take advantage of the buzz of the New Year to administer a survey and take action. This is your roadmap to success.