90 Great Employee Listening Session Questions for Eye-Opening Insights
Corporate communication hinges on better listening, so employee listening sessions are a gold mine for organizational growth, offering unfiltered insights directly from those who know the workings of your company best. But, to strike gold, you need the right tools—or, in this case, the right questions.
You want to ask questions that make them comfortable opening up but still give you truly insightful answers. You also want to engage all employees rather than just hearing from the loudest voices.
Here's a comprehensive list with 90 employee listening session questions to guide you through these invaluable conversations, categorized for ease of use and maximum impact.
👂90 Great employee listening session questions
Here's a list of questions exploring various workplace themes to help you gain high-quality, actionable insights from your people.
🌱 Learning and development
Skill lifecycles are compressing. The following section focuses on how well your company is helping employees adapt their skill sets to changing times.
- Do you have access to skills training needed for career growth?
- Are leadership development opportunities accessible if desired?
- Is onboarding effective in setting you up for success?
- Does the company invest in emerging talent?
- Are opportunities for continuous learning available?
- Can you get mentoring or coaching if requested?
- Do managers support personalized development plans?
- Does the organization offer tuition reimbursement or learning stipends, if relevant?
- Can you build specialty skills critical for advancement?
- Are professional certifications encouraged and rewarded?
💸 Compensation and benefits
Pay will always be one of the top factors when it comes to job satisfaction. Is your company paying fairly, according to job capacity and market rates?
- Compared to the market rate, is compensation fair for your role?
- Are raises and bonuses tied clearly to performance?
- How competitive are overall benefits like leave, healthcare, and 401k?
- Does everyone understand compensation structure and principles?
- Are salaries and equity transparent and equitable company-wide?
- Can outstanding achievements lead to special compensation rewards?
- Would expanded family leave add value for work-life management?
- Is flexibility for remote work or custom schedules supported?
- What benefit offerings should be reevaluated in the future?
- Are retirement readiness resources sufficient?
👩⚕️ Health, safety, and well-being
These questions help you understand if the existing support systems at work need repair.
- Does the company prioritize employee health, safety, and well-being?
- Do you feel sufficiently supported for work-life balance?
- What additional well-being resources are needed?
- Are mental health and counseling benefits comprehensive if needed?
- Has leadership established reasonable workload expectations?
- Do leaders encourage taking ample time off for renewal?
- Are staff safety training and emergency preparedness sufficient?
- Are healthy food and movement options supported in the workplace?
- What potential employee health risks need addressing?
- Could dependent care benefits be expanded further?
🤝 Workplace culture
The following aims to uncover lived culture versus aspirations.
- How would you describe our workplace culture?
- Does leadership actively nurture an inclusive, diverse culture?
- Do your values align with organizational values? Where is there misalignment?
- Does management reinforce cultural values through visible behaviors?
- Is change and risk-taking encouraged or suppressed?
- Do you feel a sense of community, recognition, and belonging?
- Is there sufficient opportunity for employee social connections and events?
- Do leaders hold every team member to consistent conduct standards?
- What behaviors would you like to see more or less of daily?
- If you could transform aspects of the culture overnight, what changes would have a significant impact?
🤩 Job satisfaction
Employees with high job satisfaction drive stronger business performance. The following gauges daily energy, sources of fulfillment, and areas needing support.
- On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you in your current role?
- What are your primary sources of satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work?
- Do you look forward to coming to work the majority of days?
- How energized and engaged do you feel most days?
- Have you had the urge to look for jobs elsewhere recently? Why?
- If a friend asked, would you recommend working here?
- What additional resources or support would meaningfully improve your happiness?
- In your view, is work recognized and valued appropriately by leadership?
- Do you feel able to apply your full talents and creativity?
- Are professional goals achievable here or limited due to constraints?
💼 Management effectiveness
These questions explore perceptions around empowerment levels, alignment practices, and managerial effectiveness.
- How supported and empowered do you feel by your direct supervisor(s)?
- Do managers show genuine care for staff well-being and growth?
- Can you trust leadership decisions made by supervisors?
- Are expectations and priorities clearly defined?
- Is critical feedback delivered supportively?
- Are manager communication style and frequency optimal for you?
- Do leaders embody and reinforce our stated cultural values?
- Is decision-making by managers sufficiently inclusive of staff input?
- Are emerging high-potential leaders being developed effectively through management rotations?
- If you could change one thing about your manager, what would have the biggest impact?
🚀 Personal growth
Finally, we assess barriers and enablers for realizing career growth and potential.
- Do you have clear opportunities for career development and advancement?
- Can you access stretch assignments or projects desired for growth?
- Are individual mentors available as needed for guidance?
- Does your role allow you to expand skills, influence, and impact over time?
- Do leaders support experimentation with innovative ideas or approaches?
- Can you pursue personalized training and experiential learning aligned to your interests?
- Is continuing education or tuition reimbursement offered if relevant?
- Are achievements and exceptional contributions formally recognized?
- What additional opportunities would be most meaningful for realizing your potential?
- If you succeed in developing new capabilities, is career progression achievable here?
⚙️ Facilities and equipment
Are you optimizing the physical work environment? Upcoming questions investigate if current environments empower or impair.
- Do you have the proper tools and tech needed for your role?
- Are equipment and devices kept up to date?
- Does the physical workspace support productivity and well-being?
- Is sufficient informal space available for focus work or meetings?
- Are noise levels, lighting, and temperature optimal in your area?
- What upgrades are needed in your physical environment?
- Are there enough conference rooms and shared resources accessible when needed?
- Can you easily connect devices or access networks as required?
- Are refreshments or other support readily available during the workday?
- For remote staff, is the stipend enough for ergonomic home office needs?
📈 Innovation and change
The following questions explore whether your employee perceives your organization as capable of change.
- Does our organization seem receptive to new ideas from all levels?
- Can you experiment and take smart risks without repercussions?
- How agile and adaptive are we to market changes?
- Does leadership act on employee suggestions for improvement?
- Are processes streamlined to accelerate innovation cycles?
- What obstacles exist to bringing new ideas or products to market?
- Does management provide adequate resources for testing innovations?
- Are innovators recognized for their contributions?
- Are employee ideas shared across departments?
- Do leaders exemplify adaptability themselves?
💡Tips for crafting effective listening session questions
Use open-ended questions
Asking open-ended questions allows employees to elaborate and share context beyond just a "yes" or "no." This sources richer, qualitative feedback during listening sessions.
For example, in an exit interview for a departing employee, ask, "What specific factors shaped your decision to leave the company?" instead of asking, "Was our pay too low?". This gets them to answer your question and discuss multiple aspects like work culture, growth opportunities, and compensation.
Good example: What challenges have you faced in your day-to-day work?
Bad example: Do you feel challenged in your work?
Seeking to innovate talent practices, PayPal India's VP Jayanthi Vaidyanathan used open-ended questions to uncover needs. The company asked all levels questions like:
- What obstacles do you face?
- How can we build an optimal culture?
Questions like these revealed dissatisfaction with career growth. Paypal responded with new mentorships and rotational assignments. As Vaidyanath explains, "Our adaptable listening framework is key for advancement."
Ask role-related questions
Tailor questions to each role and department. Asking about tools and processes your employees don't actually use is irrelevant, even if you get answers — they're not based on lived experience, are they?
For example, when surveying customer support representatives, focus your questions on the knowledge management systems, ticketing workflows, etc., they use daily.
Good example: What tools help you be most effective in your current role?
Bad example: How effective are the accounting software tools?
Ask simply worded questions
Picture yourself writing an employee engagement survey going out to all your staff.
Will you use loads of subtle references that only your core team understands?
You won't gather much intel from your survey if it's filled with wordy questions or subtleties only a handful will understand.
Questions should be written in clear, simple language. Avoid complex vocabulary and industry jargon. The phrasing should translate clearly across diverse roles, backgrounds, and education levels, or you'll miss out on valuable information.
Good example: What aspects of our product design process work well?
Bad example: Comment on efficacious elements of ideation sessions.
Don't suggest answers
Phrasing key questions in a leading or suggestive manner invalidates results by encouraging employees to respond in pre-determined ways. Maintain a neutral tone that doesn't reveal desired answers.
For example, in a reference check interview about a job candidate, ask openly about strengths and weaknesses instead of saying, "She was a great culture fit, right?" which pressures them to agree.
Good example: What kind of training would help you in your role?
Bad example: Don't you think more training would be helpful?
Treat criticism constructively
Frame questions that let participants share both positive and critical feedback freely. Welcome all perspectives by avoiding phrasing that skews towards positive or negative.
For example, ask managers, "What aspects of current leadership strategy are working well? What areas can be improved?" This elicits balanced, constructive feedback.
Good example: What parts of the product release process work well, and what parts could be improved?
Bad example: Tell me what needs to be fixed in the release process.
🏆 How do you facilitate a listening session? 3 Best practices for creating the right environment for listening sessions
The key to facilitating insightful listening sessions is fostering an atmosphere where employees feel safe, respected, and assured their feedback is valued.
Communicate clearly
As a facilitator, communicate the measures put in place to enable open, honest dialog.
Offer anonymity
Clearly state the confidentiality policies, anonymity options, and enforcement of no retaliation for perspectives shared. Emphasize that constructive feedback will lead to tangible follow-up actions from leadership without repercussions for the sharer.
Guarantee objectivity
Consider using a neutral, outside facilitator rather than an internal manager to reduce perceived bias. Look for facilitators who exemplify active listening, empathy, and communication skills.
They should allow participants to voluntarily pass on answering sensitive questions without pressure. For richer insights, ensure the listening group reflects the full diversity of the workplace.
Listening sessions provide invaluable employee perspectives in the hands of a skilled, impartial facilitator focused on psychological safety. But common pitfalls like leading questions, dismissive reactions, lack of representation, or no visible follow-up will undermine trust in the process and sabotage objectives.
➡️ Get guidance on sharpening your overall employee listening strategy with best practices.
💡 Find actionable tips for improving workplace satisfaction.
➡️ Make every employee voice matter with Zavvy
Effective listening starts with the right tools to amplify every voice. Make employee perspectives matter by centralizing listening sessions in one place. Here's how you can do that with Zavvy.
With Zavvy's dedicated meeting software, you will:
- Collaborate to shape the agenda ahead of time, so all feel heard.
- Capture action items and notes centrally so no insights get lost.
- Send pulse questions ahead of meetings to regularly check in on engagement, culture fit, development barriers, and more.
- Access insights over time with meeting history and progress tracking.
Don't let scattershot meetings and buried notes sabotage your culture.
📅 With Zavvy, create a structure for listening sessions that transform retention, inclusion, and workplace satisfaction at scale. Book a demo now.
❓ FAQs
What are listening sessions for?
You provide employees a venue to share candid perspectives through listening sessions so you can understand their needs and strengthen company culture.
How long should a listening session be?
Aim for listening sessions of 60 minutes or less so participants can remain actively engaged without fatigue.
How do you structure a listening session?
You effectively structure a listening session by:
- Establishing ground rules
- Posing open-ended questions to participants
- Capturing detailed notes
- Analyzing patterns in the feedback for a deeper understanding
What is the difference between a focus group and a listening session?
A focus group centers discussion around specific products/services while you gain broader organizational insights from employees in a listening session.