When it comes to measuring employee engagement, one size rarely fits all. Yet, many organisations face a common dilemma: should they use an out-of-the-box survey solution or invest in a fully customised approach tailored to their workforce? Each option offers distinct advantages—and potential drawbacks. Out-of-the-box tools are quick to implement, cost-effective, and often backed by proven benchmarks and templates. On the other hand, customised surveys allow for deeper alignment with company culture, business goals, and employee language, potentially leading to richer, more actionable insights.
The right choice depends on several factors—your organisation's size, goals, budget, and the level of insight you're aiming for. In this blog, we’ll break down the pros and cons of each approach, share real-world examples, and help you decide which option delivers the most value for your unique context. Whether you’re launching your first engagement survey or looking to upgrade an existing process, understanding the difference between these two paths is essential to getting meaningful results—and driving real change.
Engagement Model
Yours 'vs' tried & tested?
Using a tried-and-tested employee engagement model offers several key advantages, especially for organisations seeking a quick and reliable solution. These models—such as Gallup’s Q12 or eNPS—are grounded in research and have been refined over time, offering proven validity and consistency. They are typically easy to implement, cost-effective, and come with benchmarking capabilities, allowing companies to compare their engagement levels against industry standards or global data. This can be especially helpful for gaining executive buy-in and tracking progress over time. Additionally, pre-built models are often scalable and straightforward to communicate across teams and locations.
However, the convenience of an off-the-shelf model comes with limitations. These frameworks may lack the flexibility to reflect your organisation’s unique culture, values, or strategic goals. Employees may find the questions too generic, which can reduce the relevance and impact of the feedback. Moreover, insights derived from these models might be too broad, making it difficult for managers to identify specific, actionable improvements at the local level. In contrast, a custom-built model can be tailored to align with your business priorities and language, driving deeper engagement and more meaningful results. Ultimately, the decision depends on your organisation’s needs, resources, and the level of insight required to drive real change.
Selecting Question Types
Likert, eNPS, open-ended etc.?
When designing an employee engagement survey, the types of questions you use play a crucial role in the quality and depth of the insights you gather. A well-balanced survey typically includes a mix of eNPS, Likert scale, and open-ended questions, each serving a specific purpose.
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is a widely used metric that asks employees how likely they are to recommend their organisation as a place to work, typically on a scale from 0 to 10. This single-question format offers a quick snapshot of overall engagement and loyalty. While it's useful for tracking trends over time, eNPS is best used alongside other questions, as it doesn't explain the reasons behind a score.
Likert scale questions are a staple of most engagement surveys. These questions ask respondents to rate their level of agreement with specific statements, typically on a 5- or 7-point scale (e.g., "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"). Likert scales are ideal for measuring attitudes and perceptions across a range of topics such as leadership, recognition, communication, and workload. They produce quantifiable data that can be easily compared and benchmarked.
Open-ended questions allow employees to provide detailed, qualitative feedback in their own words. Questions like “What could we do to improve your experience at work?” or “What’s the best thing about working here?” give context to the numerical data and often surface issues or suggestions that might otherwise be missed. However, they require more time to analyse and interpret.
By combining these three question types, organisations can collect both broad and deep insights—quantitative data for benchmarking and trend analysis, and qualitative input for understanding the “why” behind the scores. This holistic approach increases the likelihood of driving meaningful action and improving employee engagement over time.
In addition, being able to add your own scoring crteria can be a great way to customise the survey outcomes without customising your question or sticking to exact methodologies.
Building a Question Set
Template, devise your own or a mixture?
Using an out-of-the-box question set for employee engagement surveys offers several advantages, particularly for organisations looking for speed, consistency, and benchmarked insights. Pre-designed question sets are grounded in research and have been tested across various industries. This gives organisations confidence in the reliability and validity of the data they collect. These questions are also designed to be clear, concise, and easily understood by employees, which can increase response rates and reduce confusion.
Another major advantage is the ability to benchmark results against other organisations. Standardised question sets allow for meaningful comparisons across teams, departments, and even competitors, helping leaders see where they stand. Additionally, using an out-of-the-box approach saves significant time and resources, especially for organisations without dedicated HR analytics teams. The simplicity and scalability of these models make them ideal for companies running surveys across multiple locations or regions.
However, while out-of-the-box surveys are efficient, they may lack the flexibility to address company-specific issues. Still, for organisations just starting out or seeking a consistent, research-backed approach, they offer a solid foundation for measuring and improving employee engagement.
Delivery Method
Written, email, WhatsApp, SMS, Intranet etc.?
When sending out employee engagement surveys, the communication channel you choose can significantly impact response rates and data quality. Email remains the most common method, offering a professional format with space for detailed messaging and branding. It allows you to include links, visuals, and context, making it ideal for longer surveys or when confidentiality is important. Email also integrates easily with most HR systems for tracking responses.
WhatsApp, on the other hand, offers immediacy and familiarity. Employees are likely to see and open a WhatsApp message quickly, which can lead to faster responses. It's especially useful for reaching frontline or remote workers who may not regularly check email. WhatsApp also supports rich content and conversational surveys, which can make the process feel more personal and engaging. However, privacy concerns and contact database limitations may be a factor.
SMS is a simple but powerful option for short surveys or single-question check-ins. It’s universally accessible—even on non-smartphones—and doesn't require an internet connection. SMS messages have extremely high open rates, but they are limited in length and interactivity, making them better for pulse surveys than detailed engagement assessments.
Ultimately, the best method depends on your workforce’s habits, access to technology, and the type of feedback you want to gather.
Communications
Before, during and after the survey
The quality of information your workforce recieves before, during and after the survey could significantly increase the likelihood of individuals completing the survey. The messages have to be timely, compelling and easy to understand. They must also build trust in the process - for example the ability for technology to guarantee data security and participant annonymity.
Examples of communications could be;
- How do you inform your workforce about the pending engagment survey?
- What do you inform them?
- Can you customise the messages that appear when the survey is sent?
- Can you send reminders mid-survey to encourage completions?
- Can you customise thank you messages or 'what to expect next' messages once a survey closes?
- Can you tailor how you share results back with the business?
Ultimately, the best systems will give you flexibility to tailor your messages whilst also providing good templates and times to send the messages too.
Segmentation
Segment your way or their way?
Segmenting employees in an engagement survey allows you to uncover deeper insights and identify trends across different groups. Common segmentation methods include gender, length of service, department or function, which helps highlight team-specific issues, such as communication challenges in operations or workload concerns in sales. Location is another key factor—especially in global or multi-site organisations—where engagement levels may vary due to cultural or environmental differences.
Segmenting by seniority or role level (e.g., frontline, manager, executive) can reveal how perceptions of leadership or career growth differ across the hierarchy. Tenure is useful to compare new hires’ experiences with those of long-term employees. Some organisations also segment by employment type (e.g., full-time, part-time, contractor) or age group, offering generational insight into engagement drivers. By applying segmentation thoughtfully, organisations can tailor actions more effectively and avoid one-size-fits-all solutions, ensuring engagement strategies are relevant and targeted for each employee group.
Results Analysis
Standardised dahboards or build your own?
Analysing employee engagement survey results effectively requires a structured approach and the right tools to turn data into actionable insights. The first step is to review overall scores for key engagement indicators such as eNPS, satisfaction, and commitment. Next, apply segmentation filters—by department, location, tenure, or role—to uncover patterns or disparities between groups. This helps identify high-performing teams and areas where targeted improvements are needed.
Customising dashboards is a powerful way to visualise these insights. A good dashboard should display key metrics at a glance, such as response rates, engagement scores over time, and heatmaps for question categories (e.g., leadership, recognition, growth). Adding interactive filters allows managers to drill down into their specific teams without exposing individual responses. Dashboards can also include benchmark comparisons to show how results stack up internally or against industry standards.
Incorporating open-text analysis through word clouds or sentiment tracking helps surface themes and contextualise the scores. Regularly updating dashboards with post-survey action tracking also promotes accountability and transparency. Ultimately, well-analysed results and tailored dashboards empower leaders to make informed decisions, drive targeted improvements, and demonstrate that employee feedback is both valued and acted upon.
A critical piece in the analysis of results is how you can use AI to interpret and summarise. AI can significantly reduce the amount of work required as well as eliminating bias.
Different approaches for different people
Does your business need to customise based on team, geography or client?
Customising employee engagement surveys based on geographical location and team structure is essential for capturing meaningful, actionable insights. Different regions may have distinct cultural norms, management styles, or working conditions that influence how employees perceive their workplace. A standardised set of questions might overlook these nuances, leading to inaccurate or irrelevant data. Similarly, different teams—such as sales, operations, or support—face unique challenges and priorities. Tailoring questions to reflect their daily realities ensures that feedback is more relevant and specific.
Customisation also shows employees that their input matters and that the organisation understands their context, which can increase trust and participation. It enables more targeted analysis, helping leaders identify not just what needs improvement, but where and why. Ultimately, customising by location and team leads to deeper insights and more effective action plans—driving stronger engagement across diverse and decentralised workforces.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while out-of-the-box employee engagement surveys offer a fast, reliable, and cost-effective way to gather baseline insights, they may not fully capture the unique dynamics of your organisation. On the other hand, fully customised surveys provide tailored feedback but can be resource-intensive and harder to benchmark. The most effective approach often lies somewhere in between—combining the structure and reliability of proven models with thoughtful customisation to reflect your culture, language, and business priorities.
By adapting standard frameworks with the help of internal expertise or external consultants, you can ensure your survey is both relevant and robust. This balanced approach allows you to collect meaningful data, uncover actionable insights, and ultimately drive positive change. Remember, it’s not just about asking questions—it’s about asking the right questions in the right way for your people. That’s where engagement becomes more than a measure—it becomes a movement.
