23 Manager feedback survey questions you should be asking your employees

Kailash Ganesh
10 min read

Let’s imagine a person named Sarah, a talented and ambitious manager who has just been promoted to lead her team to new heights. Excited about her new role, Sarah was eager to prove herself as an effective leader and inspire her team to achieve their goals.

She had read countless books and attended numerous seminars on management, but she knew that true leadership was more than just theory. She understood that she needed to connect with her team, understand their needs, and continuously improve her managerial practices.

As Sarah started her new role, she realized that leading a team was far more challenging than anticipated. She struggled to balance her team's needs with hers, and communication often fell short, leading to misunderstandings and frustration.

Sarah knew that to become an effective manager, she needed to gather employee feedback and understand how they perceived her leadership style.

This is where a feedback survey comes in. It's a well-designed set of questions that can provide valuable insights into a manager's strengths and areas for improvement. By asking the right questions, Sarah could identify where she excelled and where she needed to focus her efforts to become a more effective leader and manager.

Let’s talk about the importance of manager feedback survey questions you should ask in 2023 to excel as a leader. These questions will help you understand how employees feel about you and get actionable feedback.

See how manager feedback survey would look like in CultureMonkey's employee survey tool.

or skip to the 23 manager feedback survey questions

Table of contents:-

How to become an effective manager to drive positive change in the team?

Effective communication is key to successful leadership. As a manager, you must proactively convey your expectations, goals, and vision to your team. You also need to encourage your employees to be open and honest about any feedback or ideas they have. Such a culture fosters trust, which is the foundation of a great team.

Now, one might ask, what’s the single most important trait of an effective manager? It is to lead by example. One needs to set a standard for their team by demonstrating the behavior they want to see. If a manager is honest, takes accountability, and commands respect, the team members will look up to them and follow in the same footsteps.

An effective manager should have performance expectations but, at the same time, create a trusting and open environment that lets others speak up and boosts productivity and morale. They must also provide their team with timely constructive feedback on their performance, highlighting their strengths and identifying areas for improvement.

But all these leadership skills and qualities cannot be nurtured in a single day. So, you should always keep learning by seeking out training, attending conferences, reading books, and staying up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices in management.

By continuously improving your skills and knowledge, you will become an effective leader and manager, drive positive change in your team and improve the employee experience.

What is the purpose of the manager feedback survey?

An employee engagement survey aims to gather timely feedback from team members on the performance of managers, their leadership style, communication skills, and overall effectiveness in their roles. Taking regular constructive feedback is essential for identifying areas of strength and weakness that can help drive improvements in team engagement and leadership.

The manager survey can provide valuable insights into how team members perceive their performance and highlight areas where they excel and areas where they could improve. By gathering feedback, managers can identify blind spots in their leadership practices and implement strategies to improve communication, delegation, decision-making, and other essential skills.

It also helps in improving employee satisfaction as the team members' opinions are taken into consideration. Most importantly, it shows that the manager cares about getting better, improving the overall management effectiveness.

The feedback survey is also an opportunity for team members to share new ideas, concerns, and suggestions for improvement. It promotes a company culture of open communication and transparency and can help strengthen the relationship between managers and their teams through employee engagement.

The overall purpose of feedback and employee surveys is to help managers become more effective leaders, consistently make effective decisions, drive positive change in their teams, and boost employee engagement by identifying areas for improvement and implementing strategies to address them.

How to craft a manager effectiveness survey template?

Crafting a manager effectiveness survey template requires careful consideration of the questions you want to ask and the information you want to gather. Here are the steps to follow to create a manager effectiveness survey template.

1) Define the purpose

Start by defining the purpose of the survey. What do you want to achieve by gathering feedback on your manager's effectiveness? What are your goals and objectives? This will help you create a clear and focused survey template.

2) Identify the Categories

Identify the categories you want to assess manager performance in, such as communication, leadership, performance management, work environment, and teamwork. Categorizing the questions will help you focus on specific areas of the manager's performance.

3) Draft the questions

Curate the questions for each category. Be specific and clear, and avoid ambiguous or leading questions. Use a mix of closed-ended and open-ended questions to gather quantitative and qualitative data.

4) Consider the format

Choose whether the survey format will be online, paper, or in-person. Select a format that is easy to use and accessible to all team members.

5) Review and test

Analyze the survey questions for clarity, relevance, and completeness. Test the sample survey questions with a small group of team members to identify any issues or areas for improvement.

6) Finalize the template

Finalize the employee survey questions template based on the feedback you received and your testing results. Ensure that the questions align with the purpose of the survey and that they will provide the information you need to assess your manager's effectiveness.

7) Administer the employee feedback survey

Administer the survey to your team members and collect the responses. Analyze the data and use the engagement insights to identify areas for improvement and develop an actionable feedback plan to address them.

What kind of questions should I ask for feedback on leadership?

Leadership is a tough nut to crack, especially because it has so many dimensions. However, the most important aspect of a leader is caring about the well being of your employees and being the one everyone looks up to.

So, when the management team is designing a survey for honest employee feedback on leadership, they must ask a different range of questions. Some might be simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ ones, while others could be descriptive to get an overall picture of the manager's performance.

Having a wide range of could help get a better perspective on the manager's leadership style and easily pinpoint areas of improvement. Let’s look at the type of survey questions that should be present in a leadership feedback form.

1) Open-ended questions

These questions allow team members to share their thoughts and experiences in their own words. Examples include "How would you describe your manager's leadership style?" and "What are some areas where your manager could improve their leadership skills?"

2) Closed-ended questions

These questions are useful for gathering quantitative data and providing clear and straightforward answers. Examples include "On a scale of 1 to 10, how effective is your manager's communication with the team?" and "Does your manager involve the whole team fairly in setting objectives and developing strategies? Yes/No." Being objective, these type of answer makes it easy to rank the manager based on their leadership qualities and abilities.

3) Likert scale questions

These questions ask respondents to rate their agreement or disagreement with a statement on a scale, usually ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." For example, "My former manager cares, values and encourages open communication within the team" and "My manager recognizes and rewards good performance."

4) Behavioral questions

These questions ask team members to provide examples of how their manager worked or has handled specific situations in the past. Examples include "Can you describe a time when your manager successfully resolved a conflict within the team?" and "How has your manager supported your professional growth and professional development throughout?"

The employee survey questions should be balanced and have a proper mix of all these questions. If there are too many open-ended questions, the depth might not be enough for proper assessment. On the other hand, if there are too many descriptive ones, it will become too cumbersome for many employees to fill because of the length.

23 leadership survey questionnaire for employees to get feedback on their managers

Measuring feedback about managers is always a tricky thing as at times employees don’t fee comfortable giving negative feedback about their managers because of the fear of anonymity.

Thus, we've compiled 23 leadership anonymous survey questions to help organizations get employee feedback on their managers. These questions assess different aspects of leadership, such as communication, decision-making, management, mentorship, and work-life balance.

Organizations can use employee engagement survey questions to gain valuable insights into their managers' strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to improve their leadership skills.

Questions about a manager’s communication skills

Effective communication is a crucial component of any successful workplace. Gallup reports that organizations with effective communication practices are 4.5 times more likely to have high employee engagement.

The following feedback questions will help you answer how effectively you communicate with your team and point out overall areas of improvement.

  1. Does your manager communicate performance expectations clearly?
  2. How would you rate your manager's ability to communicate effectively with the team?
  3. Is your manager responsive to your queries even while not working from the office?
  4. Does your manager provide regular opportunities for team members to give feedback?

Questions about manager effectiveness

Managers play a key and vital role in the success of any organization, and their effectiveness can significantly impact the team's overall performance. Gallup reports that companies with effective managers have 48% higher profits.

Highly effective managers often boost employee productivity, increase morale and create an open workplace culture.

  1. Can you describe the overall work environment created by your manager? Is it positive, negative, or neutral? Why?
  2. Does your manager effectively solve problems and difficult situations effectively?
  3. Rate your manager from 1 to 10 in terms of encouraging creativity and innovation
  4. Does your manager take a proactive approach to problem-solving and is able to sort out difficult situations?

Questions about autonomy from management

Giving employees autonomy can be a powerful way to promote and increase employee engagement and productivity. It helps your employees feel valued, gain control over their work and be accountable for their responsibilities.

At the same time, by avoiding micromanagement, managers can reduce to and fro and focus on more important tasks.

  1. Do you feel empowered to make decisions in your role without consulting with your manager constantly?
  2. Can you describe a time when you were encouraged to take on new challenges and pursue new organizational opportunities?
  3. Does your manager take direct reports on a regular basis?
  4. Do you clearly understand your job responsibilities and the authority you have to make decisions?

Questions about leadership

Strong leadership is essential for creating a positive and productive work environment. Great managers are also responsible for creating future leaders that will stay aligned with company values and help the organization grow in the future.

The following questions can help you gain insights into where you can improve your leadership skills.

  1. What specific actions could your manager take to improve their leadership skills?
  2. Does your manager treat you with respect and demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior?
  3. On a scale of 1-10, how effective is your manager at inspiring you to do your best work?
  4. Does your manager recognize your efforts?

Questions about mentorship

Great managers also need to be excellent mentors. Employees want their manager to help them with career development opportunities and guide them along the right path.

  1. Does your manager care about your concerns and provide feedback?
  2. Can you describe a time when your mentor provided you with particularly helpful guidance or support?
  3. On a scale of 1-10, how effective is your mentor at helping you in career development and achieving your goals?
  4. What specific actions could your mentor take to improve their mentorship skills?

Questions about work-life balance

Gallup reports that employees with a good work-life balance are 21% likelier to be engaged at work. So, as a manager, you must have a clear idea of whether you have been good at giving your employees a good balance between work, personal, and family life.

  1. Does your manager encourage a healthy work-life balance and takes care of your well being?
  2. What specific changes could be made to improve your work-life balance?
  3. Can you describe a time when your work-life balance was particularly good? What contributed to this?

FAQs

1) How do you ask employees for feedback?

Feedback should be direct and specific. Employees need to be given a specific set of questions based on the topic. For example, if the feedback is to assess the communication skills of managers, the questions should be along the same line.

2) How often should we ask for feedback on managers?

It depends on the company culture and the organization's objectives, but feedback should be gathered in a timely manner, such as annually or bi-annually. However, more frequent feedback can be useful in identifying and addressing issues quickly.

3) How should we ensure anonymity in feedback surveys?

To ensure anonymity, use a survey tool like CultureMonkey or ensure that responses cannot be traced back to individual employees. Be clear about the confidentiality of the feedback and how it will be used.

4) How can we encourage participation in employee engagement survey?

To encourage employees to participate and give honest feedback ensuring anonymity is a must. You must also create a culture where honest employee feedback is valued and acted upon.

5) How can we ensure that feedback is constructive and not just criticism?

Make sure that the questions in the feedback survey are specific and focus on behaviors that can be changed. Encourage employees to provide both positive and negative feedback and to provide suggestions for improvement of their managers.


Kailash Ganesh

Kailash Ganesh

Kailash is a Product Marketer with 5+ years of experience. He loves story-telling in the simplest way possible and he is an avid reader, movie buff, and likes to travel new places to meet new people.