10 DEI Survey Questions To Boost Employee Engagement in 2025

Employee surveys offer a wealth of insight into the experience of your workforce. A well-crafted survey can reveal the range of employee experiences, highlight differences across groups, and inform actionable strategies for creating a more inclusive workplace. 

However, crafting effective surveys can be challenging. It requires asking questions that accurately capture the nuances of inclusion without alienating participants or oversimplifying issues. For example, asking a question like “Is this company inclusive?” isn’t likely to give the organization the insight it needs to make impactful changes.   

10 DEI Survey Questions To Assess Employee Experience

We recommend including questions organized around constructs proven to foster more inclusive workplaces, like belonging, voice, psychological safety, and perceptions of fairness. The following are sampled from Paradigm’s Inclusion Survey and the Paradigm & SurveyMonkey Belonging & Inclusion Survey template:

1. Do you feel that you might not belong when something negative happens to you at work?
2. When you speak up at work, is your opinion valued?
3. Do you understand how your work contributes to the company’s mission?
4. Does this company motivate you to go beyond what you would do in a similar role elsewhere?
5. Are the information and resources you need to do your job effectively readily available?
6. Do people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed at this company?
7. Does this company value diversity?
8. Do leaders at your company believe the following: People can learn new things, but they can’t change their basic talents and abilities?
9. Are perspectives like yours included in the decision-making process at this company?
10. Is it safe to take risks at this company?

How To Conduct DEI Surveys To Maximize Results

Surveys are one of the best ways to gain essential insights directly from your workforce. The data you get from a questionnaire or survey can drive actionable strategies for inclusivity, highlighting wins and pinpointing inequities that need improvement. 

Here are key steps for an impactful and inclusive survey that yields the best possible data and insights: 

1. Make a Plan

Surveys should be a regular part of your inclusion efforts, so developing a strategy for their implementation and execution is an essential first step in creating a program. The following elements are important to your survey planning, as they’ll help your team collect strong data and sentiments and use them for long-term improvement: 

• Set a survey cadence that works for your company. At a minimum, take a yearly survey. As the needs of the organization change, you might consider more frequent surveys that address different aspects of the workplace. 
• Vary your survey types. You may conduct one larger annual survey with smaller “check-ins” distributed throughout the year. Short surveys are a great way to track progress on a specific goal or challenge. 
• Collect the right data. Part of the power of surveys is the ability to contextualize answers with demographics. Consider demographic data like gender, race, ethnicity, identity, veteran status, age, or disability that helps contextualize results.

2. Design a Successful Survey

The structure and roll-out of a survey impact its success, so take the time to design a survey that captures the right information. Consider what you want an individual survey to achieve, what narratives you want to uncover, and the challenges or goals you believe the survey will help you address.

• Start with your goals. Consider the outcomes you have in mind, which challenges you want to address, and which workplace populations you want to analyze or support. 
• Dig below the surface. Create a survey with enough depth and complexity to ensure you get the full picture in responses. Rather than relying on single questions to carry the whole weight of the survey, aim for a few questions on a given aspect or concept. 
• Save demographics for the end of the questionnaire. Approaching questions without the preamble of demographics reduces the likelihood that these aspects will influence your respondents’ answers.

3. Make the Most of the Data

Surveys take time to implement and answer. Everyone is making an investment in the process, so be sure to use insights to maximize their value. 

• Dig deep. Parse responses with whatever contextual information you have available. Analyze the data you receive through demographic lenses. Be sure to account for intersectional experiences. 
• Set rules about sample size. Aggregate data as necessary and make any decisions about data presentation or anonymization required to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the survey. 
• Look for the good and the bad. Use the data to highlight areas of success and pinpoint issues in need of improvement.

Employing these practices will yield better results and give you a full view of employees’ experiences. You’ll gain insights to make relevant improvements and set achievable goals. 

Using DEI Surveys To Improve Inclusion at Work

Surveys provide a foundation for change. They illuminate business areas that need improvement and signal that the company cares about individuals’ personal experiences and well-being. 

Use this simple process to put survey results into action: 

1. Analyze survey data: Analyze and contextualize DEI survey responses to identify patterns and areas of concern. Look for quantitative data and qualitative feedback that offers insight into employee experiences.
2. Prioritize key areas: Prioritize issues that emerge as most critical or prevalent and consider factors like impact and feasibility when deciding what to address first.
3. Develop action plans: Develop an action plan outlining steps to address each priority. This includes setting clear inclusivity goals, timelines, responsibilities, benchmarks, and metrics for measuring progress. 
4. Communicate DEI initiatives: Share anonymized results and insights as well as planned actions. Transparency encourages confidence in the process and participation in enacting solutions. 
5. Implement changes and monitor progress: Launch improvement strategies, monitor progress, and gather employee feedback to ensure initiatives are effective. Make adjustments based on what works.

Use Paradigm To Gain Insights and Build Better Workplaces

Paradigm Blueprint offers employers more ways to connect with team members and gain meaningful insights into their experiences. With Blueprint, organizations can launch employee surveys, questionnaires, and feedback requests and use expert guidance and AI insights to contextualize survey findings to drive improvements. 

To learn more about Paradigm’s suite of data-driven inclusion and equity solutions and begin your own employee survey, learn more here. 

February 25, 2025

For our complete list of DEI survey questions, contact us today!