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When planning diversity and inclusion questions for a survey, choosing the right the questions is vital. Also, equally vital is how you ask them. So together, these are important to your success in building an inclusive workplace.
Asking the right questions and designing a high-quality DEIB survey means you’ll get the right insights to measure your commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in your company.
Source: Photo by Mapbox on Unsplash
Read on to learn how to create your diversity and inclusion survey questions and the importance of those specific questions.
What is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Survey?
A diversity and inclusion survey is a tool you can use to know how equitable and inclusive your workplace is. So, the questions you ask in this survey give you an insight into how far your company has come in building an inclusive space for all workers regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or race.
The survey lets you listen to the voices of your employees, know their perspectives, and make the necessary changes.
How to Create Diversity and Inclusion Questions for a DEIB Survey
Now, we’ve established the definition and importance of a DEI&B survey. Here are some steps for creating your survey:
- Define your objectives: State the purpose of your DEIB survey. Are you seeking to measure inclusion and evaluate the current state of diversity projects? Or do you want to measure the sense of belonging with the underrepresented groups in your company?
- Write thought-provoking questions: Create employee survey questions that will ignite purposeful conversations. So, the questions should uncover biases, delve into personal experiences, and also explore the effectiveness of your existing programs.
- Foster inclusivity: Ensure your survey is inclusive and accessible to all participating employees. So, provide options for more diverse identities and groups, and use inclusive language. And, you want to ensure everyone feels comfortable while expressing their thoughts.
- Consider confidentiality and anonymity: Research from Glassdoor shows that 71% of employees would be willing to share their opinions and experiences on diversity in the workplace if they could do so anonymously. So, you’ll get genuine responses if people feel comfortable sharing what they know while their identity is private.
Now that we know how to create a DEIB survey, let’s get into the diversity and inclusion questions.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Survey Questions
We’ve compiled a list of 40+ diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging survey questions for your employees. These questions aim to help you understand the state of diversity and inclusion in your organization. But, you don’t have to settle for generic surveys. You can use a tool like Workleap to build custom surveys for your employees.
Diversity Survey Questions
These diversity survey questions can help you understand how diverse your organization is from your employee’s perspective.
- “On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our organization’s representation of diverse identities and backgrounds?”
Why this works:
This is a great starting question that allows you to know how successful your organization’s diversity efforts are. Moreover, you’ll get to know the underrepresented groups that are lacking in your organization.
- “Does our organization encourage and promote diverse ideas and perspectives?”
Why this works:
If the answer is yes, this means you’re making good efforts with your diversity strategies. But if the answer is no, this gives you exact ideas on where you have to increase efforts (e.g., providing additional DEI training for your department leaders, etc).
- “Do you feel comfortable discussing your cultural, religious, and social beliefs in the workplace?”
Why this works:
Authenticity is an important component of diversity. If your employees aren’t free to talk about their beliefs, this is a sign your workplace isn’t comfortable to work at.
- “What strategies do you think we should implement to build a more diverse culture at our workplace?”
Why this works:
When you include your employees in making decisions about diversity, it creates a culture where everyone feels they belong and can take part. So, by asking this question, you’re giving your employees a chance to share what they hope to achieve with your DEI efforts.
- Rate on a scale of strongly disagree or agree: Our company employs people from all backgrounds.
Why this works:
Even if your company has set diversity hiring goals, you’ll know whether your employees can see this representation in their departments.
- “According to you, how transparent is our organization in handling diversity and inclusion issues?”
Why this works:
By asking this question, you’ll evaluate how well your communication efforts are toward diversity issues.
- “Do you believe our company accommodates and supports employees with disabilities?”
Why this works:
Research shows that disabled people are less likely to get employed compared to people with no disability. This question helps you know the representation of disabled employees in your company.
- “Do you have any specific diversity training programs you feel would benefit you?”
Why this works:
This question highlights how personalized development helps make things more inclusive. So, you might discover some great diversity training programs you didn’t notice before.
- “Have you experienced or witnessed discrimination and bias based on diversity within the workplace?”
Why this works:
This query helps you understand if your underrepresented employees get discriminated against. Moreover, you’ll gauge whether the discrimination gets addressed or not.
- “Does our workplace make you feel comfortable with your sexual orientation?”
Why this works:
Queer employees face different challenges in the workplace compared to other employees. Hence, asking this question helps you know if employees with different sexual orientations feel comfortable working for you.
- “How well do you relate with the leadership team?”
Why this works:
This helps you understand if your employees can see themselves as part of the executive team in the future — huge implications for growth and retention.
Equity Survey Questions
Equity survey questions focus on looking into unnoticed inequalities in the organization. It helps you know if all your employees get fair and equal opportunities. So, here are some sample questions:
- “Do your managers give equal opportunities to employees of all different backgrounds?”
Why this works:
Managers give chances to their colleagues in various ways, like trusting someone with important tasks, providing mentorship, or suggesting someone for a promotion. So, ask this question to check if your employees feel everyone gets equal opportunities from the management.
- “Do you think our organization’s career progression methods offer equitable opportunities to all employees?”
Why this works:
It’s natural for employees to want to transition to leadership positions as they progress in their careers. So, asking this query lets you know if employees from all backgrounds get promotions, and bonuses fairly.
- “Have you noticed favoritism in our company? If yes, how did it happen?”
Why this works:
Favoritism comes in many forms and managers don’t even realize they aren’t being fair. Some managers continually pick the same colleagues for sought-after tasks and never consider certain employees for important projects.
Your employees might be aware of this problem, and asking this question will help you find solutions.
- “Does our executive team show support to disabled employees’ needs?”
Why this works:
Equity in the workplace requires that all the employees get the tools they need to work well. So, asking this question will help you know the important tools and support your disabled employees need.
- “Does our company provide transparent communication to all employees regarding promotions, pay, and benefits?”
Why this works:
Each company practices transparency and communication differently. Regardless of your organization’s preferred communication methods, ensure everyone gets the same information.
Use this question to know how well all the teams receive communication.
- “Do you feel valued for your work regardless of your race, sex, sexual orientation, or nationality?”
Why this works:
Because your workforce is diverse, it doesn’t mean everyone gets treated equally. But this question can help you know which group of employees don’t feel valued for their contributions in the workplace.
- “Have you made a mistake while working and felt that it was unfairly held against you?”
Why this works:
Mistakes at the workplace ought to provide an opportunity for self-improvement. So, they should be handled with empathy to create a long-lasting and collaborative team. Also, ask this question to know how managers are treating employees for small mistakes.
- “Have you witnessed any forms of unconscious bias within our workplace?”
Why this works:
Co-workers and leaders might sometimes show unconscious biases towards some employees. So, through this question, it’s possible to monitor the level of unconscious bias in your organization to manage it.
- “Are employees of different ages treated equally in our organization?”
Why this works:
Ageism is a big challenge in the workplace. And it usually starts with job descriptions stating they want “young and energetic” people. But asking this question will help you know how your organization is dealing with ageism bias in the workplace.
- “Do you feel like you have all you need to achieve your goals at our organization?”
Why this works:
This question evaluates your company’s commitment to helping all employees reach their goals. For example, from this question, you might find that your disabled employees lack the tools they need to finish their tasks.
- “How would you improve diversity in this company?”
Why this works:
The suggestions of your employees from this question can serve as a roadmap on how you’re going to improve your DEIB efforts. For example, you may find that female employees are few and hence work towards solving the problem.
Inclusion Survey Questions
An inclusion survey’s goal is to discover how employees feel about the organization’s environment, including managers, their peers, discussions, workload, projects, and more.
Personalize the inclusion survey questions to evaluate the current initiatives and policies. So, some inclusion survey questions can include:
- Rate on a scale of strongly agree or disagree: I feel included in the decision-making that impacts our business.
Why this works:
Feeling that the value you bring to the organization gets valued, is another form of inclusion. Hence, this question helps you understand if your employees feel their work matters.
- “Would you recommend our company as an inclusive place to work?”
Why this works:
If most of the responses to this question are no, this means your organization isn’t a good place to work. So, you’ll research to know the problems and how you can solve them.
- “How comfortable are you with voicing and sharing your concerns at work?”
Why this works:
This will help you evaluate how confident your employees are when it comes to identifying and sharing feedback about problems in the workplace
- “What inclusivity initiatives have we implemented recently?”
Why this works:
Letting employees talk about recent DEI initiatives shows where we need to do better. So, when you ask your employees this question, you also promote understanding and awareness of the efforts your organization is making.
- “Are there any practices and initiatives you believe can help our organization overcome inclusion challenges?”
Why this works:
This is an actionable question that will give you ideas on what your employees want to see done.
- “According to you, how transparent is our organization in handling inclusion issues?”
Why this works:
Transparent handling of diversity and inclusion issues is important for its success. By asking this question, you’ll evaluate if inclusion challenges get reported and solved well.
- “Do you think our organization promotes cross-cultural collaboration and understanding among employees effectively?”
Why this works:
Cross-cultural collaboration is important in the modern remote workplace. This query helps you evaluate the success you’ve had in ensuring there’s a good cultural integration within all teams.
- “Are there any initiatives you believe could help our organization overcome inclusion challenges?”
Why this works:
Your employees might have better suggestions and ideas that might work perfectly to solve the current DEI challenges.
- “Have you experienced or witnessed discrimination and bias based on inclusion within the workplace?”
Why this works:
Discrimination can negatively affect inclusivity and employee well-being. So, this question is an essential tool for identifying bias and discrimination that goes unreported.
- “Are there times you’ve felt excluded from some activities in our workplace?”
Why this works:
If employees feel excluded, they’re less likely to be active in the workplace. So, the results from this question can help you re-engage your employees before they lose their morale for work.
- “To what extent can you bring your full self to the workplace every day?”
Why this works:
Inclusion means one being comfortable to show their authentic self at work. If the responses you get don’t indicate this, it’s clear your organization has work to do to make employees feel comfortable.
Belonging Survey Questions
A study from Deloitte found that workplace belonging can lead to a 75% decrease in employee sick days and a reduction of turnover risk by 50%. So, these questions can help you evaluate the level of belonging in your workplace.
- “Can you see yourself working for this organization in the next three years?”
Why this works:
A great sign of belonging is your employees wanting to work for your company in the long term. So, if most of the employees say yes, that’s a win for your organization.
- “On a scale of 1 to 5, do you feel like you belong at this organization?”
Why this works:
This is a straight-to-the-point question. It simply informs you whether your team members feel like they should still work for you.
- “Does our company’s mission inspire you to do your best work?”
Why this works:
This question gives you insight into how engaged and motivated your employees are. So, employees who get inspired by their company’s mission are more likely to get motivated and dedicated in their roles.
- “Do you take pride in your work and the quality of its outcome?”
Why this works:
If employees take pride in their work, they’ll be empowered to bring more creative ideas to the table. Moreover, they’ll ensure to always go above and beyond in producing quality work.
- “On a scale of 1 to 5, do you feel like you can depend on your coworkers?”
Why this works:
This question indirectly assesses the quality of relationships within your workplace. If the answers from your participants are yes, then there are good work relationships. Also, it shows a sense of belonging among your employees.
- “Are there any practices you suggest to improve a sense of belonging within our company?”
Why this works:
This question provides a customized solution because employees have great insights into what can improve their sense of belonging.
- “On a scale of 1 to 5, does our organization welcome and celebrate employees with unique characteristics?”
Why this works:
Appreciating unique characteristics in the workplace makes employees feel seen and valued. Moreover, it enhances staff engagement, retention, and productivity.
- “Do you feel like you play an important role in the organization?”
Why this works:
This question assesses whether employees feel their contributions get appreciated by their employer. When employees feel that their work is valued, it gives them a purpose to continue producing excellent work.
Moreover, employees who feel they’re recognized are more likely to stay in an organization for the long term.
- “Can you depend on your coworkers?”
Why this works:
Being able to depend on your team members is an indicator of how safe people feel. So, if your employees rate this question highly, it’s a great sign there are good work relationships in your workplace.
- “Have you experienced encounters where you felt like an outsider within some teams or workgroups?”
Why this works:
If employees feel like outsiders, they’re less likely to get active in the workplace. So, the results from this question can help you know how to make all your employees feel like they belong in your workplace.
- “On a scale of 1 to 5, do you feel like you can be your authentic self at work?”
Why this works:
Belonging means people being comfortable to show their authentic selves at work. If the responses you get don’t indicate this, it’s clear your organization has work to do in making employees feel comfortable.
Lastly, remember you can customize these questions to fit your company’s needs and context. Moreover, ask your employees how they feel about the questions you’ve asked them.
WHY I WROTE THIS:
Ongig’s mission is to help you build healthy, diverse, and inclusive teams. Our Text Analyzer software helps you write inclusive job descriptions. Please request a demo to learn more.
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Glassdoor’s Diversity and Inclusion Workplace Survey by (Glassdoor)
- WORK People with disabilities still face barriers finding work during the pandemic—here’s how companies can help by (CNBC)
- Belonging: From comfort to connection to contribution by (Deloitte)
- 10 Examples Of Unconscious Bias In The Workplace And How To Avoid Them by (EasyLlama)
