Beyond their primary purpose of collecting data, employee surveys are a powerful mechanism for shaping your company’s culture.
The issue is, many HR teams struggle to show this value to leaders, because it isn’t always tangible or measurable – which often leads to little, or no investment in employee voice and culture.
Here we’ll discuss the deeper impact of culture surveys and share 20 example questions that will benefit both your employees and your organisation.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to workplace culture, or what your employees think about your organisation, there’s a very simple first step.
Just ask them!
Run a company-wide survey and ask people about their thoughts, feelings, experiences and observations.
What do they think could be improved? What do they love? What areas of the business do they think lack communication?
Surveys are a great tool to get started on any journey to improvement within an organisation where employees are affected.
Here’s our humble opinion…
The quickest way to building a brilliant company culture is by regularly sending out culture surveys and acting on the feedback you hear.
It doesn’t need to be more difficult than that.
Although implementing change can be a long journey, the first step is simply asking, and that doesn’t need to be complicated – in fact, here at Stribe we make surveys very simple.
We have a free survey template with 20 of the best company culture questions to ask your employees which will help you get started – follow the button below to download for free.
Culture is not an initiative. Culture is the enabler of all initiatives. 
Call them ‘trends’ or ‘shifts’ or ‘movements’ – whatever suits you best.
But leaders in 2026 must recognise that company culture is changing, because what matters to people is changing.
And what matters to people, should matter to workplaces.
Mental health support has risen as a cornerstone of workplace culture – and rightly so.
Mind UK revealed that 60% of UK employees consider mental health support a crucial factor when choosing an employer. This shift is driven by growing awareness of mental health issues and the impact on people’s lives – at work and outside of work.
Workplace leaders need to be prioritising mental health as highly as they do physical health. And while conversations around mental wellbeing can still feel taboo, it’s time to recognise that it affects all of us to some degree – and we should all be talking about it.
To get started, consider offering mental health benefits such as access to counselling services and mental health days.
Speak to (or survey) your employees about their experience with mental health, and how work might impact their wellbeing. Simple steps like regular check-ins and encouraging work-life balance can make a significant difference.
Having a conversation and creating a safe space to talk is a great place to start.
Flexible working has become a vital part of workplace culture, especially for supporting families and carers.
A survey by Working Families showed that 89% of UK employees believe flexible working is crucial for balancing work and family life. And this is because there’s an increasing recognition that rigid work schedules can (and do) hinder employees’ ability to manage personal responsibilities.
The 9am – 5pm workday is widely considered as completely outdated (for most industries), and many organisations are looking towards an even more progressive 4-day work week.
It’s all about placing trust in your teams to get their jobs done – without clock-watching or micromanaging. Because at the end of the day, if the work gets done, why should it matter what hours someone spent at their desk?
It’s simply about being more human – let people attend personal appointments, pick up their children from school, go to the hospital to visit family, or watch their best friend get married.
When workplace leaders recognise that their employees’ lives are so much more than work, they will see people showing up to their jobs differently – because they know they are supported professionally and personally.
Consider implementing policies that allow for flexible hours, remote work, or compressed workweeks. And encourage a results-oriented approach, where employees are judged on their output rather than their hours.
At any given moment, our world is experiencing significant events that affect each one of us – wars, elections, climate disasters, protests and pandemics.
Remember when we were in the thick of Covid-19? For a lot of people, simply turning on their computer and sending a work email felt strange – it was hard to focus on anything else other than the collective heartbreak and fear the world was experiencing.
Sometimes it can be tough for people to show up to work when the world feels heavy – and this is something workplace leaders need to be aware of in 2025 and beyond.
Tony Bond the Chief Diversity and Innovation Officer at Great Place To Work says:
“Great workplaces will have to make space for the world events that impact their people, and create programming in partnership with their people to address acute needs.”
Well, what does that look like?
To start, create space for people to speak up if world events are affecting them (this could be an anonymous messaging channel), and get your leaders to openly recognise that they understand it could be impacting day-to-day wellbeing of their teams.
Simply acknowledging an issue can do a lot for people.
Encourage managers to check in with their teams regularly and provide resources for those who may be directly affected. Showing empathy and understanding during extreme times can greatly enhance employee trust and loyalty.
Have you ever heard the saying people don’t leave jobs, they leave bad leaders?
Well your leaders can only be as good as the support you give them, and unfortunately research shows that managers are increasingly under a lot of pressure.
In fact, they’re more likely to experience burnout and be disengaged than non-managers.
Gallup research found: “…many managers now have more work to do on a tighter budget with new teams. And from a relationship standpoint, they often find themselves caught between aligning with new directives from leaders and meeting the changing expectations of their employees.”
Manager struggles trickle down to their teams. To have a workplace culture that thrives, managers need more support, more training, and more importantly – their voices need to be heard by key business decision-makers.
So, speak to your managers, take time to understand their challenges, and provide resources to support them.
People want to feel a part of something bigger than themselves.
So much so, that Deloitte revealed that 75% of UK employees prefer to work for companies that prioritise social responsibility and contribute to the greater good.
This growing desire among employees (particularly millennials and Gen Z) to feel part of something larger and to know their work makes a positive impact – is something business leaders should take note of.
By aligning with social causes that employees care about, it will directly boost workplace culture and attract top talent, while also contributing positively to employer brand and reputation.
Be wary however, because simply doing something for the sake of it isn’t how to go about this kind of thing at all. Employees are clever, and they will know if your actions aren’t genuine.
When supporting social causes, align your company’s values to that of the cause. Also ask your team what’s also important to them, and where they want to see the organisation help the wider community.
Great workplaces will have to make space for the world events that impact their people, and create programming in partnership with their people to address acute needs.
While culture surveys are amazing for collecting data and measuring engagement, they offer so much more than just numbers.
These surveys can have much a deeper, positive impact. Let’s explore some of the less ways how employee surveys shape culture.
Surveys give everyone a seat at the table – no matter who you are.
This is brilliant for understanding how different groups within your organisation feel about diversity and inclusion, and the diverse challenges they will face based on their lived experiences.
You’ll be able to pick up where biases might exist and addressing these insights to create a more inclusive and welcoming workplace for everyone.
Sometimes, the best things about your company culture might not be widely recognised.
Surveys can uncover under the radar wins, like a team member who’s been quietly going above and beyond, or a manager who has implemented a process that’s made life easier for everyone.
When you start showing appreciation for the little things and small victories, you’ll see a positive change in your team.
When employees feel heard, they’re more likely to become advocates for your company.
And when they know their feedback leads to real change, they’re even more likely to speak positively about the workplace to others, both internally and externally. This can help build a strong, positive reputation for your company.
For the first time in history, five generations make up the workplace.
Surveys can help you understand the different perspectives and needs of various generations working in your company – which will help you tailor your policies and programs to better support everyone, from the newest hires to the most experienced team members.
One of the biggest challenges workplaces can face is when there are gaps in belief (or experiences) between employees and employers.
Disconnects can occur in any workplace area – pay and benefits, role expectations, mental health, management of change or challenges etc.
Surveys are brilliant for helping to bridge these gaps quickly by shedding light on differing perceptions and workplace experiences.
To help you get started, here is a list of example culture survey questions to include in your next company culture survey.
These questions are designed to cover various aspects of the workplace experience – from wellbeing to leadership – to provide comprehensive insights.
Once you have collected responses, the next step is to analyse the data (Stribe does this for you) and take actionable steps.
Here are a few tips:
Look for patterns in the responses and key messages coming from employees.
It might be tempting to introduce new ideas, but focus on the areas that need immediate attention first.
Share the findings with your employees and outline the steps you plan to take.
Make the necessary changes based on the feedback and monitor their impact overtime. Let employees know you’re open to ongoing feedback.
Regularly conduct follow-up surveys to track progress and continuously improve your company culture.
People are at the heart of everything, no matter what business you’re in. Improving culture starts with listening – listening starts with surveys.
Learn how you can start truly investing in your people, press play on our interactive demo to see Stribe for yourself.
About the author
Starting out her early career as a journalist, Jade Madeley is an accomplished content writer with 8+ years’ experience across business, personal finance, SaaS, human resources and employee engagement. Working with Stribe, she crafts insightful content that brings complex HR topics to life and drives meaningful action.
