20 Questions to Ask Employees For Feedback + Templates

Feedback isn’t just the ultimate business buzzword. As a leader, you should give your employees positive and constructive feedback regularly so they feel valued and can improve their performance. You may be used to receiving feedback from your manager, too. However, you likely don’t seek personal feedback from your subordinates. 

Let’s talk about employee feedback, what questions to ask, and how asking the right questions can make you a better manager. 

• Why feedback is important 
• How often should managers ask for employee feedback?
• 20 questions managers should ask their employees
• How to make feedback surveys more useful
• Free meeting agenda templates
• Collecting personal feedback for professional wins with Fellow

Why feedback is important 

Giving and receiving feedback is important and helps improve efficiency and improve performance in the workplace. You may be an excellent communicator or a thoughtful delegator, but you’re definitely not a mind reader. When you ask for feedback, you’ll receive insight that can help you make personal improvements to help your employees, your team, and your company. 

How often should managers ask for employee feedback?

The frequency at which you should ask for employee feedback depends on a few factors. If you’re a new manager or are managing a new team for the first time, you’ll want to ask personal feedback questions more regularly to build trust and to best understand how you can help your team succeed. If you’ve been a manager for a while, asking feedback questions or using effective performance review phrases will ensure that you’re able to stay up-to-date with workplace best practices and will show that you’re committed to self-improvement.

20 questions managers should ask their employees to get valuable feedback 

• Personal development questions
• Employee satisfaction questions
• Work environment questions

Personal development questions

• Are there any blockers you’re experiencing that I can help with?
• How do you prefer to receive feedback about your work?
• How can I further support you in achieving that goal?
• What is something I do that you find limiting or frustrating?
• How is my attitude when facing challenges?
• Based on your observations of me, what would you say my values are?
• How clear am I when communicating my instructions and expectations?

1Are there any blockers you’re experiencing that I can help with?

First and foremost, it’s important to check in with your employees and see how you can best support them. For example, if you’ve told your team that you’d like to review a project before it gets finalized but your competing priorities are holding back their progress, this will be the time to address the situation. 

2How do you prefer to receive feedback about your work?

Every employee will like receiving feedback differently. Asking this question will show that you care to give your employees thoughtful suggestions. While some individuals love informal feedback, that approach will make others deeply uncomfortable. Make sure you explore which type of feedback they like to receive.

3How can I further support you in achieving that goal?

Encouragement breeds innovation and productivity. If you don’t support your employees’ professional goals, they won’t be keen to support your objectives as a manager. The next time your subordinate lets you know that they’re interested in ascending to the next level of their career or improving their presentation skills, put your mentorship skills to use and encourage their drive to succeed. 

4What is something I do that you find limiting or frustrating?

Don’t be afraid to ask uncomfortable questions. When you give constructive feedback to improve a person’s performance, it’s appropriate to approach the topic without harshness or personal attacks. If you’re having a feedback conversation with your subordinate, they, too, will act in your best interest by providing you with practical and focused tips on improvement. 

5How is my attitude when facing challenges?

Your team may appreciate how calm you remain during challenging times but dislike how passive you become when conflicts arise within the team. If your attitude prompts negative emotions among your subordinates, it will be important for you to learn how to keep lines of effective communication open and remain level-headed. You want a team that views your presence as both warm and competent during stressful periods. 

6Based on your observations of me, what would you say my values are?

Do your personal and professional values help your team thrive or hold them back? This question will help you view how well your own values align with those of your company. Once you have an answer, you’ll understand how these values guide your decision-making, establish your priorities at work, and affect how you evaluate your own success. 

7How clear am I when communicating my instructions and expectations?

While some employees are self-starters, some require more instruction to complete tasks. If you ask this question to a few teammates, the answers will likely vary, but they will provide you with valuable insight on how to delegate to different individuals. 

Employee satisfaction questions

• What could I do to help you work more productively?
• Looking back, what could I have done better as your manager?
• How do you feel about the direction of our team?
• If you were in my shoes, what would you change?
• How supported do you feel in your current role?
• How can I best support your growth as an employee?

8What could I do to help you work more productively?

Maybe you have an expert on your team who previously used software that will help them be more productive in their current position. Or perhaps your employee who works from home believes that changing their working hours could better accommodate their busy lifestyle. Different employees will require different tools to be successful. Use your feedback conversation to discuss how each individual can maximize their own productivity.

9Looking back, what could I have done better as your manager?

Asking this question will let your employees know that you care about improving your leadership skills. Your team should be able to provide specific examples. For instance, if you didn’t make time earlier in the week for an individual who wanted to discuss their professional growth, they’ll now have the chance to share what’s been on their mind. 

10How do you feel about the direction of our team? 

Everyone has a unique leadership style. You can be a decisive decision-maker, an individual strength nurturer, or a “laissez-faire” supervisor and still have the same high-performing team.  As the head of the group, you should aim to understand your own management style as it will help you identify how you can adapt to meet the needs of every employee. 

11If you were in my shoes, what would you change?

Your team may look like a well-oiled machine from the management level, but some individuals will beg to differ. Each employee has at one point thought to themselves, “If I were in charge, I would… and this would make everyone’s job easier.” Ask this question and be exposed to your blind spots. 

12How supported do you feel in your current role?

Support is a two-way process. Leaders must ensure their team has access to regular feedback, and employees should strive to support their manager by achieving objectives that benefit the team. While you should always avoid micromanaging your team, you can ask this question regularly to keep everyone on the same page. 

13How can I best support your growth as an employee?

Provide access to employee growth and professional development opportunities and prioritize job satisfaction. Ask individuals often about their goals and the specific steps they’re taking to achieve them. 

Work environment questions

• Are there any workplace processes that you feel are not helping you?
• I’m working on X. Do you have any feedback for me about this project?
• As a supervisor, I’ve been doing X. What do you think about that?
• What is something that I do well as a manager?
• What currently works and doesn’t work with our team?
• What do I bring to my relationships with team members?
•  Was there a recent meeting or discussion where you did not have the chance to share your thoughts? Would you like to share them now?

14Are there any workplace processes that you feel are not helping you?

There may be a few pesky, time-consuming processes that management values as part of the company culture, but the rest of the company secretly views them as a burden. There are likely a few of these they’ll bring up when asked this question—maybe they’re tired of spending time on repetitive online training modules, or the new software is actually slowing processes down. While you may not have the power to resolve every employee’s headache, you should take the time to listen. 

15I’m working on X. Do you have any feedback for me about this project?

Your employees will appreciate your willingness to grow with them! If you’re the only one who gives written and verbal feedback on tasks, how will you know how to improve yourself? 

16As a supervisor, I’ve been doing X. What do you think about that?

For instance, if you recently changed up your primary method of communication with employees or have implemented a tool that automates administrative tasks, ask your team directly if they support the decision. 

17What is something that I do well as a manager?

It’s time for some positive feedback! When your actions are praised, you’ll be able to celebrate your own successes, be more confident, and feel encouraged to work harder. Embrace your strengths and watch your good attitude boost the team’s morale. 

18What currently works and doesn’t work with our team?

Employees will know how best to collaborate effectively as part of a group. Asking this question will ensure that workplace systems or norms do not hinder the team’s progress. Your employees’ answers will also provide valuable insight into what current practices are beneficial and should be continued. 

19What do I bring to my relationships with team members?

You are responsible for building strong working relationships with your subordinates. Embrace your role as a leader by learning where your own strengths lie. It’s okay to be vulnerable and seek positive feedback from your colleagues every now and then. We’re all human, and we all like feeling valued. 

20Was there a recent meeting or discussion where you did not have the chance to share your thoughts? Would you like to share them now?

This question can let you know when the team is holding back their thoughts. For example, if you were recently boasting during a team meeting about how excited you were about a new workplace initiative, your employees may be nervous to admit their own hesitations about the project in a group setting. Ask this question during a one-on-one meeting or in a written questionnaire. 

How to make feedback surveys more useful

Here are some tips to help make employee feedback surveys more actionable and drive real change:

• Ask specific questions. Vague questions often lead to vague answers that are difficult to act on. Get granular and ask about specific processes, policies, tools, etc.
• Keep it anonymous. If employees can remain anonymous, they will provide more honest feedback. If needed, use a third-party survey tool.
• Follow up. Don’t just collect feedback and move on. Share key takeaways and actions being taken and solicit additional thoughts. Show that the feedback loop is active.
• Track trends over time. Look for themes and changes in feedback across multiple surveys to identify systemic issues rather than one-off complaints. Analyze results and get leadership to commit to making changes.
• Close the loop. Follow up with employees to discuss changes based on their input. This builds trust and employee engagement in the process.

Free meeting agenda templates to help you get valuable feedback

Collecting personal feedback for professional wins with Fellow

Next time you give your employees feedback, ask for some in return. As a leader, you aren’t expected to stop growing when you begin supervising. In fact, it’s more important now that you implement feedback to listen to your team and improve constantly. It’s crucial to self-reflect and use the feedback to become the best manager possible for your team.

The right software can make this confusing process more seamless and integrated. Fellow and its feedback feature, you can easily request real-time feedback from your team on meetings, projects, or your own performance. These feedback requests are also integrated into your team’s meeting agendas and daily workflow, so it’s built into the day-to-day experience. Fellow also makes it easy to track progress on feedback over time, so you can focus on continuously improving as a leader.

Fellow also has an extensive library of over 500+ templates for you and your team to use as a clear framework for productive conversations about feedback and growth and ensure those meetings run effectively. Get started with Fellow today!