Employee Recognition Survey Template
Twelve questions that show whether recognition here feels sincere and fair, and what form each person wants.
- 12questions
- about 3 minto complete
- 3preference questions
- 1open answer, optional
The 12 employee recognition survey questions
An employee recognition survey asks employees whether the praise and credit at work feel sincere and fair, who they most want to hear it from, what form they prefer, and whether they can recognize colleagues themselves. All twelve questions below are ready to edit, or you can build a survey for free from scratch.
Does recognition land
Whether thanks here feels sincere, follows performance and names the work.
- Recognition in this organization feels sincere to me.
- In my work unit, differences in performance are recognized in a meaningful way.
- Recognition here names the specific thing that was done.a low score has the quickest fix: say what was done.
Fair and clear
Whether recognition is spread around, and whether people can see how it is decided.
- Recognition here reaches more than the same few people.a low score means the same names keep coming up.
- I could explain how it is decided who gets recognized here.a low score means people need to see how awards are decided.
Who and how
Who people most want to hear it from, and in what form. When the answers point at one manager, the manager effectiveness survey asks their team about them.
- Whose recognition matters most to you here?
- Which kind of recognition would you most like to get?the top answer is the form to use more often.
- Which kind of recognition would you rather not get?praise in public delights some people and embarrasses others.
Giving it
Whether colleagues can thank each other without waiting for a manager.
- I can recognize a colleague's work here without getting approval first.
- I know what to do when I want to recognize a colleague.if it is low, send a short how-to and ask again.
In your words
One optional box before the final rating.
- What would make recognition here mean more to you?group the answers by the form of recognition they ask for.
Overall
One rating to compare from round to round. For recognition as one part of a wider read, use the employee engagement survey.
- How satisfied are you with the way recognition works here?
Sending it and reading the scores
Send it to everyone, managers included, once a year and again three months after any change to how recognition works. It asks for no names, so report one result for the whole company.
Score each agree item as the percent who chose 4 or 5. Question 2 uses the wording of the US federal employee survey, where 47 percent answered positively in 2024,[1] so a higher score puts your people ahead of the federal workforce.
If most people name senior leaders in question 6, a formal award fits, and the employee of the month nomination questions give a panel something to judge.
Employee recognition survey FAQ
Is an employee appreciation survey the same thing?
Close enough to use this one. Appreciation usually means thanks for the person, and recognition means credit for the work. Questions 1 and 3 read the thanks, question 2 reads credit for performance, and questions 7 and 8 cover both.
How do I find out how each employee likes to be recognized?
Questions 7 and 8 ask it directly: the form each person would most like and the one they would rather not get. For a preference sheet per person, add an optional name field and share each answer only with that person's manager.
Can it cover rewards as well as recognition?
Yes. Question 7 already puts extra time off and money beside praise, so you see what each form is worth to people. When comments keep turning to pay levels, the compensation survey questions go into salary and fairness in detail.
Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 26 September 2026 · How templates are reviewed
Sources (1)
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 2024 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey: Governmentwide Management Report, revised April 2025, question 17. opm.gov
Learn how your people want to be thanked
Twelve questions, about three minutes, ready to edit and send.
Use this template