ADKAR Survey and Assessment Template
Thirteen questions that show which of the five stages one change is stuck at, so you fix the right thing.
- 13questions
- about 4 minto complete
- 2questions per stage
- 1open answer, optional
The 13 ADKAR survey questions
An ADKAR survey asks the people going through one change where they stand on each of the five stages of the ADKAR model: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement. The first weak stage is where to act. All thirteen questions below open in the online survey maker with their scales in place.
The change
How much of each person's work this change touches.
- How much will this change affect your daily work?split every stage score by this answer before you act.
Awareness
Whether people know what is changing, and why now.
- I could explain what is changing to a colleague who has not heard of it.a low score means people heard the news but missed the point.
- I understand why this change is happening now.
Desire
Whether people back the change.
- I believe this change is worth the effort it takes.
- I want to play my part in making this change work.
Knowledge
Whether people know what to do differently. Once the training has run, a post training survey shows what stuck.
- I know what I will have to do differently at work.
- I have been shown how to do my job the new way.
Ability
Whether people can do the new work for real. If the gap is a skill nobody on the team has yet, a training needs assessment comes first.
- I could work the new way today if I had to.lower than question 7 means people need more practice time.
- When I get stuck with the new way, I know who to ask.
Reinforcement
Whether people expect the new way to last and to be rewarded.
- I expect the new way to still be in place in six months.
- People here get credit for working the new way.
In your words
An optional box for the one thing that would help most.
- What would help you most with this change?group the answers by stage to see what each needs.
Overall
One readiness rating to compare between the two rounds.
- Overall, how ready do you feel for this change?
Running it and reading each stage
Send it to everyone whose daily work the change touches, team leads included: once after the announcement, and again four to eight weeks after go-live with the same wording. Put the change's everyday name in the survey title. Nobody gives a name, so people can be frank about desire.
Score each agree item 1 to 5 and average the two items in each stage. The stages build on each other,[1] so read them in order and act on the first low one, even when a later stage scores lower. Split the results by question 1 before you decide.
Between the two rounds, a short employee pulse survey tracks how people feel from week to week.
ADKAR survey FAQ
What do you do when one stage scores low?
Match the fix to the stage. Low awareness: repeat it through line managers. Low desire: talk about what it costs people; if the worry is jobs, run a job security survey. Low knowledge or ability: training and practice time. Low reinforcement: visible follow-through from leaders.
Can I use it as an ADKAR worksheet?
Yes. Copy all thirteen questions into a document and they work on paper in a workshop or a one-to-one. Sent online, each person answers alone and without a name, which gets you franker answers on desire.
Can it work as an ADKAR stakeholder analysis?
Yes. Add one question that asks which group each person belongs to, such as a team, site or role, and compare the five stage scores group by group. Keep each group large enough that nobody can be picked out.
Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 26 September 2026 · How templates are reviewed
ADKAR is a registered trademark of Prosci, Inc.
Sources (1)
- Prosci. The Prosci ADKAR Model. prosci.com
Find the stage your change is stuck at
Thirteen questions, about four minutes, and five stage scores when the answers come in.
Use this template