Inclusion template

DEI & Belonging Survey Template

A diversity, equity and inclusion survey that measures lived experience — belonging, voice, fairness of opportunity, everyday respect and whether people can be themselves at work — with the anonymity safeguards that questions this sensitive absolutely require.

15 questions 5 min to complete Annually All employees

Use this template free

When to use it

Run it annually, with enough gap from your engagement pulse that neither primes the other. Demographic questions should always be optional, and the survey should be clear about exactly how those answers will and will not be used.

The full question set

Copy these as they are, or adapt the wording to your organisation — just keep it identical between waves, because changing a question resets its trend line.

Belonging

1.I feel like I belong at this company.1–5 scale
2.I can be myself at work without changing how I speak or behave.1–5 scale

Voice

1.My opinions are heard and considered in my team.1–5 scale
2.My team makes space for different perspectives when making decisions.1–5 scale

Respect

1.People at all levels are treated with respect here.1–5 scale
2.I have seen or experienced behaviour at work that made me uncomfortable.1–5 scale

Fairness

1.Everyone has a fair opportunity to be promoted, regardless of background.1–5 scale
2.Pay and rewards are decided fairly here.1–5 scale
3.Hiring decisions here are based on merit rather than familiarity.1–5 scale

Trust

1.I know how to report unfair treatment, and I believe it would be taken seriously.1–5 scale

Leadership

1.Leadership here is genuinely committed to inclusion, not just publicly.1–5 scale

Representation

1.I can see people like me in senior roles at this company.1–5 scale

Equity

1.Flexible working is available to me on the same terms as everyone else.1–5 scale

Open

1.What would make this a more inclusive place to work?Open text
2.Is there anything you would like leadership to understand?Open text

How to run it well

Make every demographic question optional, with a 'prefer not to say' option on each.
Set a higher suppression threshold than usual — ten responses rather than five — for demographic cuts.
Never cross-tabulate two demographic dimensions in a small organisation; it identifies people.
Publish the results and the actions together, or expect the next wave's response rate to collapse.
Track the belonging and voice questions as your headline measures, not headcount ratios.

Questions people ask

Should we collect demographic data in a DEI survey?

Only if you can protect it, only as optional questions with a 'prefer not to say' option, and only if you have enough people per group that reporting cannot identify anyone. In a fifty-person company, cutting results by ethnicity will often point at a single individual — in that case, run the survey without demographic cuts and rely on the experience questions.

How do we make people trust a DEI survey?

Explain in one paragraph what is stored, what is not, and who sees what — then match the promise with a visible suppression threshold. Trust is also cumulative: what you did with last year's results predicts this year's response rate better than any wording you choose.

What should we measure as the headline number?

Belonging and voice. Representation ratios tell you who you hired; belonging tells you whether they will stay and contribute. Organisations that improve representation without improving belonging usually see the new hires leave inside eighteen months.

Related templates

Culture

Can people speak up here without paying for it?

Engagement

The 15-question monthly pulse

Leadership

Upward feedback that managers can actually act on

Send this template in five minutes

Load it into TruePulse, import your team, and let automatic reminders and anonymity thresholds do the rest. Free — every feature, every seat.

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