Survey Questions: Interpersonal Skills
Definition: Interpersonal skills form the basis for effective collaboration, where communication, honesty, and empathy enable colleagues to build strong relationships and navigate challenges with openness and respect. Leaders foster a supportive environment by coaching, recognizing contributions, mediating conflicts, and providing constructive feedback, ensuring that diverse perspectives are valued and inclusion is prioritized. Through trustworthiness, responsiveness, and leading by example, employees create a culture of mutual support, adaptability, and shared success, strengthening both teamwork and organizational growth.
CommunicationCommunication focuses on exchanging information effectively, ensuring clarity in conversations, and maintaining open channels for collaboration. This dimension highlights verbal and nonverbal communication skills, fostering approachability, articulating initiatives clearly, listening attentively, and facilitating positive interactions. It prioritizes engagement and understanding, ensuring that individuals express themselves effectively while maintaining strong connections within the workplace.
- My coworkers maintain open and regular communication with each other
- My manager communicates initiatives in a clear and actionable manner to the employees
- I feel that I communicate well at all levels of the organization
- I have no trouble understanding the core issues of conversations
- My colleagues are easily approachable if I need help with something
- I demonstrate good interpersonal skills through excellent communication with colleagues and customers
- My supervisor is a good listener who is attentive to others
- I know how to apply appropriate communication techniques to meet the needs of the situation
- My coworkers have good interpersonal skills and attend to both the content and the context of what was being said
EmpathyEmpathy focuses on understanding and recognizing the emotions, perspectives, and challenges of others in order to foster deeper connections and thoughtful interactions. This dimension highlights practicing compassion, anticipating concerns, demonstrating sensitivity, and making an effort to see situations from multiple viewpoints. It prioritizes emotional intelligence and awareness, ensuring individuals can navigate interpersonal dynamics with consideration and tact.
- My coworkers anticipates the concerns of other employees
- Members of my team pay close attention to what is being communicated verbally and nonverbally
- My manager is willing to consider understanding the other points of view
- I use tact, compassion, and sensitivity in my interactions with others
- I have empathy toward coworkers
- My coworkers demonstrate a compassion and understanding of others
- I am aware of how awareness of how specific actions, or inaction, could affect others
- People in my department will listen to and interact with customers and team members in an effective, tactful, and pleasant way
- My team members are willing to consider the other individual's point of view
HonestHonest focuses on maintaining integrity, transparency, and trustworthiness in communication and actions. This dimension highlights giving sincere feedback, owning up to mistakes, reinforcing credibility, and ensuring that truthfulness is a fundamental aspect of workplace interactions. It prioritizes trust and authenticity, ensuring that individuals engage in direct, transparent, and ethical communication.
- Our department is transparent and honest in communications, intentions, and actions
- I feel my coworkers would give honest opinions when asked
- People working at the Company maintain a high degree of honesty and integrity
- People in my department are honest about owning up to mistakes made and willing to put in the effort to fix them
- My supervisor comes across as a credible, knowledgeable and sincere person
- I give honest feedback and suggestions for improvement when asked
- I feel that honesty and integrity are core tenets of interpersonal relationships here at the [Company]
- I feel that the leadership here is honest and trustworthy
- My co-workers are honest about owning up to mistakes that occur
RelationshipsRelationships emphasizes building strong, collaborative connections, fostering teamwork, and maintaining positive interactions across different professional levels. This dimension centers on working well with difficult individuals, establishing rapport, promoting cooperation, and creating a supportive network among colleagues. It prioritizes engagement and interpersonal connection, ensuring employees develop meaningful, productive relationships that contribute to a healthy workplace culture.
- My manager establishes good rapport with employees and customers
- I feel we work cooperatively with each other in this department
- The current team leader is able to build strong relationships with team members
- I have built a strong rapport with my co-workers
- I feel that I am able to work closely others who may be considered to be difficult to work with
- My manager is able to work with individuals at all levels of the Company
- People in my department are willing to communicate in person instead of through a mobile device
- I feel that I am helpful, considerate, and cooperative towards others
- People in my department demonstrate a willingness to work with others
CoachingCoaching focuses on providing personalized guidance, helping individuals develop skills, and fostering learning through constructive feedback and mentoring. This dimension highlights encouraging self-improvement, facilitating collaboration, offering tailored advice, and ensuring employees receive direct support in refining their abilities. It prioritizes skill development and individual growth, ensuring employees have the necessary tools and insights to enhance their performance.
- The supervisor encourages team members to seek and respond to constructive criticism
- The team leader coaches others how to better communicate with influence and persuasion
- My supervisor gives advice and coaches employees on how their style influences the outcomes of situations
- My manager coaches others whenever possible
- The department provides learning activities to help associates better relate to one another and create a collaborative environment
- My director coaches us on how to offer alternative solutions in order to help customers achieve desired results
- The Company provides resources to enable individuals to develop themselves
LeadershipLeadership emphasizes influencing and motivating others to align with a collective vision, take action, and collaborate toward shared goals. This dimension centers on securing commitment from teams, persuading employees to follow strategic directions, maintaining morale, and using influence rather than authority to inspire action. It prioritizes vision and empowerment, ensuring teams remain engaged and committed to the broader mission of the organization.
- The department head inspires a sense of area pride and culture; co-workers are aware of what makes their area unique
- My manager uses appropriate persuasive techniques when talking with people of varying backgrounds and resistance levels
- The company leadership recognizes and rewards behavior that produces excellent performance
- The team leader uses knowledge and charisma rather than position, power, or coercion to influence the direction of the team
- My manager is effective in securing cooperation from and/or persuading others to support his/her solutions and decisions
- The team leader holds team members accountable to commitments made
- My supervisor expresses ideas in an appropriate manner to overcome resistance, complaints, and frustration from others
- The team leader positively impacts the team's morale, sense of belonging, and participation
- I am able to adapt my management style to meet the needs of the individual or situation
- My manager influences others on the team to reach goals, improve performance, and try new things
- Leaders at the Company are able to secure commitment from employees, supervisors, and departments when working to gain support for ideas or decisions
OpennessOpenness emphasizes being receptive to new ideas, perspectives, and contributions from others in a way that fosters collaboration and inclusive discussions. This dimension centers on encouraging open dialogue, creating space for diverse viewpoints, withholding judgment in discussions, and actively listening to suggestions. It prioritizes receptiveness and engagement, ensuring that individuals feel heard and valued in conversations.
- I maintain an open and accepting manner in my interactions with others
- People in our department actively listens to each other
- My manager listens to others, withholding judgment, and comes across as open to all viewpoints
- The team is open to input on alternative ways to accomplish objectives
- Our department manager is open to innovative ideas and suggestions from others
- My manager values the opinions of others
- The supervisor is open and approachable
- My manager creates an atmosphere that supports the open expression of ideas
- My supervisor will listen to suggestions and advice from others
- My team leader encourages others to share ideas to develop team cohesion
- Leadership seeks input from key people who should be involved in, or will be affected by, decisions
- I feel employees in my department are open to input on alternative ways to accomplish objectives
RecognitionRecognition focuses on acknowledging employees' contributions, showing appreciation for their efforts, and celebrating accomplishments. This dimension highlights offering praise, expressing gratitude for hard work, reinforcing positive contributions, and encouraging a culture where success is acknowledged. It prioritizes motivation and appreciation, ensuring employees feel valued and inspired by their achievements.
- In our department we give credit where credit is due
- The manager appreciates the extra efforts made by coworkers
- People in my department often express appreciation of other's work
- Our team leader takes time to recognize the efforts of others
- Leadership recognizes when we do a good job
- My supervisor appreciates the work of direct reports and subordinates
- Our department encourages others to recognize the work of outstanding employees
- My manager offers praise to colleagues who have successfully completed major projects
- Leadership shows appreciation for our work
- My supervisor recognizes the contributions of others
MediatesMediates emphasizes actively resolving conflicts, fostering compromise, and facilitating solutions to disputes in a constructive manner. This dimension centers on de-escalating tensions, maintaining composure in disagreements, striving for win-win outcomes, and guiding individuals toward resolution. It prioritizes conflict management and negotiation, ensuring that workplace disagreements are handled diplomatically while preserving collaboration and team cohesion.
- Our supervisor effectively manages conflicts by dealing with them directly and immediately
- My manager remains calm, poised and rational in debates, seeking an understanding of all sides
- Leadership at the company resolves conflicts in a positive way
- I know how to successfully mediate conflicts and disagreements
- My supervisor seeks common ground and collaborative solutions in negotiations with others
- My manager is able to defuse hostile/angry individuals in group settings to prevent disruption of work
- The team leader facilitates the resolution of conflicts and grievances
- I strive for win/win solutions
- My manager successfully resolves conflicts and grievances to a win-win solution
- The HR department is able to resolve conflicts and disagreements constructively
- In our department we are able to work through disagreements with co-workers
FeedbackFeedback emphasizes providing constructive input to help employees grow, improve performance, and refine their skills. This dimension centers on offering thoughtful assessments, ensuring feedback is delivered in a supportive way, guiding individuals toward better outcomes, and fostering development through meaningful evaluations. It prioritizes growth and improvement, ensuring employees receive actionable insights that enhance their effectiveness.
- My manager gives good advice and suggestions to coworkers
- My manager is thoughtful and honest about the feedback they give others
- I receive feedback (both positive and negative) in a constructive manner
- I gives constructive feedback on performance reviews
- I always offer constructive criticism to have a positive impact on performance
- My supervisor provides constructive feedback in a way that fosters acceptance and development
Diversity and Inclusion
- My manager creates diverse teams of individuals with different backgrounds, skills, and abilities
- People at the company are willing to overlook personal differences and focus on completing the task at hand
- Coworkers in my department are accepting of individuals with different cultural backgrounds
- My coworkers see values in the diversity of individuals on the team
- My manager promotes acceptance of diverse viewpoints from team members
- Our department fosters a diverse workforce free from discrimination and harassment
- Employees in our department embraces the differences in individuals that comprise the team
RespectRespect focuses on valuing othersâ opinions, treating colleagues with dignity, and fostering a culture of mutual appreciation. This dimension highlights recognizing the contributions of team members, creating an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued, and ensuring interactions remain courteous and professional. It prioritizes social harmony and appreciation, reinforcing that every individual is acknowledged and treated fairly.
- My supervisor is well respected in the department
- Employees in the department are respectful of the opinions and ideas of others
- I see the value of input from coworkers
- My manager is a highly respected individual in the company
- My manager treats others with respect
- I have respect for the other members of the team/department
TrustworthyTrustworthy emphasizes demonstrating reliability, keeping commitments, and maintaining confidentiality to build credibility. This dimension centers on ensuring dependability, being someone others can confide in, fulfilling promises, and maintaining ethical workplace behavior. It prioritizes integrity and dependability, ensuring colleagues feel secure in their interactions and commitments.
- My coworkers are committed and reliable partners
- The team leader is trusted by peers and co-workers; others are willing to confide in him/her
- My supervisor is someone you can trust
- People in my department are reliable and dependable; they will do what they say they are going to do
- The leadership in my department is able to keep and maintain confidentiality and trust
- Leaders keep their commitments made with the employees
Responsive
- Coworkers in the department are willing to assist those who need help in meeting performance metrics
- I work diligently to assist customers in finding the right products
- People in our department are willing to assist employees that need help
- Coworkers are willing to lend a hand to those in the department who need help
- People in my department will follow up on inquiries in a timely manner
- I am able to respond quickly to inquiries from potential customers
- Our department addresses critical customer issues in a timely manner
Role Model
- My manager demonstrates a high degree of ethics and integrity in the workplace
- I strive to lead by example to demonstrate the value of interpersonal relationships
- My coworkers display positive interactions
- My manager is a role model for others demonstrating the importance of interpersonal skills
- Employees in the department demonstrate positive behaviors for others to follow