The Employee Engagement Survey supports SUs to measure the engagement and satisfaction of their staff and benchmark results against previous years, the sector and wider charity sector trends.

 

Sign ups for the Employee Engagement Survey 2027 are now open! Sign up here

come to our Informative webinars, to find out what's new this year!  Sign up below!

Dates:

• Thursday 29 October 2026 (12.00-13.00)
• Thursday 12 November 2026 (12:00-13:00)

 

 

Key dates

 

Stage	Date
2026 sign ups & fact finds open	Mon 12 Oct 2026
Information webinars about the 2026 survey	Thu 29 Oct (12:00 -13:00) Thu 12 Nov (12:00-13:00)
Fact find deadline submission	Mon 14 Dec
2027 survey fieldwork window(when the survey is open with your staff for responses)	Mon 18 Jan to Fri 5 Mar 2027
SUs select their benchmarking peers	Mon 8 Feb to Fri 26 Feb 2027
Final date surveys can be open for responses	Fri 5 Mar 2027
Reports become available	Mon 8 Mar 2027

 

Employee Engagement Survey

We are celebrating 14 years of the Employee Engagement Survey in 2026/27.

 

The Employee Engagement Survey enables you to measure and gain real insight into the engagement, experience and satisfaction of your staff. You also be able to benchmark results against previous years (so you can measure progress) and peers in the sector.

 

Now more than ever it's important to understand what staff experience is like. As we know, research shows happy, engaged staff experience higher levels of wellbeing, job satisfaction and retention, alongside improved performance. Through this survey we are committed to providing our members with a high quality platform, data and insights through the power of the collective.

 

The survey itself is provided through a dedicated website for your SU and branded with your logo. The site also has an interactive dashboard where you can access your results and generate different reports, by department or demographic group, for example. You can then use the data as a launchpad for deeper conversations with staff in your SU, and for identifying and taking action to improve future employee experience.

Participants answer core questions, alongside open questions, and demographic questions, and staff complete the survey anonymously online. Check out the core question set for this year.

 

Our partners

We've partnered with Agenda Consulting since 2013 to deliver this survey. Agenda specialise in helping not-for-profits boost employee and volunteer engagement with a tailored approach. In October 2024, Agenda joined WorkBuzz - a leading employee survey company that helps clients make data-driven decisions and manage change better. In 2026/27, we are working with WorkBuzz’s powerful platform to offer an even stronger, integrated service. You’ll still get the same great support from the trusted team who’ve been with us since the survey began 13 years ago.

 

We also work alongside Atkinson HR Consulting to encourage SUs to access this resource. Atkinson HR Consulting specialise in creating change, building capacity and driving quality people management in values-driven organisations across the UK.  They work with a range of SUs and charities to provide support around staff engagement and culture.

 

Offer

What’s new in 2027

• Ultimate timing flexibility: Your timeline, your comms. Surveys open on 18 January and close on 5 March, and you choose the closing date you communicate to staff.  WorkBuzz sends all invitations and reminders, so there’s nothing extra to set up.
• Reminders when you need them: Ask NUS Charity for ad-hoc reminders at any point before 5 March. They’ll go only to colleagues who haven’t completed the survey, helping boost responses without extra work for you.

• A refreshed set of core questions: Based on feedback from previous years, we’ve refined the core questions, so you get sharper insight. We’ve retired six questions that had little effect on engagement scores, so the survey stays focused on what matters most, and made a few other updates.

• We’re now asking about potential initiatives that would help staff develop
• Where staff don’t agree that your service is high quality or cost-effective, two follow-up questions invite specific ideas for improvement.
• Four new statements explore the theme of respectful workplaces and appropriate behaviour

Read the full offer here

Cost

The cost of participating in the Employee Engagement Survey in 2027 is £1,260 + VAT for affiliated members, and £2,520 + VAT for non-affiliated members. 

 

Because of our collective buying power, the cost, including its special features, can be offered to SUs each year at a significantly discounted price. 

 

Do you need to get in touch with us about the survey?

Any questions about the survey, please get in touch with the team