32 Coaching Survey Questions: Types, Uses & Examples

Mid-Coaching Pulse Survey

Why & When to Use This Survey

Surveys midway through coaching are the equivalent of a mid-journey check-in—think pit stop rather than final destination. Conducting a pulse survey halfway enables coaches and coachees to take stock and get unstuck if things stall. Has momentum dropped off? Is engagement slipping? A well-timed pulse survey can reveal all that and help steer the program back on track.

Use this survey precisely when the original motivation starts to fade—typically halfway through the coaching engagement. It provides the chance for honest, real-time feedback and lets coaches adjust tactics, session frequency, or materials before things head off course.

Don’t wait for the final report card. By asking smart questions mid-journey, coaches can:

• Spot disengagement before it turns into ghosting.
• Uncover session cadence or structure issues early, when they’re fixable.
• Encourage honest dialogue about what’s working and what isn’t.
• Fine-tune the coaching plan based on what’s most helpful for the client.
• Save time and reputations with quick course corrections.

A pulse survey is a powerful lever for momentum and accountability. And who doesn’t love a quick check to keep things humming?

5 Sample Questions to Include

Add these to your mid-coaching pulse survey for crystal-clear insights:

1. How satisfied are you with the progress toward your stated goals so far?

2. Which coaching tools or exercises have been most valuable to you?

3. What challenges are you currently facing that we haven’t addressed?

4. Rate the effectiveness of our session frequency and length.

5. What would make the remainder of the program more impactful for you?

This list helps keep feedback concrete and actionable, ensuring the second half of coaching is as meaningful (or even more so) than the first.

Implementing mid-coaching pulse surveys can significantly enhance coaching effectiveness by providing real-time feedback, allowing for timely adjustments, and fostering a culture of transparency and continuous improvement. (gallup.com)

Post-Coaching Impact Survey

Why & When to Use This Survey

It’s celebration time! But before you pop the confetti, a post-coaching survey helps capture the real impact your coaching delivered. Immediately after the program wraps, send a survey to measure behavior change, goal attainment, and ROI. This isn’t just bragging rights—it’s crucial data for clients and coaches alike.

The post-coaching survey is your client’s chance for reflection and a coach’s ticket to continuous improvement. Insights are especially valuable for program updates, marketing, and organizational reporting. Gather stories, testimonials, and quantifiable results right when the experience is fresh, not three months down the road when memories have faded.

Here’s why post-coaching surveys are so powerful:

• They measure progress toward initial objectives.
• They capture new habits and skills your client has adopted.
• They track the coaching impact on tangible business or personal metrics.
• They provide ready-made quotes for marketing your services (with permission, of course).
• They lay the foundation for ongoing support or follow-up sessions.

Deploy this survey within a week of final coaching sessions—while the transformation (and emotions) are bright and vivid in your client’s mind.

5 Sample Questions to Include

These questions can unlock rich insights and client testimonials:

1. To what extent did the coaching help you achieve your initial objectives?

2. Which new behaviors have you consistently applied since coaching began?

3. How has coaching impacted your performance metrics (e.g., sales, productivity)?

4. Would you recommend this coaching program to a colleague? Why or why not?

5. What is the single greatest takeaway you gained from the experience?

Use these to prove your coaching value—and to keep improving session after session.

Coaching Relationship & Coach Evaluation Survey

Why & When to Use This Survey

The coaching relationship is everything! Without a great connection, even the most brilliant techniques fall flat. The relationship and evaluation survey explores coach rapport, communication style, and professionalism. It’s like a coaching “review” that ensures quality and spotlights coach strengths and growth areas.

It’s best to deploy this survey during or after a coaching engagement, once enough trust and experience have built up. This isn’t just about celebrating wins; it’s about nurturing constructive feedback and cultivating stellar coaching standards across the board.

Here’s why the relationship survey is a must-have:

• It uncovers hidden strengths and development opportunities for the coach.
• It confirms if the coach’s style matches the coachee’s learning preferences.
• It highlights whether the space feels supportive and inclusive.
• It helps coaches refine their delivery for current and future clients.
• It’s essential for benchmarking coaching quality in organizations with multiple coaches.

Include this survey as part of any robust coaching wrap-up—or after a key milestone in an extended engagement.

5 Sample Questions to Include

Try these questions for honest, actionable coach feedback:

1. How well did your coach listen and understand your challenges?

2. Rate the coach’s ability to hold you accountable without judgment.

3. Did the coach provide actionable feedback you could implement immediately?

4. How culturally competent and inclusive did you find the coaching approach?

5. What could the coach do differently to improve future sessions?

By focusing on both strengths and areas for growth, you’re ensuring sustained excellence in every coaching relationship.

The Coach-Athlete Relationship Maintenance Questionnaire (CARM-Q) effectively assesses conflict management, motivational strategies, and support within coach-athlete relationships. (frontiersin.org)

360-Degree Coaching Effectiveness Survey

Why & When to Use This Survey

Sometimes, a coachee’s growth shines brightest in the eyes of others. Enter the 360-degree coaching effectiveness survey—a feedback powerhouse that pulls in opinions from managers, peers, and direct reports. This survey validates observable behavior change, making it a favorite for leadership and executive coaching programs.

Don’t keep the feedback circle too tight; invite those who interact daily with the coachee and can truly see their evolution. Deploy this survey toward the end of a program, or alongside post-coaching review, especially where leadership transformation or stakeholder buy-in is vital.

Here’s why organizations love 360-degree surveys:

• They give a well-rounded view of a coachee’s behavioral improvements.
• They pinpoint gaps between self-perception and external feedback.
• They highlight whether coaching results are rippling out to benefit wider teams.
• They help design ongoing development plans that stick.
• They offer measurable outcomes when reporting to higher-ups.

This type of survey is especially useful for charting the ROI of leadership development programs.

5 Sample Questions to Include

For a brilliant 360-degree survey, ask:

1. Have you observed noticeable improvements in the coachee’s leadership style?

2. How effectively does the coachee now handle conflict situations?

3. Describe one positive behavior change you’ve seen since coaching began.

4. On a scale of 1–10, how well does the coachee solicit and act on feedback?

5. What additional support could enhance the coachee’s continued growth?

These questions are excellent at surfacing multi-rater feedback that matters most to organizational success.

Coaching Program Satisfaction Survey (Organizational Level)

Why & When to Use This Survey

Coaching isn’t just about individuals. When dozens (or hundreds) of employees join a program, organizational leaders need to know: Is it working at scale? The coaching program satisfaction survey zooms out to assess logistics, usability, and scalability across the wider team.

Administer this survey after a coaching cycle or when rolling out a new platform. It captures the whole operation in one snapshot—including the scheduling system, resource availability, and program alignment with company goals.

Here’s why this survey is every HR leader’s friend:

• It shines a light on friction points like clunky tech or hard-to-book sessions.
• It ensures content actually supports broad organizational objectives.
• It measures user-friendliness, accessibility, and communication quality.
• It builds a business case for investment in coaching at scale (or tweaks as needed).
• It gathers direct ideas on how to improve the experience for future participants.

This survey is critical whenever you want to prove coaching’s ROI to leadership—or uncover opportunities for organization-wide upgrades.

5 Sample Questions to Include

On your organization-level survey, don’t miss these:

1. How easy was it to enroll and schedule coaching sessions?

2. Rate the relevance of program content to organizational objectives.

3. Were resources (worksheets, recordings, portals) accessible and user-friendly?

4. How satisfied are you with the communication from the coaching program administrators?

5. What improvements would make the program more valuable to future participants?

This approach ensures scalability and relevance—not just for today’s cohort, but for every future wave of talent.

Best Practices: Dos and Don’ts for Crafting Coaching Survey Questions

Survey crafting is part art, part science, and a dash of intuition. Nailing the basics makes sure your questions spark actionable feedback instead of sighs (or snoozes). Let’s break down what makes a survey not just good—but absolutely fantastic.

Do:
- Align every question with a clear objective or KPI.
- Mix quantitative scales (like 1–10) with open-ended items for rich storytelling.
- Keep surveys concise to reduce fatigue and boost completion rates.
- Schedule surveys strategically (pre, mid, post) to map progress over time.

Don’t:
- Lead respondents with biased or double-barreled questions (“How awesome was the coach and their worksheets?”).
- Overlook anonymity and data privacy; trust is crucial for honest feedback.
- Ignore follow-up; share results and clear action steps with your clients to demonstrate you listen—and care.

Balancing closed and open-ended questions gives you a blend of stats and stories. Keep the language simple and the length manageable for higher participation rates (and less eye-rolling).

Pay special attention to formatting for easy reading—bullets, scales, and white space are your survey’s friends. If you get sleepy reading your own questions, it’s time for a rewrite!

Conclusion: Turning Survey Insights into Coaching Excellence

Every survey in your toolkit delivers more than numbers—it feeds a continuous improvement cycle that lifts coaching to new heights. Mix and match these types for deep insights that start conversations, foster trust, and prove your coaching value. Pilot, iterate, and automate to create surveys that scale with you. If you want a head start, download a free coaching survey template or reach out for a bespoke solution. Let those insights power your next big win!