Enhance Your Onboarding Process by Asking Relevant New Hire Onboarding Survey Questions

Jul 10, 2024

10 mins read

Manisha Khandelwal

The banner image of the blog on the topic, 35+ Examples for New Hire Onboarding Survey Questions

Amanda got her first job at Apple and on her first day, the whole team greeted her. After some time, her manager shared some booklets for her to read. A few hours later, she received a new hiring onboarding survey asking about her satisfaction with the onboarding experience.

She rated it satisfactory. Then, an open-ended question asked her what was the one thing that made her experience satisfied. She appreciated having a few resources to read and get started on the first day. She felt it was a great way to start as a new employee – enhancing the overall employee experience.

This highlights the importance of creating and asking effective new hire onboarding survey questions. By launching these surveys, your new employees feel welcome and prepared from day one, and you gain insight into their likes and dislikes, needs, and expectations.

But how to create these surveys effectively?

You must use a robust survey builder that supports creating different types of employee experience surveys such as employee feedback, 360-degree feedback, onboarding, and more. With this tool, you can collect and analyze feedback in real-time effectively by diving deeper into qualitative and quantitative data. Additionally, ensuring that your new hires’ information is up-to-date and secure is crucial. For instance, utilizing resources like the Death Master files can help in verifying and managing sensitive employee data accurately.

Now, let’s start the blog with an in-depth understanding of onboarding surveys, the types of questions to ask at different stages of onboarding, and best practices for asking the right questions to engage new hires, and enhance their satisfaction and productivity.

What Are Onboarding Surveys?

An image showing a new hire onboarding survey created on SurveySensum tool asking how satisfied the new hiring is with the clarity of information given at the time of onboarding on a 5-point scale ranging from 1- very dissatisfied to 5 - very satisfied

Onboarding surveys are sent to new hire employees to gather feedback regarding their initial experiences within an organization. These surveys provide valuable insights into new employees’ experience, perspectives, expectations, and overall satisfaction during their early days on the job.

Here’s a sample question to include in your onboarding survey:

→ How satisfied are you with the clarity of information provided during your onboarding process?

By launching the onboarding surveys you can:

Gain valuable insights into new hires’ perceptions and identify areas for improvement in processes and communication.
Demonstrate responsiveness to new employees’ feedback, fostering early engagement and a sense of inclusion.
Use survey results to refine onboarding practices, ensuring smoother transitions and increasing new hires’ productivity.
Discover how likely they are going to stay in your organization.

Onboarding surveys are crucial for shaping a positive employee experience from day one, contributing to long-term retention and organizational success.

Why Onboarding Surveys Matter?

The first few weeks at a new job can make or break an employee’s long-term commitment. The answer lies in understanding their initial experiences through new hire onboarding survey questions. These surveys play a pivotal role in shaping how employees perceive their journey into a new company—and can significantly impact their retention, productivity, and overall satisfaction.

During the onboarding process, gathering feedback through well-crafted surveys provides invaluable insights into what new hires are experiencing. It allows you to identify strengths to celebrate and areas for improvement before issues escalate.

In fact, studies reveal that organizations with effective onboarding processes experience an 82% increase in new hire retention and a 70% boost in productivity.

Beyond retention and productivity, onboarding surveys contribute to overall employee satisfaction. They demonstrate to new hires that their opinions matter from day one, fostering a sense of belonging and engagement. This proactive approach not only enhances the employee experience but also aligns new hires with the company’s goals and culture early on.

That being said, let’s move ahead and dive straight into the questions you should ask while creating onboarding surveys.

35+ New Hire Onboarding Survey Questions

As you embark on designing your new hire onboarding survey questions, consider the following sample questions tailored for different stages of the onboarding process.

Pre-Boarding Questions

It’s crucial to gather insights early on to ensure a smooth transition. Here are the onboarding survey questions tailored to the pre-boarding stage that you can ask after the introduction or training session:

How would you rate the clarity of information provided during the hiring process? (Likert scale)
What are your expectations regarding your role? (Open-ended)
Did you find the pre-employment information (job description, benefits) comprehensive? (Binary question)
How satisfied are you with the communication from the HR team before joining? (Likert scale)
Do you have any initial questions before starting? (Open-ended Question)
Are you excited for your first day on the job? (Likert scale)

First-Day Questions

Ask the following employee onboarding survey questions to gauge the initial experiences with your company on their first day:

How would you rate your first-day orientation experience? (Likert scale)
Were your onboarding materials (handbooks, policies) easy to understand? (Binary question)
Did you receive sufficient information about the company’s values? (Multiple-choice)
How well did your manager introduce themselves and explain their roles? (Likert scale)
Were there any logistical issues on your first day that we should address? (Open-ended)

Week 1 Questions

Reflecting on the newcomer’s initial week with your company, consider the following onboarding survey questions:

How effective was the training you received in preparing you for your tasks? (Likert scale)
Do you feel comfortable asking questions from your manager? (Likert scale)
Are there any tools you need immediate access to? (Binary question)
How would you rate the clarity of your goals for the first week? (Likert scale)
Is there anything you would suggest changing about the training process? (Open-ended)
Do you feel integrated into the team so far? (Likert scale)

30-Day Onboarding Survey Questions

As your new hire is getting settled into their role, consider asking the feedback on the monthly journey along with the SaaS onboarding survey questions:

Are you clear about how to effectively use our SaaS platform to perform your tasks? (Binary question)
How satisfied are you with the initial training provided on using our SaaS tools? (Likert scale)
Have you encountered any issues while using our SaaS platform that we should address? (Open-ended)
How would you rate the usability of our SaaS tools for your job responsibilities? (Likert scale)
Are there any additional functionalities to enhance your experience? (Open-ended)
Do you feel our SaaS platform adequately supports your workflow? (Binary question)
Have you had sufficient support to troubleshoot issues with our SaaS platform? (Likert scale)

End of Probation Period Questions

Now when the new hire is close to the end of the probation period, the following are the onboarding survey questions to ask:

Do your career goals and current job profile align together? (Binary question)
How well do you feel your role contributes to the overall organization’s goals? (Likert scale)
Are there any areas where you would like more training? (Open-ended)
How would you describe your experience with the company’s performance feedback process? (Likert scale)
What suggestions do you have for improving our onboarding process for new joiners? (Open-ended)

General Feedback Questions

Here are some generic feedback questions that you can include in your onboarding survey to help your organization continuously improve:

How likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work to a friend or colleague? (NPS)
What aspects of the company do you value the most? (Open-ended)
Do you find your current role challenging? (Open-ended)
How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the onboarding process? (CSAT)
Do you have any additional comments or suggestions for improvement? (Open-ended)
Would you like to schedule a follow-up discussion about your onboarding experience? (Binary question)
Are there any specific benefits you believe would enhance employee satisfaction at our company? (Open-ended)
How effective was the communication regarding company policies during your onboarding? (Likert scale)
Are you satisfied with the current company location as a place to work? (Rating scale)

Use these new hire onboarding survey questions in your surveys to fit your organization’s specific needs and goals. All these good survey questions cover a variety of survey types and stages within the onboarding process, aiming to gather comprehensive feedback to improve the new hire experience and integration into the company.

Are your employees happy or unhappy with your current organization? If you don’t know the answer then it’s time to launch onboarding surveys. Ask a few of these targeted questions to gauge their feedback and boost engagement

Best Practices for Crafting Effective Survey Questions

Effective onboarding surveys rely heavily on well-crafted questions that yield specific and actionable insights. Here are tips for you to consider while designing the surveys:

1. Question Order: Arrange questions logically to guide respondents through the survey hassle-free. Start with general and easy-to-answer questions before delving into more specific topics.

2. Maintain Anonymity: It is your responsibility to keep the employee anonymous as they might not be comfortable sharing the feedback openly and might face negative repercussions internally. Thus, it is vital to maintain the anonymity of employees to have a transparent work environment.

3. Clarity in Questions: Ensure each question is clear, and neutral and does not lead respondents towards a particular response. This leads to qualitative survey results.

4. Survey Length: Keep the survey simple and concise to maintain respondent engagement because long surveys lead to survey fatigue. Focus on important questions that address critical aspects of the onboarding experience.

5. Pilot Testing: Before launching the survey, conduct pilot testing with a small group of new hires to identify any issues with question clarity or survey flow.

By following these best practices, organizations can design onboarding surveys that provide valuable feedback to enhance the new hire experience and improve retention rates.

Create Onboarding Surveys with SurveySensum

An image showing multiple types of surveys offered by the SurveySensum tool to boost employee engagement
SurveySensum stands out as an AI-enabled feedback management platform for conducting new hire onboarding survey questions, offering a suite of features designed to enhance the onboarding experience across various industries.

With SurveySensum, organizations benefit from:

AI-Powered Text Analytics: Gain actionable insights from open-ended feedback effortlessly, with the help of Text and Sentiment Analytics Software. This feature extracts key themes and sentiment trends from responses, enabling deeper understanding without manual effort.
Multi-Channel Distribution: Reach new hires wherever they are with surveys distributed via email, SMS, web links, WhatsApp, etc. This flexibility improves response rates and comprehensive feedback collection.

An image showing SurveySensum real-time analytics and a user-friendly tool to create and launch onboarding survey and leverage data-driven insights

Real-Time Analytics: Access instant insights into employee sentiment and feedback with SurveySensum’s real-time analytics. This capability empowers organizations to make informed decisions promptly, optimizing the onboarding process continuously.

SurveySensum is particularly well-suited for all industries such as automotive, fintech, insurance, etc. where instant feedback and agile improvements are critical for success. Its ability to adapt to different organizational needs and scale with growth makes it a valuable asset for enhancing employee engagement and retention.

Wrapping Up

Conducting the onboarding feedback survey is a great way to know your employees. With these surveys, you can gather and compare with data from other stages of the employee journey providing a comprehensive view. This holistic approach enhances the onboarding process and boosts employee engagement and productivity.

At SurveySensum, effective onboarding is pivotal for long-term organizational success. By refining your onboarding experience based on actionable insights from SurveySensum, you’re investing in a positive employee journey from day one, fostering lasting engagement and retention.