90+ New Hire Onboarding Survey Questions to Ask

After hiring the right candidates for your job roles, it’s essential to give them a warm welcome and ensure a smooth, long-term retention journey within your company. The first few days of onboarding help new employees align their expectations with reality.

Employees often feel disheartened when their expectations don't align with the company’s processes and functioning, especially after putting a lot of effort into securing the job.

What happens when employee expectations and reality don't align?

They start planning their exit within just a few months. Surprising?

But here’s the good news: you can prevent this by getting employee feedback right away in their first few days at work. That’s where new hire onboarding survey questions come in.

In this post, we’ll come to understand the need for employee onboarding surveys at various stages of an employee’s probation period in the company and how companies can use them to collect feedback to improve their employee retention strategies.

What is an Onboarding Survey?

Onboarding surveys consist of one or more company surveys that periodically collect feedback from employees during various stages of their onboarding process. Such surveys help employers understand how their onboarding process has equipped employees with all the necessary information for working in the company.

Onboarding surveys help companies continuously refine their onboarding process so that no employees feel left out or that their concerns are not addressed. Furthermore, collecting employee feedback from the moment they enter the company is a good practice for determining whether the company meets employee expectations.

Why Are Onboarding Surveys Important?

The first few days of an employee’s onboarding journey can seem overwhelming, as they must pay attention to every detail of the company’s processes, reporting hierarchy, team dynamics, work structures, point-of-contacts, and much more.

The new hire onboarding survey questions aim to uncover how well an employee has understood what has been conveyed and shared with them.

Onboarding feedback surveys provide rich sources of information that help companies in the following ways:

1. Whether the company’s vision and goals have been effectively conveyed to all new joiners through all possible media.
2. How aware are the new hires of the company’s current business challenges, and what is the significance of their job in solving them?
3. How do new employees feel within their team?
4. If employees can learn and adapt to the company’s work culture.
5. How comfortable do the new joiners feel about approaching their HR business partners and other points of contact for help?

Ensuring a smooth onboarding process and collecting feedback during the first few weeks helps employees integrate more effectively with the company.

Types of Onboarding Survey Questions

A variety of strategies and challenges arise when asking the right questions to new hires, ensuring they feel welcome while also avoiding overburdening. That is why it is recommended that onboarding surveys be periodic and comprise a mixed type of questions.

Here are some of the categories to explore when framing your questions:

Open-Ended Questions

These are very general and do not require any specific answers from employees. They involve employees sharing their firsthand experiences and analyzing them to see areas of improvement. Open-ended questions may be like the following:

• How do you feel after attending our onboarding sessions so far?
• Was there any session or area that lacked clarity?
• How were your first few days working with your new team?
• Do you notice any differences in the work style at our company compared to your previous employers?
• Do you have any suggestions to improve our existing onboarding processes?

Binary and Multiple Choice Questions

Your onboarding survey questions should include a significant number of “yes/no” questions that help determine the success of certain initiatives or programs. Answers to these questions help the concerned professionals probe further and find solutions to barriers.

Here are some examples of binary questions during onboarding:

• Was the session informative enough?
• Were the session's goals met?
• Did the trainer/speaker clarify all doubts you had?
• Were you given sufficient resources to refer to the session details after the session?
• Do you like your new team?

Similarly, multiple-choice questions with predetermined answers help companies know one or more instances of employee experiences. Here are some popular ways to present questions relating to onboarding experiences:

1. What aspects of your team do you like most?

1. Welcoming
2. Available to address concerns
3. Swiftly tackle challenges
4. Ideal leadership

2. What was the most useful onboarding resource in your journey?

1. Handbooks and online manuals
2. Offline sessions with skilled trainers
3. Online company intranet portal
4. Team members sharing their experiences

3. Where did you spend most of your time during the first few weeks in the company?

1. With your team members
2. With HR professionals and session speakers
3. Company office premises, canteen, and recreational areas
4. Mostly alone, or with people who joined along with me

1–10 Rating Scale Questions

A fun and popular way to share experiences is to let employees rate their experiences using numbers when words fail to express them. Where words fail to express, numbers can give more clarity on the success of an onboarding session or initiative. Rating on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = very poor, 10 = excellent) can be a great way to measure employee pulse on onboarding initiatives.

Here are some rating-based questions that can appear on new hire onboarding surveys:

• How would you rate the information provided during the onboarding process?
• Rate your experience in working with your new team.
• How comfortable are you in communicating your needs to your managers and HR partner?
• Rate how the onboarding sessions prepared you for your job role.
• How would you rate the work culture in our company?

Likert Scale Questions

The Likert scale is similar to the rating scale, but is more suited to measure employees’ opinions as feedback rather than numerical scoring. Out of the various point-based scales, the 5-point Likert scale is a popular metric for measuring employees’ agreement or disagreement with a certain clause, ranging from 1 (very satisfied) to 3 (neutral) to 5 (very dissatisfied).

Here are some examples of questions to measure opinions:

• Are you satisfied with the onboarding session handouts, offline, and online resources?
• Are you happy with the way your team members are embracing you into their team?
• Is the company’s work culture and timings suitable for you?
• Are our processes and workflows swift enough to suit your needs?
• Are our HR business partners available to communicate with you and address your concerns?

Pulse Survey vs. Full-Length Surveys

Pulse surveys are shorter and more frequent questionnaires circulated to employees to get instant feedback. Such surveys can have a mix of binary, multiple-choice, and rating scale questions that employees can complete quickly. Additionally, such surveys are best suited for collecting weekly feedback, end-of-session feedback surveys, and similar activities. Typically, such surveys consist of 10-15 questions that do not require much time to complete.

On the other hand, full-length surveys have numerous elaborate questions that require employees to spend time recording their feedback. Full-length surveys encompass all the above categories of survey questions, requiring employees to think carefully and provide their answers. Full-length surveys are often administered at milestones, such as the end of an employee’s probation period, the first year of employment, the conclusion of an appraisal session, and similar events.

90+ New Hire Onboarding Survey Questions to Build a Better Employee Experience

Here we have a curated list of employee onboarding survey questions that can suit all sorts of employees:

Questions Before Onboarding

This set of questions is aimed at gathering an employee’s experience and expectations before they arrive at the workplace on their first day. This questionnaire applies to both onsite and remote employees, who must be provided with a set of resources to help them participate in further onboarding proceedings.

1. Were the welcome email communications from your onboarding HR business partner on time?
2. Did you receive sufficient resources to guide you in enrolling in our official workspace portals?
3. Did you receive a detailed agenda for your onboarding sessions during the first few days of your employment?
4. What do you expect to learn from our onboarding sessions?
5. Would you like to see people from your new team participate in a detailed knowledge transfer session about your new job?
6. Where or with whom will you prefer spending time during your first few days at work?
7. Rate the clarity of our communication to help you prepare for your first day at work.
8. Were you able to clarify your doubts without any judgment from our business partners?
9. How do you feel when preparing yourself for your first day at work in our company?
10. Have we met your expectations in providing the required information and a smooth pre-boarding experience?

Week 1 Onboarding Survey Questions

The first few days of onboarding are crucial for employees to establish a positive image of the new company. Therefore, the company must obtain relevant feedback on what employees think about the company and its processes to ensure a smooth workplace transition.

11. Which form of information and resources were most helpful for you during onboarding?
    • a) Handouts
    • b) Instruction manuals and PDFs
    • c) Direct interactions from session speakers
    • d) End-of-session videos
12. Were the session speakers and presenters clear in conveying the session’s objectives?
13. How was the pace and scheduling of our onboarding sessions throughout this week?
14. Did you get enough time to interact and mingle with your team members?
15. Are you familiar with the primary points of contact for various departments within the company?
16. Are you familiar with the processes related to managing attendance, payroll, rewards, and internal communications?
17. Do you have an idea of how your contributions will impact your team and our company’s business?
18. Are you satisfied with the current format of our onboarding sessions? Rate from 1 to 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
19. Were there any instances in which you felt biased or judged when you posed any concern during a session?
20. Would you like any additional information included in our onboarding sessions regarding our company and your job role?

30-Day Survey Questions

By about a month into their new jobs, employees get a fair idea of the company’s work culture, team dynamics, and expectations. This is an ideal time to survey them to gather feedback on their journey so far and how smoothly their transition from new joinee to regular employee has been.

Try keeping these questions short and mostly choice-based, as employees may feel bugged or overwhelmed by filling out different surveys within a short span.

21. Do you feel happy in your new job role? Yes/No
22. Did the company’s work culture meet your expectations?
23. How welcoming were your team members? Excited, neutral, or cold?
24. Have you reviewed our onboarding materials and resources for any concerns related to attendance and payroll?
25. How is your rapport with your manager? Rate from 1-10. (1=very poor, 10=excellent)
26. Did you get to bond with your team out of work? Yes/No
27. How would you rate your current workload? Rate from 1-10 (1=not getting any work, 5=balanced, 10=overworked)
28. How many hours or days did you spend to learn for your role in the team?
29. Did you get to connect with your HR business partner and share your experiences?
30. Was it worth it to interview and apply for this job? Yes/No

60-Day Survey Questions

A period of 60 days or 2 months is sufficient for employees to settle into their jobs, start engaging with the team, and make meaningful contributions at work. This survey can repeat one or more questions from the previous one to see if employees have changed their minds.

Here are some questions that can provide a good glimpse into how the onboarding process helped facilitate a swift transition from a learner to a team performer.

31. Describe your journey in the past 2 months in one word.
32. Have you noticed any significant differences in the working style here compared to your previous experiences?
33. Have you been able to log and track your work as informed in your onboarding session?
34. Are you comfortable with your reporting hierarchy?
35. Can you reach out to any level of managers and business partners in the reporting hierarchy without being judged?
36. Do you notice any changes in your team after your arrival?
37. Did you get sufficient opportunities to engage with your team members?
38. Are you aware of our training and upskilling programs and how to apply for them?
39. Are you satisfied with your current work-life balance?
40. Do you agree that choosing to work with us was a good decision? Yes/No

90-Day Onboarding Survey Questions

A duration of 3 to 6 months is sufficient to keep employees on probation and assess how they perform in their new job role. In addition to monitoring their work performance, companies can conduct surveys at the end of 90 days or 180 days to assess an employee’s journey and development post-onboarding.

41. Are you happy working with our company? Rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
42. Were the goals, policies, and initiatives discussed with you during your onboarding sessions consistent with and reflective of your work?
43. Did you have monthly meetings with your group and part heads to learn our business outcomes?
44. Have you been recognized for any significant contributions you made with your team?
45. How would you rate our internal communications portal and its efficiency?
46. Was there any suggestion you made regarding any process or initiative that was taken into consideration?
47. How has your rapport with your team improved?
48. Did you face any challenges or arguments within your team?
49. Does your work align with your skill sets, or do you feel the need to upskill?
50. Have you enrolled in or taken up any additional training during the past few months?

Engagement and Culture Focused Questions

The onboarding sessions and the working style within a company reveal a great deal about the company’s culture and employee engagement. The first few days or months of being in the company can motivate employees to love their company or decide that they do not belong here.

Here is a set of questions related to measuring employees’ engagement levels and the factors that can motivate them to work more effectively.

51. Have you been able to interact with employees other than your team members?
52. Do you have a circle of friends and acquaintances with common interests in our company?
53. Did the onboarding sessions give you details of our existing employee engagement initiatives?
54. Are you aware of and part of any hobby clubs that our employees run?
55. Did you get a chance to show your talents and interests apart from your work skills in any company platform?
56. Does your manager encourage you to take periodic breaks from work and prevent burnout?
57. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our fun activities conducted on our internal portal?
58. Given a chance, what is one policy or initiative you would like to introduce or alter in our company?
59. Do you feel proud to mention that you work in our company to your peers?
60. How would you rate our employee satisfaction initiatives compared to those of our business competitors?

Remote Onboarding Survey Questions

Employees onboarding through a remote setup often miss out on direct interactions and team activities. However, that should not be a reason for them to have a less thorough onboarding experience. Virtual sessions, online office tours, team connects over video calls, and many more ways help remote employees get a warm welcome.

Here are some specific feedback questions that work on gathering feedback from employees working remotely.

61. Were you provided with all the necessary manuals and resources to set up your online official workspace?
62. Did you face any technical glitches during setup? How swiftly was our team to respond?
63. Did your team do anything special to welcome you to work?
64. Do you connect with your team on a daily basis?
65. How do you hang out with your team members after work?
66. Would you prefer working at the office or remotely, considering your new workload?
67. Have you ever met your team members directly?
68. Are you happy with the ice-breaker activities that the company conducts for remote employees?
69. What engagement initiatives would you suggest or alter to suit remote employees?
70. Would you prefer working in a hybrid environment sometimes?

Manager-Focused Onboarding Survey Questions

Employees often reconsider joining a company within the first few months because they have a bad manager. Misunderstandings and miscommunications between managers and their reportees should never be a reason for a company to lose outstanding talent.

Companies must float manager-centric feedback surveys at the end of every quarter or two to understand the relationship between employees and their managers. Here are some onboarding survey questions for managers’ impact on employees.

71. What were the first impressions you had of your manager?
72. Has your impression of your manager and leaders changed during your work period?
73. On a scale of 5, how satisfied are you with your manager?
74. Given an opportunity, would you like to change teams or work under someone else?
75. What are your manager’s strengths and weaknesses, according to you?
76. How does your manager treat you and the rest of your team members?
77. Is your manager quick to appreciate you for your timely contributions?
78. Have you felt your manager being biased towards you or anyone else at any instance?
79. Does your manager respect the time you are away from work?
80. How encouraging has your manager been to help you spend time learning and upskilling?

Fun/Icebreaker Questions for Team Building

Onboarding sessions, knowledge transfer sessions, and others conducted during an employee's initial days at the workplace often include ice-breaker questions that also serve as a means of constructive feedback.

Here are some fun questions that can be asked during formal sessions or informal team bonding activities to gather employee feedback.

81. Which session or speaker was the most fun and interactive?
82. Which work area or work desk at the office is the most aesthetic?
83. Where did you spend most of the time during your first week at the office?
    a) Browsing the cafeteria, b) The boardroom, c) With your team
84. Who was your first friend when you joined the company? Are you still friends?
85. Where do you often head out to recharge after attending a boring session?
86. Was it overwhelming to read through a lot of manuals, handouts, and paperwork during the initial days at work?
87. Given a chance to name your team and assign roles to your team members, what would be your suggestions?
88. If you were given the role of the company’s CEO for a day, what would be your first action item?
89. If you could swap roles with your HR business partner, how would you design your welcome journey?
90. Rate the scale on which you are your ideal self in our company.
91. On a scale of 1-10, how cool is it to work in our company?
92. Can you share your music playlist that pumps you up to work?

What Are the Benefits of New Hire Onboarding Surveys?

We came across a wide variety of questions that help collect an employee’s exact thoughts and experiences during their initial days in the company. Information from such feedback surveys is crucial for improving and providing the best onboarding experience for employees, making them feel welcome.

Additionally, companies benefit from several indirect advantages by collecting timely feedback and making adjustments to existing processes. Here are some tangible ways companies obtain solid information from new hire onboarding surveys.

1. Employee Engagement: Employee feedback on the onboarding sessions and initial team bonding initiatives helps companies understand the steady growth of new joiners' engagement with the team and the company.
2. Identify Onboarding Gaps: Dissatisfaction with the clarity of information provided during onboarding, technical glitches, poor communication, and similar feedback can be signs that the company must bridge gaps in its onboarding process.
3. Improve Retention and Reduce Turnover: Periodic feedback pulse surveys measuring employee satisfaction enable companies to take preventive measures, preventing employees from leaving, and providing initiatives that enhance their performance.
4. Strengthen Company Culture: A good company culture works towards improving itself to make its employees feel happy and valued. Periodic feedback surveys, right from onboarding, ensure employees are treated as the best resources.
5. Improve Employee Experience: Feedback surveys seeking areas of improvement make employees feel that their opinions are valued and considered.
6. Align Between New Hires and Managers: Feedback surveys mediated by HR professionals can be the best way to identify blockers that prevent managers and employees from engaging smoothly.

How to Implement an Employee Onboarding Survey

Onboarding does not happen in a day or two. From the company’s side, the onboarding sessions and processes may be done in a few days. Still, the actual integration of employees into their team and acclimating to the team’s work dynamics can vary for everyone.

Similarly, it is essential to schedule onboarding feedback surveys at regular intervals, allowing the company to measure employees' steady and active involvement in their work roles from the time of joining.

Here are some factors to consider when collecting onboarding feedback surveys:

1. The timing and frequency of surveys help gather employee opinions on similar questions over different periods. For instance, their opinions on their managers may be different from their first week at work to their opinions after a few months.
2. Onboarding surveys must be uniform and collected on a common platform for easy analysis. It is best to leverage tools that are integrated with your company’s intranet portal or utilize survey-based tools like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, and others that can be easily integrated into your employees’ workspaces.
3. The surveys collected must ensure the anonymity of participants, as the opinions shared about their team members, leaders, and others can be sensitive. Revealing such information without anonymity can potentially lead to trust issues among team members. Feedback summaries must not include the names of employees who have provided constructive feedback to others.
4. Before collecting surveys, ensure you mention a few words about the importance of the survey to new hires and how their feedback can help you improve their experience in the future.

How to Analyze New Hire Survey Results

Once you send out onboarding surveys to your new hires, give them an estimated time and reminders to submit their answers. The response rate is crucial to ensure every experience gets recorded. Failing to respond or ignoring surveys can indicate that employees need help in engaging better with their team and the company.

Most survey tools also help summarize responses and provide results to the survey creators. Recently, numerous AI-based survey tools have helped provide comprehensive analytics and insights on areas for improvement.

The aim of periodically sending out surveys with similar questions is to determine whether employees still hold the same opinions as before or if there are reasons for them to change their opinions. For instance, the 30-day survey responses can differ from the 90-day survey responses, as employees tend to understand the company and their teams better with prolonged retention.

Companies must encourage interactions between employees, managers, and HR business partners in case they find their survey responses concerning and hinting at signs of disengagement. If no steps are taken in response to any surveys, the employees may find filling out such surveys a waste of time.

Final Thoughts: Using Survey Insights to Improve Onboarding

New hire onboarding surveys are a valuable tool for tracking and monitoring an employee’s engagement with their team and the company from the day they join. The first few days at work are sufficient for employees to develop an image of their new workplace and the prospects for their future while working there.

Onboarding surveys must be conducted in a phased manner, with a wide range of questions that accurately reflect employee expectations without overwhelming them. The questions must aim to understand their experiences and satisfaction with the current processes and initiatives taken by their team and the company to make them feel welcome at the workplace.

We have curated a holistic set of onboarding survey questions that help gather employees' opinions on different topics: the preboarding experience, their awareness of information provided during the first week, their welcome into the team, bonding with team members, initial workload, work-life balance, gradual growth and appreciation within the team, and their transition to full-time employees.

Bookmark this handbook of 90+ new hire onboarding survey questions to ease your onboarding feedback collection process.