35 Impactful Employee Onboarding Survey Questions

Effective onboarding stands at the crossroads of an employee's journey in an organisation, and by monitoring the onboarding process, firms can uncover nuances that might otherwise go unnoticed. Exploring areas like communication channels, induction effectiveness, and how well training needs are met can provide valuable insights into the employee experience.

Understanding a new employee's perceptions, expectations, and immediate working environment can guide future improvements to the process. These improvements in turn can not only bolster organisational cohesion but also fortify the connection between the employee and the company.

Here, we present a sample of questions for your next onboarding survey, covering a range of touchpoints and influences on a new hire's onboarding experience. By addressing these questions organisations can unravel the good and bad of the onboarding, to improve the experience for future new starters.

Example new hire survey questions‍

Communication

(These questions aim to capture feedback on communication with the company, with their manager, and with colleagues, etc.)

1. How seamless have communications with your colleagues been since you joined?

2. Were there any challenges in understanding the company's communication platforms?

3. How approachable is your immediate manager when you have concerns or queries?

4. Do you feel you're receiving adequate feedback on your performance?

5. Were you informed timely about crucial company updates?‍

Induction

6. Was the company's mission and vision clearly articulated during your induction?

7. How would you rate the effectiveness of the induction programme?

8. Were there any areas of the induction process that seemed superfluous or redundant?

9. Did the induction give you a solid grasp of the company culture?

10. Were all logistical matters, like access cards and system logins, sorted promptly?

Training

11. Did you find the training materials to be up-to-date and relevant?

12. How interactive and engaging were the training sessions?

13. Were there any skills or tools you felt weren’t adequately covered during the training?

14. How comfortable are you in applying what you learned during training to your role?

15. Were the trainers receptive to your queries and concerns?

Understanding

(These question examples aim to assess the new employee's understanding and comprehension of their role and responsibilities, of the induction process, etc.)

16. How well do you think you comprehend your role and its responsibilities now?

17. Are there aspects of your role that remain ambiguous?

18. How well do you believe the induction process prepared you for your current role?

19. Were there any discrepancies between your job description and the actual role?

20. Do you feel you've been given clear milestones and performance metrics to aim for?

Employee's expectations

(These questions aim to understand the new employee's expectations of their of role, of the company, etc.)

21. How aligned is the reality of your role with what you expected before joining?

22. Were there any promises made during the interview process that haven't been realised?

23. Do you feel the company's ethos mirrors what was presented to you during the hiring process?

24. What additional resources or support would you have expected to receive by now?

25. How does the company's actual culture compare to your initial impressions?

Working environment

(These questions aim to understand the new employee's experience of, and feelings about equipment, resources, the physical environment, and more.)

26. Are you equipped with the necessary tools and resources to perform your tasks efficiently?

27. How would you describe the comfort level of your physical workspace?

28. Are there any improvements you'd suggest for the office's physical environment?

29. How efficient are the company's IT systems and software for your daily tasks?

30. Were there any challenges in setting up or accessing necessary tools or systems?

Remote working

(This sample set of questions may be useful if the new employee will be working remotely - whether at home or on-the-road - either fully or through a hybrid office/remote arrangement.)

31. How would you rate the company's support for remote work?

32. Are there tools or resources you believe would enhance your remote working experience?

33. How well do you think the company has adapted its communication channels for remote working?

34. Have you faced any challenges in balancing work and personal life while working remotely?

35. Do you feel there's a strong sense of team cohesion, even when working remotely?

Use our onboarding survey template

To begin capturing feedback from your new hires why not start with our employee onboarding survey template. It comes pre-built with 16 common onboarding questions, and can be used as provided or customised to your own business needs.