The onboarding process can make or break a new employee’s first impression of your company. It’s time to ask the right onboarding survey questions and see what new hires are really thinking.
Studies show that 33% of employees quit within the first three months at a new company. This statistic is staggering considering that high employee turnover is costly (not to mention, exhausting for everyone involved in the hiring process).
As a certified Great Place to Work™, ContactMonkey has taken time to understand what separates a positive onboarding experience from a negative one. Our verdict: employee feedback.
Below, we break down the best employee onboarding survey questions and show you how to maximize feedback.
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What Is an Onboarding Survey?
An onboarding survey is a survey given to new employees during their first few weeks at your company (AKA: onboarding).
Typically, the survey will include questions about your new hire’s experience since they started. This might include questions about their perception of the company and its culture, their overall satisfaction with the job, and their expectations for the future.
An onboarding survey is used to gather employee feedback and identify areas for improvement in the onboarding process.
Create + automate surveys in minutes with ContactMonkey’s pulse survey tool!
Best Onboarding Survey Questions for New Hires
An onboarding survey is only as good as the questions you ask. Bad questions will lead to poor feedback and poor feedback – the kind that’s inauthentic or ambiguous – simply won’t be useful.
By asking quality onboarding survey questions, you ensure that the feedback you collect is accurate, relevant, and useful. Quality questions are well-written, clear, and specific, and they are designed to elicit meaningful responses.
Leave onboarding surveys to the experts. Use a pulse survey template.
Below, we break down different types of employee onboarding survey questions and examples that you can instantly customize and use across your workforce.
Pro tip: Save time by instantly generating employee survey questions directly within your email builder. Use ContactMonkey’s OpenAI integration.
Remote employee onboarding survey questions
Let’s face it: it’s hard to know how or what remote employees are doing miles away behind dimmed screens. That’s why asking thoughtful remote employee onboarding survey questions is key.
They allow employers to gather information about the effectiveness of their remote onboarding processes and identify areas for improvement. This helps employers understand how well they are supporting and engaging remote employees.
- In general, was it difficult for you to adapt to working remotely? [yes/no]
- Were all the necessary tools and equipment provided to you for remote work? [yes/no]
- How satisfied are you with the level of communication and support provided during the remote onboarding process? [very satisfied, satisfied, not satisfied, very unsatisfied]
- How well were you able to connect and collaborate with your team members remotely? [very well, well, not well, very poorly]
- How well were you trained on any remote-specific tools and processes? [very well, well, not well, very poorly]
- How comfortable do you feel with the technology used for remote communication and collaboration? [very comfortable, comfortable, not comfortable, very uncomfortable]
- How satisfied are you with the level of virtual support provided during the remote onboarding process? [very satisfied, satisfied, not satisfied, very unsatisfied]
- How well were you able to understand the company’s culture and values remotely? [very well, well, not well, very poorly]
- Were you able to easily access resources and information remotely? [yes/no]
- Were you able to easily schedule and attend virtual meetings during the onboarding process? [yes/no]
Pro Tip: Organize and segment employee sending lists to target the right employees with the right questions using ContactMonkey’s list management tool.
Open-ended employee onboarding survey questions
Open-ended employee survey questions provide a space for employees to provide detailed and specific feedback. These types of questions allow employees to express their thoughts, opinions, and concerns in their own words.
Given that employees are more willing to share what they truly think when results are anonymous, the best way to ask open-ended survey questions is using an anonymous feedback tool.
- What did you like most about the onboarding process? What did you like least?
- What suggestions do you have for improving the onboarding process?
- Can you describe any challenges you faced during the onboarding process?
- How do you feel about your new role and responsibilities?
- What are your expectations for your future with the company?
- Did the onboarding process help you understand the company culture and values?
- Were all of your questions and concerns addressed during the onboarding process?
- Can you share any feedback on the training and resources provided during onboarding?
- Did you feel integrated into the team and company culture by the end of your onboarding?
- Is there anything else you would like to share about your onboarding experience?
Scale of 1-10 employee onboarding survey questions
Rating scale questions are useful because they allow new hires to provide a quick and easy evaluation of their onboarding experience. They also allow you to quantify the feedback and compare the results.
Additionally, it’s easy to compare the results with previous surveys and track progress over time. Here are some scale rating questions to consider including in your next onboarding survey:
- On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied were you with the overall onboarding process?
- On a scale of 1-10, how clear were the instructions and expectations for your role?
- On a scale of 1-10, how informed do you feel about the company’s culture and values?
- On a scale of 1-10, how well did the onboarding process prepare you for your role?
- On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with the training and resources provided during onboarding?
- On a scale of 1-10, how well do you understand the company’s mission and goals?
- On a scale of 1-10, how well do you feel integrated into the company culture?
- On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with the communication and support provided during onboarding?
- On a scale of 1-10, how comfortable do you feel with the technology and tools provided for your role?
- On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with your manager and colleagues’ support during the onboarding process?
5-answer Likert scale employee satisfaction survey questions
Likert scale survey questions help provide a clear and standardized way to measure attitudes and opinions. What’s great about them is that they’re easy to understand and respond to, and they can provide a quantitative measure of a respondent’s level of agreement or disagreement with a statement or question.
Since Likert scale responses are numerical, they can also help identify patterns and trends in the data. Here are a few Likert scale questions to consider for your next onboarding survey:
- The instructions and expectations for my role were clear during the onboarding process. (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree)
- The onboarding process prepared me well for my role. (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree)
- I was satisfied with the training and resources provided during onboarding. (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree)
- I’m happy with the company culture and my team dynamic. (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree)
- I’m happy with the overall onboarding process. (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree)
How to Implement Employee Onboarding Surveys
Implementing an employee onboarding survey isn’t just typing up a few questions and hitting ‘send’. It takes a bit of planning. Here are a few steps to keep in mind for implementing a successful employee onboarding survey:
- Define the survey’s goals and objectives: Identify what information you want to gather from the survey, such as the new employee’s satisfaction with the onboarding process, their understanding of company policies and procedures, and their overall impression
- Choose a reliable employee survey tool: ContactMonkey makes employee onboarding surveys easy to design and implement through a range of preset employee pulse survey examples and a library of ready-made survey templates. Best of all: you can try it for
- Create the survey questions: Design a series of questions that will help you gather the information you need. Be sure to include both multiple-choice and open-ended questions to gather a wide variety of data.
- Determine the distribution method: Decide how you will distribute the survey, such as via email or an online survey tool.
- Schedule the survey: Decide when the survey will be distributed and to whom. It’s ideal to send it to new employees within the first two weeks of them joining the company. With ContactMonkey’s HRIS integration, you can organize and segment email sending lists by specific criteria to target the right people with the right content.
- Analyze the data: Once the survey responses have been collected, analyze the data to identify any trends or patterns. Use the results to improve the onboarding process and make changes as needed.
- Communicate the results: Share the survey results with the appropriate parties, such as HR and management, and use the feedback to make improvements to the onboarding process.
- Follow up: Follow up with new employees after a certain period of time to see if they are still satisfied with the onboarding process and if they have any additional feedback.
After the Survey: Gaining Insights From Post-onboarding Employee Surveys
So you’ve gathered your survey results. What you choose to do with these results is just as important as conducting the survey itself. Here’s how we recommend going about this:
- Identify key metrics: Identify the key metrics that you want to track, such as employee engagement, retention, and job satisfaction. This will help you focus on the most important aspects of the onboarding process and identify areas for improvement.
- Analyze the data: Once the survey responses have been collected, analyze the data to identify any key trends or patterns. Use statistical methods like correlation if needed.
- Identify areas of improvement: Look for patterns in the data that suggest areas of improvement, such as a lack of understanding of company policies or dissatisfaction with the onboarding process.
- Prioritize changes: Based on the data and feedback, prioritize the changes that need to be made to the onboarding process.
- Communicate the results: Share the survey results with the appropriate parties, such as HR and management, and use the feedback to make improvements to the onboarding process.
- Implement changes: Make the necessary changes to the onboarding process based on the feedback and data collected from the survey.
- Monitor progress: Continuously monitor the progress of the onboarding process to ensure that the changes are having the desired effect. Then make further adjustments as needed.
- Follow up: Follow up with new employees after a certain period of time to see if they are still satisfied with the onboarding process and if they have any additional feedback.
Boost Engagement With Your Onboarding
We’ve outlined just a few examples of questions that can be used to gather feedback on the employee onboarding experience. It’s important to tailor these questions to fit the specific needs of your workforce and the new hire’s role. In addition, it’s vital to pick the right time to deliver your onboarding surveys, do it in a thoughtful manner, and always acknowledge employee feedback.
There’s an easy way to tick all the boxes: use an all-in-one pulse survey tool to implement your employee newsletter ideas.
With ContactMonkey’s pulse survey software, you can create engaging onboarding surveys in a variety of formats within minutes. Best of all, employees can fill out surveys from the convenience of their employee newsletter and can share feedback in the form of anonymous comments.
Let our experts show you how to boost engagement with your onboarding surveys—request a free demo today!
