Best New Hire Onboarding Questions to Ask (Template Included)

January 26, 2025 |
4 min read

an illustration of new hire onboarding survey questions to ask

A good onboarding process can make or break a new hire's experience. It’s your chance to help them settle in, understand their role, and feel like part of the team. But how do you know if your onboarding is effective?

That’s where new hire onboarding surveys come in! These surveys give you honest feedback to fine-tune your process, making it smooth and enjoyable for every employee.

In this blog, you’ll get ready-to-use survey questions and learn how to create a survey effortlessly.

Why Use New Hire Onboarding Surveys?

1. Make a Great First Impression When you ask for feedback, it shows you care about your employees’ experiences. This can help build trust and make them feel valued right from the start.

2. Spot Problem Areas Surveys can uncover gaps in your onboarding process. Maybe the training wasn’t clear, or some tools weren’t accessible. Fixing these issues improves the experience for future hires.

3. Increase Engagement and Retention When employees feel supported, they’re more likely to stay and perform well. Happy hires lead to a stronger, more motivated team!

Best Practices for Onboarding Surveys

Below are the best practices you should follow while creating your onboarding surveys: 1). Keep It Simple: A short, focused survey is easier for employees to complete. Stick to 10–15 well-thought-out questions to ensure higher response rates.

2). Mix Question Types: Combine yes/no questions, rating scales, and open-ended responses to gather diverse and detailed feedback. Each question type serves a unique purpose, so variety is key.

3). Send Surveys at the Right Time: Timing is everything. For fresh insights, send the survey during their first week. To get deeper feedback, wait until the 30-day mark once they’ve settled in.

4). Take Action: Don’t just collect feedback, act on it. Let your employees see that their suggestions are valued and lead to real improvements. This builds trust and fosters a culture of openness.

Top New Hire Onboarding Survey Questions

To help you get started, here are some great questions divided into helpful categories:

Pre-Onboarding Experience:

1). Did you get all the information you needed before your first day?

2). Was the onboarding schedule shared with you ahead of time?

First Day Experience:

3). How would you describe your first day? (Open-ended)

4). Did you feel welcomed by your manager and team?

Clarity of Role and Responsibilities:

5). Do you clearly understand your job responsibilities?

6). Is your manager supporting you effectively?

Tools and Resources:

7). Were all necessary tools and systems provided to you on time?

8). Did you receive enough training to use company tools/software?

Overall Satisfaction:

9). On a scale of 1–10, how would you rate your onboarding experience?

10). What can we improve in the onboarding process for future hires? (Open-ended)

Use this pre-built new hire onboarding survey template to skip the process of building one from scratch!

How to Create an Onboarding Survey with Formester

If you’re wondering how to craft a professional and effective onboarding survey, Formester has your back.

1). Create Your Survey: With Formester’s AI Survey Maker, you can generate a complete survey in seconds. Prefer to customize it manually? The drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to create a survey tailored to your needs.

2). Add Smart Features: Use features like conditional logic to make your survey more dynamic. For instance, you can show specific follow-up questions based on the respondent’s answers.

3). Customize Your Design: Make your survey stand out by adding your company’s logo, colors, and branding. A well-designed survey shows professionalism and boosts engagement.

4). Share Effortlessly: Once your survey is ready, share it via email, embed it on your HR platform, or send it as a link. Formester ensures your survey reaches your employees in the easiest way possible.

5). Analyze Feedback: Track responses using the advanced survey analytics to identify trends or problem areas. Use these insights to refine your onboarding process and create an exceptional experience for future hires.

Conclusion

Collecting feedback through new hire onboarding survey questions is a simple yet powerful way to improve your process. It helps you identify what works, what doesn’t, and how you can make every new employee feel supported and welcomed.

Sign up for Formester today and create your new hire onboarding survey in minutes!

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