Onboarding Insights: Surveys That Empower New Hires from Day One

Did You Know: 38% of people quit within the first year at a job, and 40% of this group do so within 90 days- Forbes

Employee Onboarding is beyond just introducing new hires to their role or workplace—it's the first step in shaping their experience within the organization. A well-structured onboarding process delivers on recruitment promises, helps employees feel welcomed, and equips them with the necessary tools and knowledge to succeed.

Unfortunately, many companies miss the mark. Gallup reports that only 12% of U.S. employees feel their onboarding experience was practical. The challenge is even more significant for remote workers, as building relationships and understanding their role virtually can feel overwhelming. Nearly one in five employees say their onboarding was poor or nonexistent.

To bridge these gaps, employee onboarding surveys are essential. Organizations can gather actionable onboarding feedback to refine their processes by asking the right onboarding survey questions. These surveys uncover insights that help improve the overall onboarding experience, ensuring employees feel valued and supported from day one.

Now more than ever, companies need thoughtful onboarding processes that help new employees feel connected, supported, and ready to contribute, no matter where they work.

Let's explore how onboarding surveys can transform this crucial phase into a seamless and engaging experience—whether employees are in-office or remote.

What Are Employee Onboarding Surveys and Why They Matter?

Employee onboarding surveys are a type of employee survey that companies use to evaluate the employee experience of their new hires during the onboarding process.

Employee onboarding surveys are effective tools that help organizations gather feedback from new hires about their onboarding process. These surveys enable leaders to understand how effectively their onboarding programs perform and where improvements are needed. By directly engaging with new employees, we gain valuable insights to refine processes and create a more seamless and impactful onboarding experience.

Well crafted onboarding surveys focus on critical areas—clarity of job expectations, quality of training, and the level of support from managers and peers. This new hire feedback gives us the data to address challenges and set employees up for success from day one.

The benefits go beyond process improvement. Structured surveys actively boost employee engagement by showing new hires that their opinions matter. When employees feel valued and supported, they're more likely to stay motivated and committed. A positive onboarding experience also drives employee retention, fostering loyalty and reducing turnover rates.

Employee Onboarding Survey Questions by Stage

Did you know organizations with solid employee onboarding processes can expect a new hire retention rate that's 82% higher than their peers. Similarly, according to the Brandon Hall Group, new hire productivity is 70% higher.
The first 90 days of an employee's journey can make or break their future with your organization. To ensure success, gathering feedback at specific intervals throughout the onboarding process is essential. This systematic approach helps organizations fine-tune their onboarding program and address concerns before they become serious issues.

First Week: Questions for Immediate Impressions

The initial days are crucial for setting the right tone. Survey questions during this time should focus on the basics – from paperwork handling to workplace setup and initial introductions.

It's essential to gather feedback during this time to understand if their expectations match the reality of the role, how they feel about the company culture and the level of support they've received from managers and teammates. This early feedback helps identify issues quickly, allowing for a smoother transition and a more positive onboarding experience.

Sample Questions:

1. "How well did the onboarding process align with your expectations before you started?"

2. "Did you feel welcomed by your team on the first day?"

3. "How would you rate the clarity of communication regarding your role and responsibilities?"

4. "How would you describe your first impression of the company culture?"

5. "Do you feel you have received adequate support from your manager or team members so far?"

6. "What resources or tools would help you feel more confident in your role?"

First Month: Assessing Training and Resources

The first month is a critical window where new hires transition from learning to contributing. After the first month, feedback should focus on the quality and effectiveness of training, access to resources, and the new hire's confidence in their role. This checkpoint helps identify gaps in training and ensures employees have the support they need to succeed.

Sample Questions:

1. "How well did the training prepare you to handle your day-to-day responsibilities?"

2. "Do you have access to the tools and information you need to excel in your role?"

3. "Have you faced any obstacles that hinder your ability to perform effectively?"

4. "How supported do you feel by your manager and team so far?"

5. "What additional resources or training would enhance your confidence and productivity?"

6. "Do you feel integrated into the company and aligned with its goals?"

These questions focus on uncovering actionable insights to refine your onboarding process. As an expert, you recognize that training and resources lay the groundwork for success. Proactively addressing challenges during the first month ensures employees feel empowered, engaged, and ready to deliver value.

First Three Months: Deepening Engagement and Role Clarity

The three-month milestone marks a critical period for employee retention, where strong alignment with company values begins taking root. Gathering thorough onboarding feedback during this phase reveals crucial insights about role clarity, employee engagement, and whether new hires feel genuinely connected to your organization.

Sample Questions:

1. "How confident are you in understanding your role and responsibilities?"

2. "Do you feel engaged and connected to your team and the company's mission?"

3. "Are your day-to-day tasks aligned with your job description?"

4. "Are you receiving regular feedback from your manager?"

5. "Do you feel like a valued member of the team?"

6. "How well do you understand our company culture and values?"

7. "What improvements could be made to enhance the onboarding process and your experience?"

8. "How likely are you to recommend [Company] as a great place to work?"

Remote-Specific Questions

Onboarding remote and hybrid employees requires a unique approach. Without the benefit of face-to-face interactions, focusing on challenges like access to digital tools, communication, and fostering a sense of belonging is vital. Asking thoughtful questions can help leaders ensure remote employees feel supported, connected, and ready to thrive.

Sample Questions:

1. "Do you feel connected to the team despite working remotely?"

2. "How effective are virtual team meetings for collaboration?"

3. "Were all remote work tools and resources available to you from day one?"

4. "Have you experienced any technical barriers to doing your work?"

5. "Rate the effectiveness of our digital communication tools."

6. "What improvements would you suggest for the remote onboarding process?"

7. "Are virtual training sessions engaging and effective?"

8. "Are expectations about work hours and availability clear?"

9. "How satisfied are you with the flexibility of remote work?"

Try our Free Onboarding Template

Take your onboarding process to the next level with Vantage Pulse's Employee Lifecycle Survey. Our comprehensive platform helps you capture meaningful feedback throughout every stage of the employee journey.

At Vantage Circle, we aim to offer simple yet effective solutions that will help corporates enhance their employee experience.

What We Offer:

• Complete Lifecycle Coverage

• Onboarding Feedback

• Initial Development

• Ongoing Development & Retention

• Separation Insights

Our ready-to-use employee onboarding survey template includes expertly crafted new hire survey questions that help you:

• Track new hire satisfaction

• Identify improvement areas quickly

• Ensure smooth team integration

• Measure onboarding effectiveness

Here are some of the key features you get with Vantage Pulse

**Ready-to-Use Questions: **Professionally curated new hire survey questions that cover all crucial aspects of onboarding

Flexible & Customizable: Easily adapt the template to match your organization's unique needs

Boost Engagement: By fostering a culture of open communication and accountability, our surveys empower employees to voice their concerns, increasing their connection to the organization.

Multi-Stage Approach: Structured feedback collection at key milestones (first week, 30 days, 90 days)

Advanced RealTime Analytics: Vantage Pulse provides real-time feedback analysis, enabling swift and informed decision-making.

Using Onboarding Feedback to Enhance Employee Experience

Effective use of onboarding feedback is vital for improving the overall employee experience. By analyzing data from onboarding surveys, HR can identify critical areas for improvement, ensuring new hires feel supported and prepared.

Identify Key Trends in Feedback

Analyzing survey responses is the first step in understanding the onboarding experience. Focus on familiar themes, such as:

Training Gaps: Are new hires receiving adequate training to understand their roles?

Support Systems: Do they feel supported by managers and colleagues?

Preparedness: Were they provided with the resources needed to succeed from the start?

By pinpointing these trends, HR teams can identify systemic issues and implement solutions to enhance the employee onboarding process and boost employee engagement.

Prioritize and Implement Changes

Analyzing onboarding feedback is key to creating a better experience for new hires. HR teams should review both numbers (like satisfaction scores and response rates) and written comments to spot recurring issues.

Common challenges often include unclear job roles, technical setup problems, and poor communication. Start by focusing on the most frequent or impactful issues. Simple actions, like updating training materials or improving team introductions, can make a big difference.

Track progress and monitor improvements in satisfaction scores, quicker time-to-productivity, and reduced early turnover. Regularly review these results to keep improving the onboarding process.

Clear communication with stakeholders, proper resource allocation, and consistent execution are essential for turning insights into results. A dynamic, feedback-driven onboarding strategy improves employee engagement and strengthens organizational growth by aligning with new hire needs.

Share Results with Team Leaders

Every new hire has a story to tell about their first weeks. These stories hold valuable clues for making teams stronger. Sharing onboarding feedback with managers and team leaders plays a crucial role in employee experience enhancement. Summarized survey insights provide them with actionable data to support new hires better.

Share these insights with your leaders regularly to help them:

• Spot patterns in what new employees need

• Build on what's already working well

• Fix small issues before they become big ones

When team leaders know what works and what doesn't, they can quickly fine-tune how they bring new people on board. This helps build stronger teams and keeps good employees around longer.

Think of it like a continuous improvement loop: employees share feedback, leaders make changes, and the next round of new hires has an even better experience.

Follow-Up Surveys for Continuous Improvement

Six-month check-ins with employees provide valuable insights to strengthen our onboarding process. Regular surveys help us understand the long-term impact of our onboarding efforts and spot areas where we can do better.

Track what matters through focused feedback:

• How well onboarding prepared them for their current role

• Which early support systems proved most valuable

• What challenges they overcome in their first months

• Which resources do they still reference today

• What they needed but didn't receive initially

These follow-up surveys do more than gather data – they show employees we value their experience and want to keep improving. When we act on their feedback, we build trust and create a culture of continuous improvement.

• By collecting insights at the six-month mark, we can:

• Refine our onboarding materials with real examples

• Better prepare managers to support new team members

• Address gaps in our training approach

• Make our welcome process more effective

Remember: Great onboarding evolves with our employees' needs. Regular check-ins ensure we're always moving in the right direction.

Conclusion: Building Better Beginnings

Our onboarding is like a warm welcome that never stops getting warmer. When we listen to our employees' experiences – from their first day through their first six months – we're not just collecting feedback but weaving a more robust workplace culture together.

Remember: Every story we hear is a building block for better beginnings. When we keep our team leaders tuned in to new hire needs when we make improvements based on real experiences, and when we use our follow-up surveys to shape future changes, we're not just onboarding employees – we're building our community stronger with every new addition.

Let's make each new hire's journey better than the last. After all, the teammates we welcome today will help us welcome tomorrow's new faces. Together, we'll keep listening,keep improving, and watch our onboarding transform from a process into a powerful team-building experience.

Recommended Resource: Want to get your onboarding process off to a great start? Check out these templates to make sure you write the perfect welcome letter to a new employees.

FAQs

1. What types of questions should be asked in an onboarding survey?

Onboarding surveys should include a mix of question types like binary (Yes/No), rating scales, and open-ended. This provides quantitative data as well as deeper insights.

2. When is the ideal time to survey new hires – during or after onboarding?

Surveying at both during and after onboarding provides useful insights. During allows real-time feedback while experiences are fresh. After gives perspective on the full program.

3. How often should onboarding surveys be conducted?

Sending surveys at milestones (1 week, 30 days, 90 days) provides multiple touchpoints to gather feedback.

4. How long should an onboarding survey be?

Surveys should be brief - no more than 15 questions total. This increases response rates and reduces fatigue.

5. How can HR use onboarding feedback to improve the employee experience?

HR can continuously refine onboarding based on survey results by adjusting training, mentorship, materials, duration, activities, and touchpoints.

This article was co-authored by Nilotpal and Supriya, who work as digital marketers at Vantage Circle. For any queries reach out to editor@vantagecircle.com.