18 new hire onboarding survey questions to improve retention

Why do we need these onboarding survey questions for new hires?

Onboarding and long-term retention:

The first impression is the last impression. Studies show that the onboarding experience your recruits have directly impacts their productivity, engagement, and retention. To be precise, a great onboarding process could improve retention up to 82%, and we can guess why!

How you onboard a new hire is your first impression. This will significantly influence how they see the company’s work culture, values, and ethos. And onboarding doesn’t stop after day one.

Read this next: 5 reasons why employee retention is important

Find the challenges fast:

You’ve just made a new hire. Onboarding survey questions should become your top priority. Why? Feedback. You’ll get the most useful and relevant feedback on your onboarding process while the experience is still fresh. The feedback you collate would help you identify the gaps before they slip into a larger void and become unrepairable.

Read this next: 3 tools and 5 steps for gathering employee feedback

What makes a good employee a great employee?

A great employer. Specifically, an employer who provides them with a friction-free route to success. When brands have well-defined onboarding roadmaps, the employee doesn’t have to spend their business hours trying to figure stuff out. They already know where to look, whom to turn to, what to expect, and even better — they know they can trust the company to structure and support their journey.

Studies show that simply structuring and standardizing the process can make your team 50% more productive.

Watch this next: The role recognition plays in employee retention

Best practices for designing onboarding surveys

Before we give you the exact onboarding survey questions for your new hires, it’s important to discuss the right strategy for these surveys. A survey isn’t just about the questions, after all. What really makes or breaks a survey is the way it is conducted.

Keep these four points in mind to conduct your onboarding survey the smart way:

1. Keep surveys short, focused, and easy to complete

A new hire is too busy learning systems, protocols, and the actual job to fill out a survey with 72 questions and may skip it (or do a poor job if it’s mandatory). So how do we ensure that doesn’t happen and still get meaningful feedback? We keep the survey short and sweet, with no more than 10 questions at once. We want to ask relevant questions only, and for most questions, provide them with multiple choices or a scale (rank this from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree,” or on a scale of 0 to 10). This makes it easier and time-effective!

2. Make it anonymous

Any workplace survey is met with some healthy hesitation and skepticism, especially at a new workplace. There’s a (sometimes) valid concern that if a reporting authority or management sees a new employee answering questions unfavorably, it could affect their career.

At the start of the survey, assure your employees that their entries will be collected and used with utmost respect for their privacy, and where possible or appropriate, anonymously.

3. Conduct surveys at strategic points

Timing is important. We can’t expect new hires to be able to take the survey too frequently, nor can we delay it to a point where their experience has been influenced by other factors. The ideal intervals to conduct the onboarding survey are day one, then day 15, and day 90. Why? Day one surveys tell you about any immediate red (or green!) flags, including the steps that have led to the day of joining.

After two weeks of joining, a recruit has more insight into the onboarding process and the workplace culture. They will be able to highlight the gaps and make the orientation/induction smoother for future hires.

After completion of three months, they are likely past their probation period and understand the company better. Now is the time to check how the overall onboarding process went.

4. Include open-ended questions to gather deeper insights

We know we told you to limit the number of questions that require effort and give the employee multiple-choice questions and scaled questions. But you also want them to express their opinion and give any tips that might help you and future team members. Ideally, questions that require more elaboration should come towards the end, and you can make them optional. This gives employees an opportunity to elaborate if needed, but doesn’t place any undue pressure.

Top 18 new hire onboarding survey questions:

Okay! Now, let’s finally get to the meat of the article. You’ll want to conduct an onboarding survey for new hires, and like we mentioned above, you’re going to space them out for day one, day 15, and day 90. The questionnaire on each of those time periods is going to look very different.

Good news — we’re going to give you the exact questions you need to ask your hires, along with the timelines.

Day 1:

Needless to say, the very first day at a new job is critical. Prior to the start date, most of the onboarding process has probably already happened. From document collection to setting the new employee’s credentials and getting their technology ready, a lot of preparation to transition them into their new role has already gone by. So even if the employee has been ‘on the job’ for a few hours, this is a good time to start by asking for feedback on the recruitment process so far.

• Did you feel welcomed and respected throughout the recruitment drive?
• Did you feel you had enough time to prepare for each stage of the process?
• What was the most challenging part of the recruitment process for you?
• Is there anything we could have done to improve your recruitment experience?

Day one is also a good time to get to know your new team member a little more! This will help align the onboarding and work experience to meet their needs as well as the company’s expectations.

Here are some questions that would help:

• Why did you decide to join the organization?
• Were the timelines for feedback and decision-making communicated effectively?

Day 15:

So, it’s been two whole (business) weeks. It’s not really a long enough period to say the employee has fully gotten comfortable in the new environment, but it’s a fair opportunity to evaluate the onboarding process and the company’s compatibility from the employee’s perspective.

Keep in mind, 15 days is still pretty new! Everything is fresh, exciting, and there’s more energy to connect with the culture. This is the work honeymoon phase. It’s probably too early for questions about whether or not your employee is happy or if they feel fully settled; that’s for the next phase.

For now, lead with:

• Was the onboarding program well-organized and helpful?
• Were the tools and resources you needed provided on time?
• Do you feel welcomed by your team and the company?
• Do you feel the company values inclusion?
• Do you feel you have a clear understanding of your job responsibilities?
• What is one thing we could have done to make your onboarding experience better?

Day 90:

This is the ‘last’ phase (onboarding never really ends), and possibly the most telling. It’s been three months, and the new hire is no longer “new,” and that’s a good thing! They should now have more insight into how the organization works, and should be able to tell you if the job description aligns with the job expectations. Most importantly, you’ll also have some analytics on how they are performing. This phase of the onboarding survey can help you remedy any gaps in the employee as well.

Conclude the survey with questions that leave room for long-form answers and suggestions to course-correct. You’ll want to check in with the employee on multiple levels:

• Has your manager provided the guidance you need to succeed?
• Do you feel comfortable asking questions or seeking help when needed?
• Is there anything you expected during your first 90 days that didn’t happen?
• Do you feel you can bring your authentic self to work?
• On a scale of 1 - 10, how proud do you feel to work at the organization?
• How likely are you to recommend the company to a friend?

How to use onboarding feedback to improve retention

You’ve collected all this valuable feedback — now what? The real impact of onboarding surveys comes from how you use that data to create a better employee experience. Here’s how you can turn feedback into action and improve retention:

Identify and act on common themes

Not all feedback will be groundbreaking, but patterns will emerge over time. Maybe several new hires mentioned that they felt lost in their first week, or they weren’t sure where to find important resources. By analyzing recurring issues, you can pinpoint the biggest onboarding gaps and address them strategically.

For example, if multiple employees mention feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information they receive on day one, consider spreading out key training sessions over the first month instead of cramming them into the first week. Likewise, if new hires consistently struggle to connect with their teams, creating more structured social interactions — like team lunches or team-building exercises — could make a big difference.

Read this next: 7 things you absolutely need to do to retain diverse talent

Communicate changes based on feedback

If employees take the time to provide feedback, they want to know that it’s actually being used. One of the most effective ways to build trust and engagement is to show new hires that their voices matter.

Let’s say a majority of survey responses highlight confusion around company policies. Instead of making changes silently, publicly acknowledge the feedback and explain what you’re doing to address it. You could send out an email, create a Slack announcement, or include a note in the next company newsletter that says:

“We heard from our recent new hires that our policy handbook was difficult to navigate. To make things easier, we’ve redesigned it into a more user-friendly digital format with a search function. Thank you for your feedback. We’re always looking to improve your experience!”

When employees see that their input leads to real change, they feel valued and engaged, increasing the likelihood that they’ll stay with the company long-term.

Read this next: 8 employee experience examples worth emulating

Onboarding is just the beginning

The first 90 days set the tone for an employee’s journey, and if they feel supported from the start, they’re more likely to stay for the long haul.

Companies that prioritize onboarding feedback create a culture of continuous improvement, where employees know they are heard and valued. Not only does it reduce turnover, but it also builds stronger teams, improves productivity, and fosters a more positive workplace culture.

So, don’t let your onboarding process be a one-and-done task. Keep the conversation going, take action on the insights you gather, and watch as your retention rates — and employee satisfaction — skyrocket!

Read this next: The 4-day work week and other employee retention strategies you haven’t tried yet