Best Practices for a Successful Employee Onboarding Survey (with Samples)

An employee onboarding survey is a method of gathering feedback on the onboarding process from recently hired employees. It helps you improve the process as well as increase retention rate and productivity. An efficient onboarding process means new employees understand their roles, complete their tasks, and integrate within the company’s culture. Learn what are the best practices when it comes to employee onbording surveys and what questions you should ask the newcommers with our 3 sample templates.

What questions to include in an employee onboarding survey?

Although an employee onboarding survey should be short enough to keep the employee engaged, it should also ask all the relevant questions. You want to know the employee’s opinion on the onboarding process and what you could have done better. But you also want to know if the employees feel good in their new position, if managers explain the tasks clearly, how they shall interact with their team members, and if the overall experience was good. For example, some employees may have difficulties using new tools or software, struggle to learn to use an employee self-service app or find the commute hard to manage and need a flexible work schedule.

You can also ask a question or two about the recruitment process and how easy or hard it was for employees to accept the company’s offer. Don’t forget to inquire about the general level of satisfaction, motivation, and expectations for the future career path. 


Tips for a successful employee onboarding survey

To have a clear perspective over the onboarding process, you need honest and straightforward answers. If employees feel uncomfortable answering the questions or get bored in the process, you won’t gather relevant data. To make sure the employee onboarding survey goes as planned, check out the following tips.

  1. Timing is essential – Gather feedback as soon as you consider the onboarding process finished. If you have a formal onboarding procedure with clear steps and a schedule, then you know exactly when to send the survey. If the onboarding procedure is informal and you don’t have a fixed schedule, decide when to send the survey based on your experience. Keep in mind that if you send it too soon, you may not gather enough information. At the same time, if you send the survey too late, employees may have already formed other opinions and forgotten about the onboarding process. To have valuable insights, you must send the survey at the right time.
  2. Ask clear and relevant questions – The employee onboarding survey should be short and straightforward. You want direct and pertinent questions without equivoque or confusion. Ask open questions that give you an insight into the onboarding experience and not just scores. At the same time, you don’t want gossips, blaming, or creating conflicts. The questions should be general and employee-oriented.
  3. Metrics are good for reporting – Use the same metrics with all employees and measure their satisfaction levels in a well-organized manner. It will make your life easier when generating reports and statistics.
  4. Keep the survey under 10 questions – It shouldn’t take more than 10 -15 minutes for an employee to complete the onboarding survey. They shouldn’t feel like taking an exam. You want truthful answers, and you won’t get them if employees feel pressured, bored, or uninterested. Keep them engaged and focused!
  5. Cover the entire onboarding process – Don’t focus solely on the HR department. Try to find out how employees interact with their team members, how they evaluate their performance, what they think about the company’s culture, and whether they find or not their tasks challenging.


Employee onboarding survey sample 1

[Date]

[Employee name]

[Hiring date]

  1. How would you rate your onboarding experience on a scale of 1 to 10?
  2. What did you like the most about the onboarding process?
  3. What can we do to improve the onboarding process?
  4. How welcome do you feel in your team?
  5. How motivated do you feel?
  6. How would you rate your ability to use the tools and systems required to use in your role on a scale of 1 to 10?
  7. What is the area where you feel you could need more help?
  8. How would you rate your work-life balance considering your new work schedule on a scale of 1 to 10?
  9. What expectations do you have for your career path in our company?
  10. How would you rate your general level of satisfaction with your role in the company on a scale of 1 to 10?


Employee onboarding survey sample 2

[Date]

[Employee name]

[Hiring date]

  1. How would you rate your recruitment experience on a scale of 1 to 10?
  2. What can we do to improve the recruitment process?
  3. Was the onboarding process adequate to accommodate your role in the company?
  4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how welcome do you feel in your team?
  5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how challenged and motivated by your team do you feel?
  6. What were the three most difficult steps in adjusting to your new role?
  7. Do you consider yourself fit for this role? Do you need more training?
  8. Does the current role meet your career path expectations?
  9. Does the current role interfere with your life-work balance?
  10. Please rate your general level of satisfaction with your role in the company on a scale of 1 to 10.


Employee onboarding survey sample 3

[Date]

[Employee name]

[Hiring date]

  1. How well do you think you fit in our company culture on a scale of 1 to 10?
  2. What satisfied are you with the onboarding process?
  3. What can we do to improve the onboarding process?
  4. Do you have all the resources you need to do your job successfully?
  5. How confident are you that you’ll be able to complete your tasks?
  6. How would you rate your collaboration with your team members on a scale of 1 to 10?
  7. How satisfied are you with the training received? In what areas do you consider you need more training?
  8. How would you rate the impact of your new job on your lifestyle on a scale of 1 to 10?
  9. What goals and expectations do you have for your career path in our company?
  10. How would you rate your general level of satisfaction with your role in the company on a scale of 1 to 10?