50+ New Hire Experience and Employee Onboarding Survey Questions

In the fast-paced realm of modern hiring, first impressions matter. 19% of new hires quit within the first six months, with 29% of new hires deciding to leave within the first week and 70% within the first month. On average, companies have 44 days to convince their new hires to stay. Your preboarding and onboarding processes are a make-or-break period for employee retention, and conducting new hire experience and employee onboarding surveys is crucial.

This blog post guides you through a practical strategy, breaking down surveys into three stages—preboarding, onboarding, and post-onboarding—to gain timely insights, reduce turnover, and enhance your overall new hire onboarding experience. Let's dive into crafting effective survey questions that matter.

Quick Links

1. Preboarding Survey Questions
2. Onboarding Survey Questions
3. Post-Onboarding Survey Questions

Preboarding Survey Questions

Preboarding, or pre-onboarding, is the period between when your new hires sign their job offers and when they start. It's a pivotal phase for building engagement, community, and brand affinity to prevent reneges and early turnovers.

Send out a survey after your new hire’s first day at the company to ask about their preboarding experience and how they felt going into Day 1. Make sure you define preboarding for employees who may have never heard the term before.

Preboarding

1. How would you rate your overall preboarding experience on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very poor and 10 is excellent?
2. The preboarding process helped me feel excited for my new role.
   • Strongly Agree
   • Agree
   • Neither Agree nor Disagree
   • Disagree
   • Strongly Disagree
3. What did you like most about your preboarding experience?
4. If you could improve one thing about the preboarding experience, what would that be?
5. The resources and information provided to me during preboarding were clear and helpful. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
6. What other resources would have been helpful to receive during preboarding, if any?
7. What activities and touchpoints during preboarding did you find most engaging?

Day 1 

1. I felt prepared for my first day with the company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
2. Did you have all the tools and technologies you needed for your first day? [Yes/No]
3. My first day at the company met my expectations. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
4. What did you like most about your first day at the company?
5. If you could improve one thing about your first day at the company, what would that be?
6. I feel welcome at the company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]

Onboarding Survey Questions

1 Week Survey

Surveying new hires after their first week allows you to promptly identify any challenges or concerns, enabling the organization to address issues swiftly, enhance the onboarding process, and foster a positive and productive work environment from the beginning. While first impressions are very important, you still have a strong chance to influence your new hires’ decision to stay or leave if you make the necessary course corrections after Week 1. 

1. How would you rate the overall orientation process on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very poor and 10 is excellent?
2. What did you like most about the new hire orientation process?
3. If you could improve one thing about your orientation, what would that be?
4. The orientation process was organized. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
5. Company policies have been clearly communicated to me. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
6. Do you have any outstanding questions about policies and procedures?
7. Expectations for my role have been clearly communicated. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
8. Did you encounter any challenges or difficulties during your first week?
9. I feel prepared for my role. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
10. I have a clear understanding of my initial projects and priorities. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
11. I feel confident about my decision to join the company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
12. The company’s values align with my own. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
13. The information provided to me about the company during the recruiting process has been accurate so far. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
14. Is there anything we can improve in the recruiting process to prepare new hires better?

1 Month Survey

Surveying new hires after one month provides a more comprehensive understanding of their early experiences and adjustments to the workplace. It gives you an opportunity to gather feedback on the effectiveness of the onboarding process over a slightly longer period, uncover any other emerging issues or needs, and ensure continuous improvement in supporting the integration and satisfaction of new employees within the organization.

This is also a great time to start collecting employee net promoter scores, and ensure that your new hire's role and the company are a good fit for them.

1. My onboarding has made me feel confident that I will do my job well. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
2. My role so far matches what was communicated to me during the hiring process. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
3. The information provided to me about the company during employee orientation has been accurate so far. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
4. I feel welcomed at the company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
5. I feel welcomed on my team. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
6. I have access to all the tools and resources to perform my job successfully. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
7. My training thus far has equipped me well for my role. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
8. I understand how I will be evaluated for success in my role. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
9. My manager has clearly communicated their expectations of me. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
10. My first month at the company has met my expectations. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
11. Is there anything we could have done differently during this first month?
12. On a scale of 0-10, where 0 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely would you recommend working at the company thus far?

6 Month Survey 

Sending out a survey after 6 months of onboarding offers employers a mid-term evaluation of the new hire experience, providing insights into their long-term adjustment and job satisfaction. This feedback helps identify any evolving concerns, assess the effectiveness of ongoing support, and allows you to make necessary adjustments to ensure sustained engagement and success for the employee beyond the initial onboarding phase.

This survey is also useful in gauging if there have been any changes between Month 1 and Month 6. Does your new hire still feel included? Has their eNPS changed? You should also check in and make sure that they feel supported by their manager and have a mentor in the workplace.

1. I feel included in the overall company culture. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
2. I feel included on my team. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
3. I have supportive coworkers. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
4. I feel prepared for my upcoming year 1 review. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
5. I have a clear understanding of my career path and promotion plan. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
6. I still think this is a great role for me. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
7. My manager supports me in my role. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
8. My manager provides growth opportunities. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
9. I have access to a mentor. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
10. I meet with a mentor on a regular basis. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
11. I understand how my role contributes to the company’s organizational goals. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
12. On a scale of 0-10, where 0 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely would you recommend working at the company thus far?
13. I can see myself working here in 2 years. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
14. I rarely think about looking for a job at another company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]

Post-Onboarding Survey Questions

Sending a final onboarding survey after the first year allows employers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire onboarding experience and the employee's journey within the organization. This long-term feedback helps identify areas for continuous improvement, measure employee satisfaction and engagement, and gather insights for optimizing the ongoing employee experience. It contributes to building a more effective, supportive, and adaptive onboarding strategy for future hires.

1 Year Survey

1. How well did the onboarding process prepare you for your role this first year?
   • Very well
   • Well
   • Neutral
   • Not well
   • Not very well
2. I am satisfied with the support and resources provided during my first year at the company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
3. In what areas do you feel additional support or training would have been beneficial during your first year?
4. I feel integrated into the company culture. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
5. I feel included on my team. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
6. What initiatives or activities have contributed most to your sense of belonging and engagement within the team?
7. The performance feedback and evaluation processes have been effective in helping me understand my contributions to the company and areas for improvement. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
8. How satisfied are you with the work-life balance and support provided for your well-being?
   • Very unsatisfied
   • Unsatisfied
   • Neither unsatisfied nor satisfied
   • Satisfied
   • Very satisfied
9. I am proud to work at the company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
10. I am satisfied with my accomplishments in this first year. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
11. I have a clear understanding of the expectations of my role moving forward. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
12. I believe the organization is invested in my professional growth and development. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
13. I am aware of the potential career paths and advancement opportunities within the company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
14. My expectations about the company's mission and values have been met during this first year. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]
15. On a scale of 0-10, where 0 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely would you recommend working at the company thus far?
16. I rarely think about looking for a job at another company. [Strongly Agree/Disagree rating scale]

Automate Your New Hire Survey Strategy With Symba

You’ve got the survey questions - now it’s time to implement them! Use Symba’s new hire readiness platform to build out an automated new hire experience survey strategy. Our Journeys feature enables you to create automated workflows to engage your new hires exactly when you want to. Make your preboarding through post-onboarding surveys with Symba Surveys, and add them as steps within a journey with time delays. All you need to do is add your new hires to the journey and turn it on. Want to learn more? Schedule a demo.