Onboarding survey questions: 40 examples and how to use them

Why survey new hires?

The first weeks shape whether a new employee stays. If they were not trained properly, did not get their schedule on time or never met their manager, many will simply leave without saying why. An onboarding survey gives them an easy way to tell you, and gives you data to improve the process for everyone who comes after. It also shows new hires that their opinion matters, which is a good start to the relationship. See how to onboard hourly employees.

When to send onboarding surveys

For frontline teams with short training periods, a week-one and day-30 check-in may be enough. Keep the same core questions over time so you can compare groups and sites.

Week one questions

1. How welcome did you feel on your first day? (1 to 5)
2. Did you know where to go and who to ask for when you arrived? (Yes/No)
3. Were your schedule and hours clear before your first shift? (Yes/No)
4. Did you have the equipment, uniform and system access you needed? (Yes/Partly/No)
5. Did you meet your direct manager in your first week? (Yes/No)
6. Was the paperwork easy to complete? (1 to 5)
7. Did anyone show you how to clock in and out and record breaks? (Yes/No)
8. What, if anything, surprised you about the job so far? (Open)

Day 30 questions

1. How well did your training prepare you for your daily tasks? (1 to 5)
2. Which parts of the job do you still feel unsure about? (Open)
3. Do you understand what is expected of you in your role? (1 to 5)
4. How helpful has your manager been when you had questions? (1 to 5)
5. How helpful have your coworkers been? (1 to 5)
6. Do you know how to request time off and swap shifts? (Yes/No)
7. Have you been paid correctly and on time? (Yes/No/Not sure)
8. Is the job what you expected based on the job description and interview? (1 to 5)
9. Do you have a buddy or go-to person for questions? (Yes/No). See onboarding buddy.
10. What is one thing we could have done better in your first month? (Open)

Day 90 questions

1. How confident do you feel doing your job independently? (1 to 5)
2. How well do you understand how your work affects the team or customers? (1 to 5)
3. Do you receive useful feedback on your performance? (1 to 5)
4. How fair do you find the way shifts are scheduled? (1 to 5)
5. How likely are you to recommend working here to a friend? (0 to 10). See employee net promoter score.
6. Do you see opportunities to learn or grow here? (1 to 5)
7. How likely are you to still be working here in a year? (1 to 5)
8. What would make your job easier? (Open)
9. What should we keep doing for new hires? (Open)
10. Is there anything you would like to discuss privately with HR or a manager? (Yes, with optional contact)

Questions for managers and buddies

Asking the people around the new hire gives a second view:

1. Was the new hire’s first-day setup ready on time? (Yes/No)
2. How well is the new hire progressing compared with expectations? (1 to 5)
3. Which skills need more training? (Open)
4. Did you have enough time to support the new hire? (1 to 5)
5. What would improve onboarding from your side? (Open)

Questions for remote or multi-site employees

1. Did you receive clear instructions about where and when to report? (Yes/No)
2. Do you feel connected to your team and manager? (1 to 5)
3. Do you know how to reach someone if there is a problem on site? (Yes/No)
4. Are company announcements and updates reaching you? (Yes/No)
5. Is the mobile app easy to use for clocking in, schedules and messages? (1 to 5)
6. What would help you feel more part of the company? (Open)
7. Have you had any issues recording hours or travel time? (Open)

Tips for writing your own questions

• Ask one thing per question. “Was training useful and long enough?” is two questions.
• Use simple language, and translate surveys for multilingual teams.
• Keep scales consistent (always 1 to 5, with 5 as best).
• Include at least one open question; it often gives the most useful answers.
• Avoid leading questions such as “How much did you enjoy our great training?”.
• Keep it short enough to finish in three minutes on a phone.

Anonymous or named?

Anonymous surveys usually get more honest answers, but with small hiring groups anonymity is hard to guarantee, and named answers let you follow up on problems. A practical compromise is to keep responses confidential (seen only by HR or a designated person), report results only in groups of several people and offer an optional field for those who want a follow-up. Be clear about which approach you are using, and keep your promise.

Acting on the results

1. Review results monthly by site, manager and role.
2. Look for patterns, such as many new hires saying their schedule was unclear.
3. Fix the process, not just the individual case.
4. Follow up personally on serious concerns, such as pay problems or harassment.
5. Tell new hires what changed because of their feedback.
6. Track early turnover alongside survey scores to see whether improvements work. See how to reduce employee turnover.

A short example (fictional)

A home care agency’s day-30 survey shows that a third of new caregivers do not know how to request time off and several are unsure whether travel between clients is paid. The agency adds a ten-minute walkthrough of the app and the pay policy to week one, and asks buddies to check that it has been covered. In later surveys those answers improve, and fewer caregivers leave in their first two months.

How EZTime helps

EZTime’s company feed supports surveys that you can send to new hires from the app, with results exportable to Excel. You can combine this with announcements for onboarding information, digital HR forms for paperwork and the HR module’s onboarding tracks to make sure every step happens.

Frequently asked questions

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