A short set of questions a new employee answers after accepting the job, so you can set up their schedule, contacts and first weeks. It sits next to, not inside, the legal forms.
New hires usually face a pile of documents in the first week. Some are legally required, such as the Form W-4 for withholding and the Form I-9 for work eligibility. The employer also reports each new hire to the state: federal law requires the employee’s name, address and Social Security number, the date work began, and the employer’s name, address and federal employer identification number, within 20 days of hire (some states require it sooner). See new hire report.
EZTime digital HR forms let you send, sign and file employee documents online.
The questionnaire is not one of those forms. Do not copy questions from them, and do not use it to collect Social Security numbers or ID details a second time. Its job is the information you need to run the person’s first months well.
| Group | Example questions | What you do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Name and contact | Preferred first name? Best phone for shift texts? | Set up the schedule, the app and the name badge. |
| Availability | Which days and hours can you work? Any fixed commitments, such as classes? | Build the first schedule and avoid early swap requests. |
| Safety and gear | Uniform or shoe size? Any certifications you already hold? | Order gear before day one; skip training they already have. |
| Emergency contact | Who should we call in an emergency? | Store in the employee file, not on a shared sheet. |
| Working style | How do you prefer to get feedback? What would make your first week easier? | Share with the shift lead or onboarding buddy. |
Jordan answers that they can work any weekday after 3 p.m., all day Saturday, never Sunday mornings, and they have a statistics class on Tuesday and Thursday until 5 p.m. The manager builds the first two weeks: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 24 hours a week, with no Tuesday or Thursday shifts.
Because the availability came in before the schedule was published, there are no swap requests in the first two weeks. Jordan also wrote that they prefer feedback in person at the end of a shift, so the shift lead plans a five-minute check-in after the third shift instead of a written review.
Put each answer where it will be used. Availability goes to the person who builds the schedule. Emergency contacts go into the employee file. Uniform sizes go to whoever orders them. Anything about health, if the employee chooses to share it, goes in a separate confidential file.
Limit who sees the full questionnaire. A manager needs the availability and preferred name, not the home address or emergency contact’s phone number. Ask employees to update their answers each year, because availability and contacts change.
A night-shift warehouse worker feels unwell at 2:00 a.m. and the shift lead calls the emergency contact on file. The number belongs to a former roommate who has not spoken to him in two years.
The warehouse adds a yearly check: each January, every employee confirms or updates their emergency contact and availability through a digital HR form. Changes go straight into the employee file, and shift leads can see current emergency contacts for their own team only. The first yearly check finds 31 contacts that had changed, out of about 120 employees.
Preferred name and contact, availability, gear sizes and existing certifications, an emergency contact and a couple of questions about working style. Keep it to what you will actually use.
No. Paperwork includes legally required forms such as the W-4 and I-9. The questionnaire is optional and covers practical details. See the new hire paperwork checklist.
Keep health and disability questions out of a general questionnaire. If an employee asks for an accommodation, handle it through a separate, confidential process.
Light, optional ones work best: a favorite snack for the break room, a skill they are proud of, or what they want to learn first. Avoid anything that touches protected traits.
After the offer is accepted and before the first schedule is published, so the answers can shape the first weeks.
You can require the practical parts, such as availability and an emergency contact. Personal questions should be optional.
Only the people who need each answer: the scheduler for availability, HR for contacts, and nobody else for anything personal.
Send digital HR forms for e-signature before day one, and keep every signed document in the employee’s digital file.