A strong onboarding process is the foundation of a successful employee journey. It’s the first impression new hires have of your company culture, values, and operations—and it can make or break their motivation to excel. But how do you know if your onboarding program is truly effective? Enter onboarding experience feedback surveys, a vital tool that can help you transform company culture and workplace experience.
In this article, we’ll explore what employee onboarding experience is, why feedback during this phase is critical for transforming company culture, and provide examples of the best onboarding experience feedback examples to include in your survey. We’ll also discuss how tools like employee feedback software or employee experience platforms can optimise the onboarding feedback process.
What Is Employee Onboarding?
Employee onboarding refers to the structured process of integrating new hires into a company. It includes everything from orientation and training to introducing employees to their roles, teams, and company culture. A successful onboarding process ensures that new employees feel welcomed, equipped, and engaged from day one.
Companies with strong onboarding programs see motivated employees who feel confident in their roles, while those with weak processes often face higher turnover and disengagement. Gathering onboarding experience feedback answers is crucial to ensure that onboarding meets employee needs and sets the stage for long-term success.
Why Onboarding Experience Matters
An effective onboarding experience isn’t “one size fits all.” Different employees have different needs, and gathering structured onboarding experience feedback answers can help you identify what works and what doesn’t. Here’s why feedback on the onboarding process is important:
1. Improves Employee Retention
Employees who feel supported during onboarding are more likely to stay. Asking the right questions helps you identify gaps that could lead to early turnover.
2. Boosts Employee Motivation
Motivated employees are more productive and committed to the organisation. Feedback surveys can help pinpoint areas where new hires feel disconnected, allowing HR to take action and foster motivation in the workplace.
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3. Supports Continuous Improvement
Regular feedback ensures that your onboarding process evolves with the needs of your workforce.
4. Enhances the Employee Experience
By using tools like an employee experience platform, you can track and analyse feedback to create a smoother onboarding journey, contributing to overall employee experience management.
How to Design Your Onboarding Feedback Survey
When designing an onboarding experience feedback survey, focus on onboarding questions that capture the new hire’s emotions, experiences, and suggestions. A well-structured employee feedback survey should:
- Be concise and easy to complete.
- Include both quantitative (rating scales) and qualitative (open-ended) questions.
- Be distributed at multiple points during the onboarding process (e.g., after the first week, month, and three months).
Onboarding Experience Feedback Examples: Sample Questions
Here are some essential sample onboarding feedback questions to help you gather actionable insights:
1. Pre-Onboarding Experience
These questions help evaluate how well your company sets expectations before the new hire’s first day:
Did you receive all the information you needed before your first day?
Was the communication during the hiring and pre-onboarding phase clear and timely?
Were you given the resources needed to start your role confidently?
2. First-Day Experience
The first day is critical for making new hires feel welcome. Questions could include:
How would you rate your first-day experience on a scale of 1–10?
Did your manager or team make you feel welcomed?
Were your equipment and resources (e.g., laptop, software access) ready for you on day one?
3. Training and Resources
Effective training is key to building confidence in new hires. Ask:
Was the training program clear and relevant to your role?
Do you feel adequately prepared to perform your job?
What additional resources or support would help you succeed?
4. Role Clarity and Expectations
Understanding their role is vital for new employees. Consider asking:
Do you feel you understand your responsibilities and goals?
Were your job expectations clearly explained during onboarding?
How well does the role align with what was described during the hiring process?
5. Cultural Fit and Engagement
To ensure new hires feel connected to your workplace culture, ask:
Do you feel like you are part of the team?
Are your values aligned with the company’s mission and culture?
What can we do to make you feel more engaged in your role?
6. Feedback and Suggestions
Open-ended questions allow new hires to share honest feedback:
What was the most helpful part of your onboarding process?
What areas of the onboarding process need improvement?
Is there anything you feel was missing from your onboarding experience?
Using Technology to Improve Onboarding Feedback
To streamline the process of gathering and analysing onboarding feedback, many companies turn to employee feedback software or employee experience platforms. Here’s how these tools can help:
1. Automated Surveys
Distribute surveys automatically at key milestones in the onboarding process.
2. Real-Time Insights
An employee experience software provides real-time dashboards to analyse onboarding experience feedback answers, trends and act quickly on concerns.
3. Customisable Templates
Use pre-built templates in your employee feedback software to create effective onboarding surveys with minimal effort.
4. Improved Engagement
By making it easy for new hires to share their thoughts, you foster a culture of openness and continuous improvement.
How to Transform Company Culture via Onboarding Improvement
Improving the onboarding process is one of the most effective ways to foster a positive culture from the start. Here’s how focusing on onboarding can transform company culture:
1. Reinforce Core Values from Day One
Onboarding is the perfect opportunity to introduce new hires to your company’s mission, vision, and values. By embedding these principles into training sessions, orientation materials, and daily interactions, employees will have a clear understanding of what the organisation stands for and how they can contribute.
2. Build a Sense of Belonging
Creating a welcoming environment during onboarding helps employees feel valued and included. This sense of belonging encourages them to align with the company’s goals and behaviours, fostering a culture of trust and collaboration.
3. Set the Tone for Continuous Feedback
A culture that values open communication and growth starts with the onboarding process. Introducing employee feedback surveys early on signals to new hires that their opinions matter. Over time, this cultivates a culture where feedback is not only accepted but encouraged.
4. Drive Employee Motivation Through Recognition
Onboarding is an opportunity to show how much the company values its people. Recognise and celebrate small wins during the process to establish a culture of appreciation and motivation. For example, acknowledging an employee’s completion of a training module or their first successful project during onboarding can have a lasting impact.
Remember, improving onboarding is about more than just getting employees up to speed—it’s about planting the seeds for a thriving, positive company culture.
Final Tips for Effective Onboarding Feedback
- Timing is key: Send surveys at logical intervals, such as the end of the first week, the first month, and the third month.
- Act on feedback: Use insights from onboarding experience feedback answers to refine your onboarding process, showing employees that their opinions are valued.
- Combine data: Integrate feedback into your broader employee experience management platform for a holistic view of your workforce.
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The onboarding phase is one of the most critical stages in an employee’s journey. By asking the right onboarding feedback questions, you can ensure that your process meets the needs of your new hires, fosters employee motivation and sets the stage for long-term success.
Investing in a digital employee experience platform can take your feedback process to the next level, enabling continuous improvement and a seamless onboarding experience.
Remember, the goal of onboarding isn’t just to teach employees about their roles—it’s to make them feel supported, motivated, and excited to contribute. That’s how to transform company culture from day one.
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