Have you noticed that workplaces prioritizing their people flourish while those who don’t are losing people left and right? That is because employees are truly the foundation of any organization and are crucial to success. So, how do support them as a leader or HR professional?
One way we’ve seen is by using employee surveys. Just like getting feedback and input from customers is necessary to elevate your business, so is hearing from your employees. Because each workplace is unique, it is likely that you won’t know what factors matter most to your team until you ask them. Hearing from them directly should always be your first step so that you have exact data that will tell you where you need to focus your attention before you go and invest in technology and resources that might be unnecessary.
When running employee surveys, there is one important group that is often overlooked—new hires. In this article, we will focus on how onboarding surveys are the key to optimizing the new hire experience and set them up for long term success.
The Importance of a Solid Onboarding Process
Before we jump into the benefits of onboarding surveys, it’s important we cover the significance of a solid onboarding process. According to Glassdoor, a strong onboarding process improves new hire retention by 82% and productivity by 70%.
A well-designed onboarding process focuses on making new employees feel welcomed, supported and that they have the right tools to get started in their roles. It begins by familiarizing them with the company’s culture and core values, giving them key information, and making them feel like part of the team.
Benefits of Employee Onboarding Surveys
Employee onboarding surveys are a valuable way to hear from new employees in their first weeks with your company. Onboarding surveys typically ask questions about the onboarding experience, such as how they are feeling, what may be missing from the process, or where they still need additional support.
By taking the time to connect with new hires and capture their thoughts early on, companies can begin to make improvements to the process quickly and ensure that employees are feeling comfortable in their new role.
Here are some key benefits of conducting employee onboarding surveys:
- Improving the Onboarding Process: Surveys are a way to understand how newly hired employees see the onboarding process from their perspective. Each department may think that their process is perfect, but chances are there is room for improvement. Having someone who is actually going through the onboarding procedures share their thoughts is the easiest way to get open and honest feedback.
- Finding Areas of Opportunity: Onboarding surveys help pinpoint where employees might want more support or resources. Identifying these gaps can help leadership tailor the required training, development opportunities, and adjust the number of touch base meetings.
- Boosting Employee Engagement: Surveys give new employees a chance to share their thoughts, raise concerns, and offer suggestions. Being involved and having a say in the organization helps create a feeling of belonging and builds an inclusive culture from the start. Laying this foundation sets up a strong future of engagement for the rest of their employee journey.
- Supporting Retention: The onboarding process has a great impact on employee retention. Studies show that 31% of employees leave during the first six months, with the highest rates of turnover happening in the first 90 days. Focusing on enhancing onboarding can help get over the hump of early turnover and keep people for the long haul.
Designing Effective Onboarding Surveys
Asking the right questions in an onboarding survey is key to collecting usable information. Consider including the following key components when putting together your surveys.
- Overall Feedback: Ask questions about the general onboarding process to get a sense of the procedures that were followed, and the quality of the materials provided. Question example: “The organization was prepared for my arrival on the first day.”
- Feedback about their Role: Include questions that aim to understand if employees have what they need and feel prepared for their role. Example: “I feel confident using the tools/systems I need in my role.”
- Gauge Expectations vs Reality: Check in to see if the role and organization are meeting the employees’ expectations. Example: “The reality of my job matches the expectations I had when I was hired.”
- Suggestions for Improvement: Encourage new employees to provide constructive feedback or share suggestions for improvement. Example: “What is one thing we could have done differently to improve your overall onboarding experience?”
Successful Surveys with People Element
Employee surveys don’t need to be a hard and complicated process. From questions to deployment and data collection, People Element keeps it streamlined. Learn how you can start launching onboarding surveys automatically when new employees hit their 2-week and 5-week milestones with the help of the People Element survey platform.
If this sounds right for you and your team, request a quick demo or discovery call with the experts to get started.
