50+ Onboarding Survey Questions for Small Businesses
Essential onboarding questions for first week, 30-day, and 90-day surveys. Copy-paste ready questions plus free Google Forms templates for small businesses.
50+ Onboarding Survey Questions for Small Businesses
Copy-paste ready questions for first week, 30-day, and 90-day surveys, plus free templates
Most enterprise HR guides will give you 80+ onboarding questions. That works great if you have a dedicated HR team to analyze all that data. But when you're running a small business and wearing multiple hats, you need something more practical.
I have been through the process of building onboarding from scratch at companies with 5, 15, and 40 employees. The biggest lesson: collecting feedback is only valuable if you actually do something with it. A focused survey with 10 questions you act on beats a comprehensive one with 50 questions that sits in a spreadsheet.
This guide gives you the essential onboarding survey questions for each milestone, organized by timeline. Every question is copy-paste ready. No HR jargon. No enterprise complexity. Just practical questions that help you understand if your new hires are set up for success.
12%
Say their company onboards well
82%
Better retention with feedback
70%
Productivity improvement
44
Days to influence retention
55%
Don't measure onboarding
3.4x
Better with manager involved
Why Collect Onboarding Feedback
Here's the uncomfortable truth: you probably don't know how your onboarding actually feels from the new hire's perspective. I certainly didn't at my first company. I assumed because we had a checklist and people seemed happy, everything was fine.
Then I started asking questions. One new hire mentioned they didn't know who to ask about expense reports for three weeks. Another said they felt “thrown into the deep end” because nobody explained our project management system. Small problems that were easy to fix, but I never would have known without asking.
More than half of organizations don't measure onboarding effectiveness at all. Companies that do measure see 82% better retention and 70% higher productivity (Brandon Hall Group).
The business case is simple. Research from Gallup shows that new hires decide if a job is right within the first month. You have about 44 days to influence whether they stay long-term. Without feedback, you're flying blind during this critical window.
| Issue | How Surveys Catch It |
|---|---|
| Confusing training materials | Low scores on 'training prepared me for my role' |
| Manager too busy to support | Low scores on 'manager availability' |
| Missing equipment on Day 1 | Yes/No question catches it immediately |
| Feeling disconnected from team | Low scores on 'team integration' |
| Role doesn't match expectations | 'Job matches description' reveals misalignment |
When to Survey New Employees
Timing matters as much as the questions themselves. Survey too early and you only capture first impressions. Survey too late and you miss problems that could have been fixed. The standard approach uses four milestones: first week, 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days.
For small businesses with limited bandwidth, I recommend starting with just two surveys: 30-day and 90-day. These capture the most actionable feedback without overwhelming you or your new hires.
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See How It WorksFirst Week Onboarding Questions
First week questions focus on the basics: Did we set you up for success? Were you welcomed properly? Do you have what you need to start working? Keep this survey short because new hires are still in information overload.
Day 1 / First Impressions Questions
- 1.Did someone greet you when you arrived on your first day? (Yes/No)
- 2.How welcome did you feel by the team? (1-5)
- 3.Was your workspace organized and ready? (Yes/No)
- 4.Did you receive all equipment and tools needed to start? (Yes/No)
- 5.Did your manager personally welcome you? (Yes/No)
First Week Orientation Questions
- 1.How useful was orientation in preparing you for your role? (1-5)
- 2.Do you have a clear understanding of what's expected this week? (Yes/No)
- 3.Do you know who to contact when you have questions? (Yes/No)
- 4.What was the best part of your first week?
- 5.What could have made your first week better?
End every survey with one open-ended question: “What could we improve?” This catches issues you didn't think to ask about and shows new hires their input is valued.
30-Day Onboarding Survey Questions
The 30-day survey is your most important feedback checkpoint. By this point, initial excitement has faded and real patterns emerge. New hires have enough experience to give meaningful feedback but are still early enough to benefit from improvements.
Role Clarity Questions
- 1.Do you have a clear understanding of your job responsibilities? (Yes/No)
- 2.Does your actual job match what you expected from the interview? (Yes/No)
- 3.Do you understand how your work contributes to team goals? (1-5)
- 4.How confident do you feel performing your daily tasks? (1-5)
- 5.Is your workload appropriate (too much, too little, or just right)?
Training and Manager Support Questions
- 1.How well did training prepare you to perform your job? (1-5)
- 2.Do you have access to all the tools and resources you need? (Yes/No)
- 3.How would you rate the support from your manager? (1-5)
- 4.Have you had regular 1-on-1 meetings with your manager? (Yes/No)
- 5.Do you feel comfortable bringing questions or concerns to your manager? (1-5)
Team Integration Questions
- 1.Do you feel welcomed and included by your team? (Yes/No)
- 2.How comfortable do you feel asking teammates for help? (1-5)
- 3.Have you built positive working relationships with coworkers? (Yes/No)
- 4.Did onboarding help you understand our company culture? (1-5)
- 5.What's one thing we could do differently to improve onboarding?
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See It in Action90-Day Onboarding Survey Questions
The 90-day mark traditionally signals the end of onboarding (though full integration takes 8-12 months). This survey measures overall satisfaction and captures retention signals. Include your eNPS question here.
Overall Satisfaction Questions
- 1.How satisfied are you with the overall onboarding experience? (1-5)
- 2.Do you feel fully integrated into the company? (Yes/No)
- 3.Has your experience met your expectations from the interview process?
- 4.Do you feel engaged and motivated in your role? (1-5)
- 5.I am proud to work for this company. (Agree/Disagree)
Retention Signal Questions
- 1.Do you see a long-term future for yourself here? (Yes/No)
- 2.I rarely think about looking for a job elsewhere. (Agree/Disagree)
- 3.On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work? (eNPS)
- 4.Why did you give that score? (Open-ended)
- 5.What's the most valuable thing you've learned in your first 90 days?
- 6.If you could change one thing about your onboarding, what would it be?
Employee Net Promoter Score uses a 0-10 scale. Scores of 9-10 are “Promoters,” 7-8 are “Passives,” and 0-6 are “Detractors.” Your eNPS = % Promoters minus % Detractors. Any positive score is considered good; above 30 is excellent.
Remote Onboarding Questions
Remote employees face unique challenges: harder to build connections, potential for feeling isolated, technical setup complexities. If you have remote or hybrid workers, add these questions to your surveys.
Remote-Specific Questions
- 1.Were all remote work tools set up before your start date? (Yes/No)
- 2.How effective is communication between you and your manager? (1-5)
- 3.Do you feel able to build connections despite working remotely? (1-5)
- 4.Are communication tools (Slack, Zoom, Teams) effective for your work? (Yes/No)
- 5.Do you feel socially integrated with your team? (1-5)
- 6.Do you feel part of company culture despite being remote? (Yes/No)
- 7.Do you have an appropriate workspace at home? (Yes/No)
- 8.Are expectations around working hours clear? (Yes/No)
- 9.How would you rate your work-life balance while remote? (1-5)
- 10.What could we do to help you feel more connected?
Informal Check-in Questions for Managers
Not everything needs to be a formal survey. For very small teams (under 10 employees), regular informal check-ins often work better than structured surveys. I wrote a separate guide on new hire check-in questions that covers the conversation approach in more depth. The key is consistency: ask the same questions each time so you can notice patterns.
Formal Surveys
- ✓ Anonymous feedback
- ✓ Track trends over time
- ✓ Benchmark across hires
- ✓ Best for 10+ hires/year
Informal Check-ins
- ✓ Real-time issue resolution
- ✓ Builds relationships
- ✓ More personal context
- ✓ Best for fewer than 5 hires/year
Use these conversation starters during your regular 1-on-1s or informal check-ins:
Informal Check-in Conversation Starters
- 1.How is everything going so far?
- 2.What has energized you in your role this week?
- 3.Last time we spoke, you mentioned [X]. How's that going?
- 4.What's one thing we could do differently to help you succeed?
- 5.Do you have everything you need to do your job well?
- 6.Is there anything confusing or frustrating right now?
- 7.What questions do you have that haven't been answered yet?
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Start Free TrialHow to Create Your Onboarding Survey
You don't need expensive HR software to collect onboarding feedback. Google Forms works perfectly for most small businesses. It's free, easy to set up, and responses automatically flow into Google Sheets for analysis.
Quick Setup Steps
Go to forms.google.com and create a new form. Add your questions using the appropriate question types: multiple choice for Yes/No, linear scale for 1-5 ratings, and paragraph text for open-ended questions. Enable “Require response” for important questions but leave optional questions truly optional.
| Format | Best For | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Likert Scale (1-5) | Satisfaction, confidence | "I understand my job responsibilities" (1-5) |
| Yes/No | Milestones, checkpoints | "Was your computer ready?" (Yes/No) |
| Open-Ended | Gathering suggestions | "What could we improve?" |
| eNPS (0-10) | Measuring loyalty | "Would you recommend us as an employer?" |
Best Practices for Question Design
| Guideline | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| 8-12 questions maximum | Longer surveys have lower completion rates |
| 60-70% closed-ended questions | Easy to analyze and track over time |
| 30-40% open-ended questions | Captures context and suggestions |
| One question per topic | Avoids double-barreled questions |
| Use neutral language | Prevents leading the respondent |
| End with 'anything else?' | Catches what you didn't ask about |
What to Do with Feedback
Collecting feedback is worthless if you don't act on it. The most common mistake I see in small businesses: sending surveys, looking at the results once, then doing nothing. This actually damages trust because employees feel their input was ignored.
What to Do with Feedback
Collect
Send survey at milestone
Review
Flag low scores (below 3)
Act
Make one improvement
Close Loop
Tell team what changed
Simple Analysis Framework
For each survey response, categorize scores using a simple traffic light system. Green (4-5): doing well, keep it up. Yellow (3): needs attention, investigate further. Red (1-2): immediate follow-up required, have a conversation within 24 hours. I cover the full metrics framework in my onboarding KPIs guide.
| Issue Revealed | Quick Fix |
|---|---|
| Training didn't prepare me for the job | Shadow a senior team member, extend training period |
| Manager too busy to answer questions | Assign an onboarding buddy, schedule dedicated office hours |
| Equipment wasn't ready on Day 1 | Create equipment checklist, send to IT 3 days before start |
| Don't understand company culture | Add culture session to orientation, pair with culture ambassador |
| Feel disconnected from team | Schedule team lunch, add to group chat earlier |
Closing the Feedback Loop
Always share what you've learned and what you're changing. Even a brief message like “Based on recent onboarding feedback, we're adding an extra training day for our CRM system” shows employees their voice matters. This builds trust and increases future response rates.
Create a simple spreadsheet with columns: Feedback Received | Action Taken | Result. Review quarterly to see which changes actually improved scores. At FirstHR, we track this automatically and can show you trends across all new hires.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an onboarding survey?
An onboarding survey is a structured questionnaire sent to new employees at specific milestones (typically 30, 60, or 90 days) to gather feedback about their onboarding experience. It helps identify what's working well and what needs improvement in your process.
How many questions should an onboarding survey have?
Keep onboarding surveys to 8-12 questions maximum. Surveys should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. Use a mix of rating scales (60-70%) and open-ended questions (30-40%). Longer surveys see significantly lower completion rates.
When should you send onboarding surveys?
Send surveys at key milestones: end of first week, 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days. For small businesses with limited resources, 30-day and 90-day surveys are the essential minimum. Send surveys in late morning or mid-afternoon for best response rates.
Should onboarding surveys be anonymous?
For small businesses (under 20 employees), truly anonymous surveys may not be practical since feedback can often be traced back to individuals. Focus instead on building trust and psychological safety so employees feel comfortable giving honest feedback directly. If anonymity is important, consider using a third-party survey tool.
What is a good response rate for onboarding surveys?
Target 75% or higher. Small organizations typically achieve 85%+ response rates. To improve rates: explain why feedback matters and how it will be used, send from the manager (not a generic email address), limit to 1-2 reminders, and share what changes were made based on past feedback.
What is eNPS and should I include it?
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) measures how likely employees are to recommend your company as a place to work on a 0-10 scale. Scores of 9-10 are Promoters, 7-8 are Passives, and 0-6 are Detractors. Include eNPS in your 90-day survey to gauge overall satisfaction. Track the score over time to see if your onboarding improvements are working.