Surveying new employees at key moments in their hiring or starting process provides critical insight that helps you ensure all new employees have what they need to succeed, and that the organization has resources getting up to speed at scale. Here’s how to do it well:
Determine your specific goals of the survey
The term onboarding may mean different things to different people; are you looking to assess experience of the recruitment and hiring process? What made the individual choose your organization? Or do you want to learn about how the employee experienced first few days or weeks at the organization? Understanding what you are trying to learn will help you create a survey that is most effective for your needs.
Ask the right questions
Once you determine what you’re trying to achieve, it’s easier to figure out what questions to ask. This may include a mix of the practical, such as whether there was a computer available when the employee showed up, as well as more cultural, such as whether the employee felt welcomed and performance based, such as whether the employee knows what’s expected of them in the first 30 days.
Survey at major milestones in the new employee journey
When you survey is just as important as what you’re surveying, and again, it depends on the goals. If you’re just trying to gain insight into the hiring process, you can survey immediately upon acceptance. Many of our clients survey at multiple points that may include candidate or pre-hire surveys, acceptance surveys, and onboarding at the 1 week, or 30-day, 60-day, or even 90-day mark.
Tie onboarding feedback to other data in the employee journey
At OrgVitality, we work with our clients to link their onboarding data to other milestone moments in the employee lifecycle, such as anniversary surveys, exit surveys, and more, as well as other business metrics. This provides a more comprehensive analysis, giving you a clearer picture of your landscape, and letting you take action that is more likely to improve the employee experience at all stages.
