How to Collect Feedback from New Hires

Embarking on the onboarding journey is a pivotal chapter for new hires, and extracting their feedback becomes the linchpin in crafting a seamlessly integrated experience. The insights garnered from new hires not only unravel the intricacies of their journey but also illuminate pathways for refinement, fostering the creation of an onboarding narrative that exudes positivity and productivity.

Join Aniday to explore How to Collect Feedback from New Hires, discuss the types of feedback, when and what feedback to collect, and some practical strategies for optimizing the feedback collection process.

Why Should We Collect Feedback From New Hires?

There are many benefits to collecting feedback from new hires. Feedback can help you to:

• Uncover experiences: New hire feedback offers a firsthand view into their onboarding journey, shedding light on successes and areas for improvement.

• Spot enhancement opportunities: Utilize feedback to pinpoint specific areas in the onboarding process that could be refined, driving effectiveness and efficiency.

• Craft a positive onboarding journey: Incorporate new hire feedback to shape a more positive and productive onboarding experience, setting the stage for their success in new roles.

Types of Feedback from New Hires

Feedback from new hires can be divided into three categories:

• Positive feedback: positive feedback signifies contentment with the onboarding process. It serves as a reinforcement of successful aspects and encourages continuous input from new hires.

• Negative feedback: Negative feedback signals dissatisfaction and serves as a guide to pinpoint areas for improvement within the onboarding process.

• Neutral Insights: Neutral feedback, although not overtly positive or negative, holds value in highlighting potential areas for enhancement within the onboarding process. Every perspective, regardless of tone, contributes to refining the overall experience.

What to Ask New Hires

Design inquiries that extract the necessary information to comprehend their experiences and pinpoint areas for improvement. There are 4 main content you might ask include:

1. First Impressions

Gather feedback on the initial moments to understand factors contributing to a positive or challenging start. Questions may focus on the clarity of instructions, the warmth of welcome, and the accessibility of essential resources.

2. Training and Instructional Experience

Collect insights into the quality of training materials and sessions. Questions may assess the clarity, relevance, and effectiveness of training content, enabling organizations to tailor programs to better meet the needs of new hires.

3. Work Processes

Obtain feedback on day-to-day work experiences to understand how well new hires adapt to their roles and responsibilities. Questions can explore the alignment of expectations, ease of integration into workflows, and accessibility of support mechanisms.

4. Integration into the Team and Company Culture

Evaluate social and cultural integration by asking about team-building activities, communication channels, and inclusivity. Understanding the level of integration helps organizations strengthen efforts to create a cohesive and collaborative work environment, promoting higher satisfaction and retention.

When to Ask New Hires

Gather feedback from new hires at different onboarding stages. This provides insights into their evolving experiences and highlights potential areas for improvement. Some suggested times to collect feedback include:

• In the first week: This feedback will help you to understand their initial impressions of the company and the onboarding process.

• At the halfway point: This feedback will help you to identify any areas where the process could be improved before it is too late to make changes.

• After the onboarding process is complete: This feedback will help you to understand their overall satisfaction with the process.

How to Collect Feedback from New Hires

By taking feedback into account, you can create a more positive and productive onboarding process that will help new hires to be successful in their new roles.

1. Plan ahead

Before you start collecting feedback, take some time to plan what you want to learn. What are your specific goals for the feedback collection? What are the information needed to achieve those goals?

Here are some possible questions you can ask yourself:

• What specific elements of the onboarding process are of utmost importance for soliciting feedback? 

• Are you seeking positive, negative, or neutral feedback?

• How will you use the feedback? To improve the onboarding process, to identify areas for improvement, or both?

Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, you can start to develop a feedback collection plan.

2. Comfortable Interview Environment

Ensuring a comfortable setting promotes open communication in interviews. A relaxed environment encourages honesty, allowing new hires to freely share their experiences.

Moreover, framing questions as open-ended prompts is crucial for delving into diverse perspectives. These questions invite detailed responses, fostering a deeper understanding of each individual's journey within the organization.

3. Transforming Feedback into Action

Once feedback is gathered, the next crucial steps involve organizing the collected data and leveraging it for meaningful insights.

• Efficiently categorizing feedback into themes, such as positive aspects, areas for improvement, and common challenges, lays the groundwork for effective analysis. This organized approach allows for a comprehensive overview of the diverse perspectives shared during the feedback process.

• Analyzing trends and issues informs targeted improvement plans. Understanding both positive trends and areas needing attention allows organizations to proactively enhance the onboarding experience. 

• There are many analytical tools available to help you identify and spot the different trends and issues in feedback. For example, you can use statistical analysis software to calculate measures such as mean, standard deviation, and frequency of occurrence, which will be greatly helpful in data collection. 

4. Communicating the results

After analyzing and acting on new hire feedback, promptly communicate the results to stakeholders. This ensures the changes implemented are not only fitting but also effective.

• Sharing the results with relevant stakeholders, including HR teams, department heads, and trainers, ensures that diverse perspectives are acknowledged, and collective insights are considered.

• The communication process addresses challenges ,emphasizes positive aspects and the improvements made based on the gathered insights. 

5. Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement is the process of continually looking for and implementing ways to improve. In the context of collecting feedback from new hires, continuous improvement means:

• Implementing Feedback-Driven Enhancements: After analyzing and responding to new hire feedback, implement crucial changes to refine the onboarding process.

• Continuous Training Evaluation: Vigilantly monitor new hires' training experiences to promptly address any arising issues during the onboarding journey.

• Iterative Feedback Optimization: Regularly refine the feedback collection process to ensure its continuous alignment with organizational needs.

* Additional tips for collecting feedback from new hires

• Facilitate Seamless Feedback: Simplify the feedback collection process for new hires. Utilize clear, concise language and ensure the procedure is straightforward and easily comprehensible.

• Be respectful of new hires' time: Don't ask new hires to spend too much time providing feedback. Keep the survey or interview short and to the point.

• Keep feedback confidential: New hires should feel comfortable providing honest feedback. Let them know that their feedback will be kept confidential.

In Summary

In conclusion, Aniday believes this blog has empowered HR teams with effective feedback collection strategies. By embracing feedback, you pave the way for a positive and productive onboarding process, setting new hires on a trajectory for success in their roles.