This article was updated in December 2025 to reflect the latest information and best practices.
TL;DR
Unanswered questions derail onboarding. This guide gives HR managers a structured, practical list of questions to ask a new employee, from Day 1 through the first 30 days and beyond, to improve productivity, engagement, and retention.
If you only take one thing away: great onboarding is about answering questions before they become doubts.
Table of Contents
- Why questions matter in employee onboarding
- Questions about the first day
- Questions about policies, tools, and processes
- Questions that connect the role to the bigger picture
- Questions about performance and expectations
- Questions about support and communication
- Questions about culture and belonging
- Questions about growth and development
- Questions about AI at work
- 30-day check-in questions
- How onboarding software helps HR scale these conversations
- FAQ: onboarding questions to ask new hires
- Next steps: Turning answers into action
Why Unanswered Questions Undermine Employee Onboarding
Strong onboarding can improve new-hire productivity and retention by over 70%. Yet many organisations still leave new hires guessing.
When onboarding questions go unanswered, two things happen:
- Productivity slows because employees don’t know how to work effectively.
- Engagement drops, increasing early attrition risk.
Poor onboarding is closely linked to early employee turnover. When organisations fail to set clear goals and expectations, new hires struggle to understand what success looks like. Research shows that up to 31% of employees leave within their first six months, often citing unclear expectations, weak onboarding, or lack of support.
Onboarding questions for new hires are not “nice to have.” They are the foundation of confidence, performance, and trust.
Questions About the First Day
Even experienced hires feel first-day uncertainty. HR should remove friction early.
Questions to answer before Day 1:
- When should I arrive, and where do I go?
- Is someone expecting me?
- What should I wear?
- What do I need to bring?
- What will my first day involve?
- Should I bring lunch or eat with the team?
Why this matters:
Small uncertainties create unnecessary stress and shape first impressions.
Questions About Policies, Tools, and Processes
Clarity on “how things work” is a top onboarding priority for nearly 75% of new hires.
Onboarding questions to or proactively answer:
- When and how do I get paid?
- What benefits do I receive?
- How does time off work?
- What’s the process if I’m sick?
- Can I work remotely?
- What tools and systems do I use?
- What are the rules around email, devices, and social media?
Tip for HR:
A clear, up-to-date employee handbook reduces repeat questions and errors.
Questions that Connect the Role to the Bigger Picture
People perform better when they understand why their work matters.
Key questions new hires ask:
- Why does the company exist?
- What are the company’s goals and challenges?
- How does my role contribute to those goals?
- Why does my work matter?
HR impact:
This alignment drives engagement, motivation, and discretionary effort.
Questions About Performance and Expectations
New hires want to succeed, but only if expectations are clear.
Questions to clarify for a new employee early:
- What does success look like in this role?
- How is performance measured?
- What are my goals for the first month, quarter, and year?
- Where can I get help if I struggle?
- What does exceptional performance look like?
Why this matters:
76% of new hires rank on-the-job training as their top onboarding priority.
Questions About Support and Communication
Psychological safety starts with knowing where to turn.
New hires need to know:
- Who do I ask if I have questions?
- Who do I talk to if something goes wrong?
- Where can I share ideas outside my formal role?
Mentorship programmes, clear escalation paths, and feedback channels help employees feel supported and heard.
Questions About Culture and Belonging
Culture isn’t learned from policies—it’s learned from behaviour.
Common onboarding questions that come up:
- What are people like here?
- What are the unspoken norms?
- Am I expected to respond outside working hours?
- How do teams collaborate socially?
Top tip:
Employee stories and testimonials help set realistic expectations early.
Questions About Growth and Development
Career development strongly influences retention across all generations.
Questions new hires care about:
- How does progression work here?
- What training opportunities are available?
- Can I move into different roles over time?
- What could my career look like in one, three, or five years?
Clear answers signal long-term commitment, not just short-term performance.
Questions About AI at Work
As AI becomes more visible in everyday work, employees, new hires included, want clarity, not buzzwords. These are the questions that shape trust, confidence, and engagement from day one.
Transparency & Trust
- Where is AI used in my work environment?
- How are AI-supported decisions explained to employees?
- Who is accountable when AI is involved in a decision that affects me?
Fairness & Inclusion
- Does AI play a role in promotion or performance decisions?
- How do you prevent bias in AI-supported people processes?
- Can employees challenge or question AI-influenced outcomes?
- Are human checks built into AI-driven decisions?
Data & Privacy
- What employee data is used by AI tools?
- Is my data used to train AI systems?
- How long is my data stored, and who can access it?
- What safeguards are in place to protect sensitive information?
Everyday Work & Performance
- Will AI be used to monitor my work or productivity?
- How does AI support my role rather than replace it?
- How is AI used in feedback, learning, or development?
Learning & Support
- Will I be trained to work with AI tools?
- What happens if I don’t trust an AI-generated recommendation?
- Who do I go to with questions or concerns about AI?
30-Day Check-In Questions
Onboarding should not stop after the first week.
Effective 30-day check-in questions include:
- What’s going well so far?
- What’s been harder than expected?
- Do you have the tools and support you need?
- What questions are still unanswered?
Bonus question: How else can we support you?
This single question is powerful. It shows genuine care and often surfaces issues early.
How Onboarding Software Helps HR Scale These Conversations
Manually tracking onboarding questions becomes difficult at scale.
Onboarding software solutions help HR teams:
- Standardise onboarding questions
- Automate check-ins and reminders
- Ensure consistent experiences across locations
- Track engagement and completion
Talentech’s Onboarding Software helps HR teams structure onboarding while keeping it human and personal.
FAQ: Onboarding Questions to Ask New Hires
What are the most important questions to ask a new employee?
Prioritise questions that remove first-day uncertainty, clarify expectations, and explain support channels. For example: what success looks like, who to ask for help, how tools and policies work, and what the first weeks will involve.
When should HR start asking onboarding questions?
Start before day one to cover practicalities like arrival, equipment, and schedule. Continue during the first week and throughout the first months to reinforce expectations, support, and role clarity.
How do you avoid overwhelming new hires with onboarding information?
Group questions by timing and topic, and deliver information in smaller chunks. Use checklists, short guides, and scheduled check-ins so critical information is repeated and reinforced over time
How can onboarding software help with new hire questions?
Onboarding software helps HR standardise essential questions, automate reminders and check-ins, track completion, and ensure a consistent experience across teams and locations, while leaving space for human conversations.
Next Steps: Turning Answers into Action
Having the right answers is only the first step. The real impact comes from understanding where your organisation stands today - and what to prioritise next.
If you want to move from reflection to action, Talentech's HR Report helps you:
- Benchmark your current HR setup across key lifecycle stages
- Spot gaps in recruitment, onboarding, development, and retention
- Identify quick wins and longer-term focus areas
- Ground decisions in data, not assumptions
Use it as a follow-up to these questions, not to answer all of them at once, but to focus on the ones that matter most right now.
Read the HR Report to see how organisations like yours are approaching modern HR challenges.
