Break the Ice: Fun Onboarding Questions for New Hires

It doesn’t matter the size of your company, whether you are onboarding a 5-hour-a-week Virtual Assistant as your first-ever team member or your 5647485 full-time member of staff, your team’s onboarding is SO important.

Onboarding doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming either – we actually have this free resource to help with that “The 20-Minute Team Onboarding Blueprint”.

Incorporating fun onboarding questions for new hires is a great way to help tick off many of the boxes for an efficient and effective team onboarding experience.

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Why Have an Onboarding Questionnaire for New Hires?

An onboarding questionnaire is a great idea for several reasons:

1. Engagement and Connection
   It allows new hires to actively participate in the onboarding process, promoting engagement from the very beginning. By answering questions about themselves and their interests, your new team member will feel valued and connected to the company culture.
   
2. Relationship Building
   Onboarding questionnaires serve as icebreakers, creating a friendly and welcoming environment. They encourage open communication and provide opportunities for team members to find common interests or shared experiences, facilitating relationship building within the team.

3. Culture Alignment
   By including questions that are relevant to the company’s values, mission, and vision, the onboarding questionnaire helps new hires understand and align with your company culture. It sets the stage for cultural integration and promotes a sense of belonging, which ultimately improves team retention and satisfaction.

4. Feedback and Improvement
   By incorporating questions about the onboarding process itself, you can gather valuable feedback from new hires. This feedback can be used to continuously improve the onboarding programme, addressing any shortcomings or gaps and ensuring a more effective and enjoyable experience for future hires.

Overall, an onboarding questionnaire serves as a powerful tool. It sets a positive tone for new hires and contributes to their overall satisfaction, productivity, and long-term success within your business.

What to think about when crafting your onboarding questions

1. Open-endedness
   Use open-ended questions to allow for more in-depth responses. This will provide new hires with the opportunity to express themselves, share their experiences, and provide valuable insights.

2. Culture and Values
   Consider incorporating questions that align with your company’s culture, values, and mission. This can help new hires understand and connect with the organisation’s core principles, creating a sense of belonging from the start.
3. Sensitivity and Inclusivity
   Be mindful of creating questions that are sensitive and inclusive. Avoid topics that could make individuals uncomfortable or delve into personal matters that are irrelevant to their work or might be considered invasive.

Fun Onboarding Question Examples for New Hires

1. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
2. What’s your go-to karaoke song, and would you be willing to sing it at our next team event?
3. If you were a fictional character, who would you be and why?
4. What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
5. If you could have a dinner party with any three historical figures, who would you invite and why?
6. What’s the most unusual talent or skill you possess?
7. Share a funny or interesting anecdote from a past job or internship.
8. If you could travel back in time and witness any historical event, which one would you choose and why?
9. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour, and why is it the best?
10. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three items, what would they be?
11. What’s your spirit animal, and why do you think it represents you?
12. If you were a fictional character, which character would you choose to be and why?
13. Share an interesting or unusual hobby or talent you have outside of work.
14. What’s your favourite quote or mantra that keeps you motivated?
15. If you could magically learn any skill overnight, what would it be and why?
16. What’s the most adventurous or daring thing you’ve ever done?
17. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?
18. Share a fun or interesting fact about your hometown or place of origin.
19. If you could have a meal with any celebrity, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
20. What’s your favourite way to unwind or de-stress after a long day?

That’s a Wrap! Fun Onboarding Question for New Hires

Select the questions that you feel resonate with you the most and best reflect the team culture you are looking to nurture or create. You could add the answers to some questions to a “Team Overview” document (we have ours set up in our project management software, ClickUp, where we also host our onboarding form) for all the team to access so they can get to know one another – just make sure you share on the form which answers will be published for other team members to see!

These questions are so great for adding a touch of personality and enjoyment to the onboarding experience and demonstrating your company culture in action from the get-go, making it more engaging for new hires.

To build upon the onboarding experience, check out our blog on how to create a positive company culture.

Need some support with your team onboarding processes to ensure your new hire is set up for success, has a positive experience joining your team and doesn’t cost you hours of time?

Download our FREE plug’n’play 20-Minute Team Onboarding Blueprint here!