In this article:
Overview
Based on Quantum Workplace customer response rate data, the average response rate for New Hire surveys is 49%.
Effective communication tactics play a large role in influencing how many new employees are aware of and choose to participate in new hire surveys. Quantum Workplace considers a response rate of 73% or higher a good response rate for a new hire survey, based on the top quartile of customer response rates.
Check out our Employee Survey Communication Toolkit for communication examples and ideas.
Survey Communication Best Practices
Survey communication is critical to gaining employee buy-in and participation.
Many of the same communication efforts to encourage participation in any employee survey apply to a new hire survey.
- Share the why behind the survey: Clearly communicate the survey goal, and why sharing their feedback is important to both them and the organization.
- Talk with your employees, not at them: Use You as the primary pronoun, and We/Us secondarily to spark stronger interest and buy-in.
- Make it personal: Connect with employees at their level- relate to their emotions and experiences. For example, new employees feel everything from excitement to being overwhelmed as they learn new information, meet their colleagues and navigate a new workplace culture.
- Share the benefits: Communicate to employees how their feedback has contributed to action and change in the workplace; give examples so they can see that feedback is heard and can lead to positive change.
- Include a clear call to action: What do you want employees to do after reading or hearing specific communications? The more specific you are, the easier you make it for them to react, e.g. Take five minutes to complete this online survey by this Friday.
- Involve leaders and managers: HR should not be the only role communicating about surveys. Equip your leaders and managers to also share survey communication, the value of employee feedback, and what changes the organization has made based on employee feedback to solidify that employee feedback is valued by everyone.
New Hire Survey Best Practices
Unlike surveys where all employees are invited to participate at the same time, e.g. an annual engagement survey, a New Hire survey doesn't close.
New hires are invited to participate when they reach certain tenure milestones, which means that different employees may be invited to participate independently throughout the year.
To account for this:
- Promote New Hire survey(s) during key onboarding milestones: If a New Hire survey launches when an employee reaches 30 days of tenure, mention this during their orientation and include survey participation as a task to complete in an onboarding checklist.
- Communicate one-on-one: Because new hire surveys are launched independently based on different conditions, and not to all employees at once, it's important that managers are equipped to communicate what the survey is, what is measured, their value, and when/how new employees are invited to participate. Hearing this directly from managers also highlights the value of employee feedback.
- Create time & space: Hopefully, communication efforts to new hires prove that your organization values employee feedback, still, managers should reinforce the idea that survey participation is important and ensure that new hires are given the time to complete their survey. Additionally, for new employees in non-computer-based roles, managers should ensure these employees have an easy, secure means of accessing and completing the survey. Learn about Survey Text Messaging.