An onboarding questionnaire is two short forms, not one long one. Before day one: the practical questions, equipment preferences, accounts needed, working pattern, emergency contact, anything the employer must know to set the first day up. At thirty days: the questions that improve the next onboarding, what was unclear, what was missing, what would have helped, and the questions that feed the first review. The onboarding checklist on this site carries both as lines, free and without an account.
Before day one
Equipment and setup preferences, the accounts and tools they will need, the working pattern where there is a choice, the emergency contact, dietary and access needs where the first day involves them. Short, because the hire has not started yet.
At thirty days
What was unclear in the first week; what was missing on day one; who helped most; what would have made the first month easier; what they want to learn next. The answers feed the next onboarding and the thirty-day review, which the review template on this site prints.
What to do with the answers
The practical ones become the day-one setup; the thirty-day ones become changes to the checklist for the next hire. A questionnaire whose answers change nothing is not worth the hire's time. The checklist on this site is regenerated with the changed lines, so the improvement is in the next hire's list rather than in a note.
Keeping them
Against the hire's record with the dates. HeadcountDesk Pro keeps the questionnaire and the checklist it feeds. From the vendors' own pricing pages, cited below: Homebase lists its Essentials plan at $30 per location per month billed monthly or $24 billed annually, with unlimited employees, and a Basic plan at $0 for one location with up to 10 employees; BambooHR starts at $10 per employee per month for Core and $17 for Pro; Deputy's Core plan is $6.50 per user per month. HeadcountDesk Pro is $24 per month per location.
Questions people ask about onboarding questionnaire
Should the questionnaire be anonymous?
The thirty-day one can be, if the employer wants candour over follow-up; the practical one cannot.
How many questions?
Under ten each; a long questionnaire is not completed.
Is the checklist free?
Yes, without an account.