Onboarding Feedback
The onboarding feedback channel provides a structured approach to understanding and improving the new starter experience from preboarding through induction, early role integration and completion of probation.
The design is intentionally aligned to the way councils typically manage onboarding and probation: prepare the employee before commencement, confirm the quality of induction and Day 1 readiness, identify issues early enough to act before probation closes, then assess the overall experience and transition into normal performance and development processes.
What onboarding feedback tests
| Outcome | What the organisation needs to know |
|---|---|
| Prepared | Did the new starter receive the information, administration, access and practical support needed before and immediately after commencement? |
| Welcomed | Did the manager and team create an inclusive and supportive start? |
| Clear | Does the employee understand the role, priorities, expectations and how success will be assessed? |
| Supported | Is the manager checking in, providing useful performance dialogue and removing barriers? |
| Enabled | Does the employee have the training, tools, equipment, systems and team support needed to become effective? |
| Safe | Has the employee received the information needed to work safely and do they feel able to ask questions or raise concerns? |
| Sustainable | Are workload and work practices reasonable as the employee settles into normal work demands? |
| Engaged | At probation completion, is the experience translating into purpose, pride, advocacy and intent to stay? |
Design logic
Onboarding questions should be asked when the employee is in a position to answer them meaningfully. The framework therefore changes the emphasis at each touchpoint rather than repeating the same survey four times.
- Preboarding and First Week use lifecycle-specific questions and adaptations of EOF / Employee Survey concepts. These are operational diagnostics; they should not be presented as like-for-like benchmark comparisons with the annual Employee Survey.
- First 6 Weeks deliberately introduces exact Employee Survey wording for the core conditions a new starter can now judge reliably: role clarity, manager support, performance conversations, training, tools, systems, workload and colleague support.
- 3 Months / Post Probation measures the outcome of onboarding and the transition to ongoing employment. It uses direct annual-survey comparators for role fit, manager relationship, development and respect, together with the four X-Factor outcomes.
- Open-text questions remain lifecycle diagnostics. Their role is to explain scores, identify practical fixes and direct follow-up — not to create additional metrics.
Where a council's formal probation period differs from three months, trigger the final touchpoint immediately after the actual probation review rather than forcing a fixed calendar date.
Recommended cadence
| Touchpoint | Timing | Primary purpose | Key domains | Primary owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preboarding Readiness Pulse | Before Day 1, once pre-employment requirements and first-day information have been issued | Confirm practical readiness and confidence before commencement | Communication, first-day clarity, onboarding administration, confidence | Talent Acquisition / People and Culture |
| First Week Experience Pulse | End of first week, after initial induction | Identify immediate friction and confirm the employee feels welcomed, safe and practically supported | Welcome, induction, manager contact, priorities, safety, access and tools, psychological safety | People and Culture with manager support |
| First 6 Weeks Check-In | Around weeks 5–6, before the formal probation review | Identify conditions helping or hindering early effectiveness while there is still time to act before probation closes | Role clarity, role reality, manager support, feedback, training, tools, systems, workload, colleague support | People and Culture with manager follow-up |
| 3 Months / Post Probation Pulse | Immediately after completion of the probation review | Assess the outcome of onboarding and transition into the ongoing employment experience | Experience, purpose, role fit, probation feedback, manager relationship, development, respect, pride, advocacy, intent | People and Culture |
| Quarterly insight review | Quarterly across cohorts | Identify systemic improvements across teams, locations, role types and process steps | Trends, manager capability, process friction, retention risk | People and Culture / Executive sponsor |
| Annual integration | With annual Employee Survey reporting | Compare directly aligned onboarding items with whole-of-workforce results | EOF drivers, X-Factors and People Plan / workforce priorities | People and Culture / Mastertek |
Relationship to the probation process
The listening framework does not replace normal manager-led onboarding or probation conversations. Managers should continue the organisation's required check-ins, performance discussions and probation review process. The feedback channel is deliberately limited to four employee touchpoints so that feedback is timely without creating survey fatigue or duplicating every management checkpoint.
The First 6 Weeks pulse is the intervention point: issues identified here should be discussed and addressed before the probation review. The 3 Months / Post Probation pulse then tests whether onboarding and the probation process produced the intended outcome.
Reporting principle
Use direct Employee Survey comparisons only where the wording is identical or explicitly identified as a direct comparator. Adapted and proxy items should be reported as lifecycle diagnostics, not trended as though they are the same measure.
Related pages: Preboarding Readiness Pulse, First Week Experience Pulse, First 6 Weeks Check-In, 3 Months / Post Probation Pulse, Onboarding Feedback Reporting Template, EOF and Employee Survey Alignment.