Employee onboarding form (questions + template)

A well-structured employee onboarding form is a vital tool for welcoming new hires and setting them up for success. 

Generally speaking, it serves two key purposes. 

For one, it helps you gather information and documents from new team members. 

Secondly, it keeps new employees informed about their roles, company policies, and the necessary legal and identification requirements. 

In this post, we’ll explore the key elements of an onboarding form and provide a list of questions to include in each section.

What does a new hire onboarding form do for your organization?

Though some companies may see it as digital paperwork (and hence a waste of time), an employee onboarding form is much more than just a checklist. For most organizations, it’s a crucial element of the onboarding process thanks to the following benefits:

• It streamlines data collection: The form is designed to gather all necessary personal, legal, and job-related information in one place. This helps HR and management quickly access and verify the essentials.

• Compliance: The onboarding checklist assists you in collecting documentation, so your business can comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

• Setting expectations: It gives a new employee an overview of their job, onboarding procedures, responsibilities, and company policies. This clarity reduces confusion to help employees hit the ground running.

• Improved employee experience: A well-organized onboarding process makes new employees feel valued — a positive first impression improves your reputation while boosting employee morale.

• Communication facilitator: By detailing contact information, direct supervisors, and reporting lines, your onboarding template helps new hires figure out who to turn to for assistance or information.

• Improved record management: Keeping an accurate record of employee information from the outset simplifies future HR tasks — payroll processing, benefits administration, performance evaluations, and similar.

Related: Create an effective client onboarding checklist (template included)

28 questions to include in your employee onboarding form

Businesses in different countries may require additional info about new hires, but the questions you’ll see below are a must for all organizations. We divided them into several sections for easier navigation.

Note: All screenshots you’ll see below come from our ready-made employee onboarding checklist template. It is part of the Content Snare library of templates, so feel free to explore it.

Personal information

1. Full name

2. Email 

3. Phone

4. Home address

Offer details

5. Job title

6. Department

7. Responsibilities

8. Direct supervisor

9. Start date

10. Salary

11. Employment type 

This can be full-time, part-time, temporary, contract, or internship.

12. Signature

Emergency contact information

13. Emergency contact name

14. Emergency contact relationship 

This can be spouse, parent, sibling, friend, or colleague.

15. Emergency contact phone 

16. Emergency contact email

Identification and legal documents

17. ID verification

Kindly scan your photo ID (driver’s license or passport).

18. Social Security Number

Please provide your SSN or equivalent identification number. 

19. Employment eligibility verification 

20. Proof of education

Bank account information

21. Bank name

22. Account number

23. Routing number or direct deposit form 

Onboarding and training

24. Available date for orientation

25. Do you require any special accommodations or assistance during your onboarding?

If yes, please clarify the details.

Policies

Please check all that apply.

26. I have read and understood the company's code of conduct and employee handbook.

27. I am aware of the company's policy on workplace harassment and discrimination.

28. I understand the procedures for reporting a policy violation or workplace issue.

Tips to customize your onboarding checklist

Though we prepared a comprehensive employee onboarding template, it’s highly recommended that you customize the questionnaire to match your company's goals and communication style.

For instance, feel free to provide a brief introduction that talks about your organization's values and culture. Another option is to include details pertinent to the new hire's specific role:

• Role-specific training schedules
• Introductions to key team members
• Departmental procedures

We also find it useful to define clear milestones for the onboarding process, such as completing training modules, attending orientation sessions, or meeting with key stakeholders. This is how new hires can track progress and feel a sense of accomplishment from day one.

Last but certainly not least, take advantage of an online form builder to tailor your template and improve the onboarding process. Our recommendation is to use Content Snare, and we’ll explain why in the following section.

Collect onboarding documents and info with Content Snare

Content Snare features a built-in employee onboarding questionnaire, but that’s only one of its benefits. With our data collection tool, you can quickly edit the existing template or design brand new onboarding forms.

The system is extremely intuitive — both you and your new hires will know what to do as soon as you access the dashboard. More importantly, Content Snare puts an emphasis on security and compliance, so you never have to worry about data confidentiality.