8 min read

Always Improving: How to Solicit Feedback from Your New Hires

Early feedback from new hires helps improve onboarding, build trust, and boost retention. Asking at the right times and acting on insights creates a stronger, more engaged workplace culture.

Starting a new role can feel like walking into a room full of strangers at a party. Some people jump right in, while others stand back and quietly take it all in. For you as a leader, that first impression is gold. It is your chance to find out what is working well in your onboarding and what might need a second look. That is why knowing how to solicit feedback from new hires is so important.

If you only wait until an exit interview, you are closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. New hires are full of insights during their first few months, and if you capture them early, you set yourself up for stronger retention, smoother transitions, and an environment where everyone feels heard.

This guide will walk you through how to collect and act on employee feedback in a structured way, with a focus on Australian workplaces. Along the way, you will learn how stay interviews, open dialogue, and continuous improvement practices can become part of your management toolkit.

Why Soliciting Feedback Matters

You already know that recruitment is time-consuming and costly. When you bring someone new on board, you want them to succeed. What many organisations forget is that the first 90 days often determine whether a hire will stay for the long haul.

By actively asking for employee feedback, you:

Gain early warnings about potential issues.
Build trust with your new hires by showing you value their perspective.
Identify patterns in onboarding and training processes.
Strengthen overall team performance.

Think of it as tuning a guitar. You cannot just string it once and call it a day. Regular adjustments keep it sounding right. Feedback works the same way.

The Best Times to Solicit Feedback

Timing is everything. If you ask too early, you may get surface-level answers. If you ask too late, you miss the chance to act. Here are common checkpoints:

One week in: Capture initial impressions of the onboarding experience.
One month in: Ask about training, workload, and support.
Three months in: Discuss how they feel about integration with the team.
Six months in: Assess satisfaction, growth, and alignment with expectations.

Each stage provides different insights. Like tasting a stew while it simmers, you want to know if you need more seasoning before it is served.

How to Collect Feedback Effectively

When it comes to gathering insights, the method matters as much as the message. Here are some approaches:

1. Stay Interviews

Unlike exit interviews, stay interviews focus on why employees choose to remain with your organisation. With new hires, these sessions are valuable for spotting both strengths and pressure points in your onboarding.

Questions might include:

What made you excited to join us?
What has been the best part of your experience so far?
Is there anything that surprised you, good or bad?
What could make your role more rewarding?

2. Surveys and Forms

Online surveys allow for anonymous responses, which can encourage honesty. Keep them short and specific. No one likes a questionnaire that feels longer than a tax return.

3. One-on-One Conversations

Face-to-face discussions show personal commitment. Schedule a casual chat over coffee rather than a formal meeting room setting. People often open up more when the atmosphere is relaxed.

4. Digital Tools

Platforms like RefHub offer templates and guides that can simplify your process. If you want ready-made frameworks, you can find free downloads here.

Creating a Safe Space for Honest Feedback

You can ask all the questions you like, but if your new hires do not feel safe to answer, the effort falls flat. Building psychological safety takes intention.

Be transparent about how feedback will be used.
Avoid defensiveness when hearing something critical.
Thank them sincerely for their honesty.
Follow up with visible action.

Think of feedback as a gift. Sometimes it is wrapped in shiny paper, sometimes in yesterday’s newspaper. Either way, it is valuable.

Turning Feedback into Continuous Improvement

Collecting insights is step one. Acting on them is step two. Without action, you are just stockpiling suggestions in a drawer.

Identify recurring themes: If several hires mention unclear job expectations, that is a red flag.
Prioritise what matters most: You cannot change everything at once. Focus on the issues that directly impact performance and retention.
Communicate changes: Let employees know how their feedback shaped decisions. This closes the loop and builds trust.
Measure progress: Track improvements over time to confirm changes are working.

This process is the heart of continuous improvement. It is like tending a garden. Pull weeds regularly, water often, and you will see long-term growth.

The Role of Managers and Leaders

Human Resources teams often lead feedback efforts, but managers and supervisors play a central role. Employees usually interact with them daily, so their listening skills and response to concerns shape the entire feedback culture.

A production manager in a factory, a recruiter in an agency, or a small business owner all face the same challenge: How do you balance operational demands with listening to new hires? The answer is simple—make feedback part of the workflow, not an afterthought.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with the best intentions, feedback efforts can stumble. Here are traps you should sidestep:

Overloading new hires with surveys: Keep it reasonable. Too much asking feels like an interrogation.
Ignoring the feedback you receive: This is worse than not asking at all.
Being vague in your questions: General prompts like “How are things going?” rarely spark useful insights.
Only talking to high performers: Every voice matters, not just the loudest or the most skilled.

How RefHub Supports Feedback Collection

Collecting and acting on feedback does not have to be overwhelming. RefHub provides tools and frameworks that simplify the process for Australian businesses. From structured stay interview questions to free templates, RefHub helps you build feedback practices into your hiring cycle.

Access a range of helpful resources here: Free Hiring Guides and Templates.

Final Thoughts

Soliciting feedback is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing conversation that helps you build stronger teams, reduce turnover, and create workplaces where people want to stay. By asking the right questions at the right time, listening carefully, and acting on what you hear, you create a cycle of improvement that benefits both your employees and your organisation.

If you want structured tools and practical guides to make feedback collection easier, RefHub has you covered.

Take the first step in building a stronger feedback culture today. Access RefHub’s free hiring guides and templates here: Download Now.