Asking new employees questions doesn’t just improve the flow of communication but also boosts productivity. New employees need ice-breaking exercises as a part of the onboarding process. Having a few questions to ask all new employees handy is the best ice-breaking skill for any manager. So, what are the questions to ask new employees? We can broadly categorize the types of questions to be asked as follows:
- “Get to know them” questions.
- Trust-building questions.
- Fun questions.
- Productivity boosting questions.
Each employee is different. A manager is supposed to understand this and treat each one differently. Knowing their preferences and traits is the first step to unlocking their potential and streamlining work efficiency.
“Get to know them” questions
The first type of question to ask new employees is largely symbolic. You need to show new employees that you care. You also need to ascertain their communication preferences, motivations, personality, and expectations from the workplace.
All this is pretty easy to do. Instead of trying to figure it out, you can just ask them. Give them options to choose from – it always works better that way.
- What is the best way to communicate with you? Face-to-face or Zoom? Slack or email?
- How do you prefer to work? Independent projects or teams? Headphones or silence? Bustling workplace or a quiet one? Cooking ideas steadily or thinking on the fly?
Of course, apart from asking questions, you also need to observe new employees. For example, an employee might say that they work best under constant feedback but in practice, all they need is constant encouragement and feedback at the end of the task.
While some thrive independently, others might need constant supervision to not get stuck.
It’s all a balancing act between getting answers and then monitoring.
The questions to ask your employees as a new manager are even more difficult. Gauging the employee’s performance is the second half of a successful workplace.
Trust building questions
After you’ve got to know them, it’s time to build trust.
Building trust is extremely critical if you’re managing a larger team. For example, only a well-communicating team where each member trusts everyone else will be cohesive, successful, and productive.
The prerequisites to establishing the ideal trustworthy workplace are thought leadership, efficient working system, no or negligible bottlenecks, necessary tools and technology, and so on.
Trust-building questions are generally more personal yet appropriate in a workplace.
For example, asking new employees questions such as:
- What’s your favorite music genre or act?
- What’s a recent book/show/movie that was very emotional for you?
- Can you remember the best meal you had recently? What was it?
- What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
These are ideal trust-building questions. However, remember that listening to the responses thoroughly is the other important aspect of building trust.
Assume you ask them about their pet (a great trust-building question). Naturally, they start talking about how much they love their pet. But you’re not even paying attention properly or worse, interjecting with your own take or story. Now, this is a lost cause.
Ask the right questions and then listen – end to end.
Don’t ask questions that don’t fit the situation. For example, questions like “What show are you watching currently on Netflix” might be okay in a casual situation, but in many cases, they might become too awkward and the employee might hesitate before answering, especially when coming of a sudden with no context.
Building Trust Is Crucial!
Make the reason behind why you’re asking questions pretty clear. You want to get to know your new employees. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Questions with a slightly personal tangent help you build trust. When done in groups or teams casually, it helps build collective trust. For example, suppose you’re heading a team of developers. Asking what’s the worst thing about Linux for them might get a conversation going where people laugh and share their funny stories.
Questions, therefore, can boost team spirit, morale, confidence, and trust.
But tread cautiously. Keep the questions general. Only ask questions you know that have or can have universally accepted answers, or similar. Many questions might end up dividing the team based on controversial takes.
Fun questions
A team where members know each other and trust each other is perfect for productivity. Now all that’s remaining is instilling a sense of culture.
Fun questions allow the workplace to become pretty relaxed. Every employee works their best when in a relaxed situation. A new employee faces a lot of pressure. And it’s not entirely working pressure. This pressure has to do with dubiousness, self-doubt, peer pressure, lack of information, and generally just getting used to a new place.
Questions to ask new employees in this situation sometimes need to focus more on fun rather than trust.
So, what are some fun questions to ask new employees?
The idea is to ask something otherwise general but capable of producing a humorous response or rekindle a funny memory.
- What’s the weirdest meal you ever had?
- What’s your favorite meme recently?
- How would you describe what you do to a five-year-old?
- What was your first job and how was it?
- What drains your energy like nothing else while working?
- What’s your hidden talent?
Sometimes, asking a group or team to share their bucket lists can be the simplest way of getting some fun conversations going. In other situations, as a manager, you might need one-on-one time with new employees to better understand what makes them tick.
Productivity boosting questions
Some questions boost productivity if accompanied by suitable actions. For example, if an employee answers solo when you ask them whether they prefer working in a team or solo, you can shift them to a more individual role within the company.
Most organizations fail in recognizing the key to the efficiency of new employees. They fixate too much on their competencies and skills. That’s not the full story.
Don’t fixate on skills. Ask them what makes them more productive and do your due diligence in providing them the best way to work. Help them maximize their own efficiency.
Communication methods, working styles, preferences, expectations from the workplace and managers, expected treatment by colleagues, motivations, and even life priorities might turn out to be amazing pointers in boosting a new employee’s satisfaction and productivity.
Productive Team Need Questions
Ask the right questions at the right times and make adjustments accordingly. This way any manager can improve the overall efficiency of their workplace.
Also, if there are uncomfortable elements or weaknesses, ask about them and try to find a solution. For example, letting someone work solo because they function better that way is not the solution. Slowly helping them fit in better in groups is the right way to improve their work experience.
There are many questions to ask new employees. Not all are fit for every workplace, team, employee, and situation. Use your judgment properly and find out the best way to make everyone work together and more importantly, the best way to make new employees feel right at home.
Showing empathy is key. If you ask a new employee about the challenges they are facing without showing empathy, you might end up getting a half-hearted answer. For example, instead of just asking “Are you experiencing any obstacles in particular?” – ask “Are you experiencing any challenges that I can assist you with?”
This makes them more likely to share any problems, for example. Be the friend and not just the manager.
