30 Buddy Program Survey Questions to Boost Engagement

First-Week Pulse Buddy Survey

Why & When to Use

The buddy survey first-week pulse is your secret radar. After five business days, it catches if that new energy turned into confusion or connection. Did your new hire light up, or did they look lost at lunch?

Checking in this early lets you detect red flags before they become regret. Didn’t hear back from someone? Maybe they need to pair them with a buddy to provide guidance and support again, or assign additional tasks to boost their confidence. Or maybe just ask if the new-hire experience feels right.

• Gauge first impressions fast
• Catch problems before they snowball
• Fine-tune buddy assignments based on real-time feedback
• Ensure no one gets lost in the shuffle

Here’s a sample scenario: a new hire expresses hesitation about their role and struggles to connect with the team. This is your cue, not a cue to leave the new hire to adapt on their own. Instead, you take action based on what you learn.

5 Sample Questions

1. How often did you communicate with your buddy this week?

2. Rate the helpfulness of your buddy’s guidance so far (1–5).

3. Which topic did you wish your buddy had covered in more depth?

4. Have you met at least three team members with your buddy’s help? (Yes/No)

5. What one thing would improve the buddy experience next week?

Keep this buddy survey short and sweet, so you’ll always get real feedback before things go sideways.

New hires who met with their onboarding buddy more than eight times in their first 90 days reported a 97% increase in perceived speed to productivity (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

Mid-Onboarding Check-In Survey (Week 4)

Why & When to Use

By week four, you’re at the crossroads. Is your new hire thriving or simply staying afloat? The midpoint buddy program survey questions reveal if key skills have stuck and which bumps need smoothing.

Midpoint surveys let you intervene—before small struggles grow. Don’t just leave the new hire to adapt on their own; instead, ask them what’s working and what’s still murky. Plus, get ready to assign additional tasks to boost their confidence or even introduce a secondary sample buddy for supercharged support.

• Track progress before it’s too late to turn things around
• Spot if training or resources are missing
• Strengthen peer relationships across departments
• See how well the buddy program really fits their needs

If a new hire expresses hesitation about their role and struggles to connect with the team, you can offer direct solutions: pair them with a buddy to provide guidance and support, rather than escalate the issue to HR immediately unless necessary.

5 Sample Questions

1. Describe a moment when your buddy’s support directly improved your work.

2. Rate your sense of belonging within the team today vs. Day 1.

3. Which resources or training are still unclear?

4. How confident are you in performing your core tasks independently?

5. Would pairing with a secondary buddy in another department be valuable?

These midpoint insights help you adjust the buddy program—because a little course-correction now can mean big success later.

Post-Onboarding New-Hire Experience Survey (Week 8)

Why & When to Use

The onboarding finish line is in sight—now’s your chance to collect survey questions to evaluate buddy programs and celebrate what worked! This feedback teaches you what new hires actually valued, and what was meh.

Did the whole buddy experiment rock their world or just confuse them? Skip the guesswork and ask, so you know whether to assign additional tasks to boost their confidence in future or rethink your matching. On top of that, learn if a new hire expresses hesitation about their role and struggles to connect with the team, and how the buddy experience played a part.

• Spot superstar buddies for future pairings
• Get ideas for new icebreakers or resources
• Understand what made the biggest difference
• Build a running list of “must keep” moments

Here’s the truth: not all new hires need to escalate the issue to HR immediately if something felt off. Better to hear it first and course-correct for the next class.

5 Sample Questions

1. Did the buddy program meet your initial expectations? (Yes/No + Why)

2. Which buddy interaction was most memorable and why?

3. How likely are you to recommend the buddy program to future hires? (0–10)

4. What should we stop, start, or continue doing in the buddy program?

5. What additional support do you need after formal onboarding ends?

Treat this feedback like gold. It’s your best guide to keep your buddy program in “awesome” territory every time.

New hires who met with their onboarding buddy more than eight times within their first 90 days reported a 97 % increase in perceived speed to productivity (physicianleaders.org)

Buddy Experience & Feedback Survey (Buddy Perspective)

Why & When to Use

Don’t forget your sample buddies! Their insights bring the other side of the story. They’re your unsung heroes—the ones who pair them with a buddy to provide guidance and support when a new hire expresses hesitation about their role and struggles to connect with the team.

Their buddy survey for mentors makes sure they’re not overburdened or confused. Plus, it keeps the “support squad” happy so they’ll volunteer again.

• Check if roles and workload are clear
• Ask if tools or training are missing
• Spot burnout before it hits
• See what inspires people to mentor in the first place

If someone’s drowning, don’t just leave the new hire to adapt on their own—listen, react, and always have your buddies’ backs.

5 Sample Questions

1. How clear were your responsibilities as a buddy?

2. Estimate the weekly time you spent supporting your new hire.

3. Which tools or resources would make mentoring easier?

4. What challenges did you face while guiding the new hire?

5. Would you volunteer as a buddy again? Why or why not?

Your best buddy survey feedback often sparks genius ideas or small tweaks that make the whole program happier.

Manager/HR Program Effectiveness Survey

Why & When to Use

Here’s your eagle-eye view. A program feedback survey for HR spotlights whether the whole operation is humming or needs a tune-up.

Managers can check if onboarding is faster, if employees are more engaged, and if all those clever buddy pairings actually paid off. They’ll see if you need to assign additional tasks to boost their confidence next time, pair them with a buddy to provide guidance and support differently, or escalate the issue to HR immediately only when really critical.

• Track speed to productivity by new hires
• Spot team spirit and engagement upticks
• See if buddies benefit as much as their charges
• Suggest new metrics or flag unresolved issues

You don’t want to leave the new hire to adapt on their own, and you definitely don’t want unhappy mentors. This survey closes those gaps.

5 Sample Questions

1. How quickly did the new hire reach expected productivity compared to past cohorts?

2. Did you notice increased engagement from employees acting as buddies?

3. What qualitative changes have you seen in team collaboration?

4. Which metrics should we add to evaluate buddy program ROI?

5. Should we escalate any issues to HR or did the buddy model resolve them?

A manager’s view connects the dots—if everyone reports wins, you know your onboarding recipe works.

90-Day Retention & Engagement Follow-Up Survey

Why & When to Use

Don’t let the story end once onboarding is over. This long-term buddy program survey arrives at the 90-day mark, measuring big-picture impact. Did the buddy system help them stay, learn, and love the company?

Look for correlation between lasting confidence and the buddy program. If success is tied to being able to pair them with a buddy to provide guidance and support, you have proof. If not, you’ll know what to adjust.

• See if connections endure past “official” guidance
• Spot if job confidence keeps rising
• Ask if they’d like to become mentors themselves
• Learn what keeps top talent happy

And yes—if someone recommends you escalate the issue to HR immediately, time for a bigger conversation!

5 Sample Questions

1. Do you still consult your buddy for guidance three months in?

2. Rate your overall job confidence now versus Day 1.

3. Which aspect of the buddy program had the biggest impact on your decision to stay?

4. Have you recommended becoming a buddy to others?

5. What ongoing peer-support mechanisms would benefit you?

These survey questions for program feedback after 90 days are super valuable. They let you build a support experience that stands the test of time.

Best Practices & Dos and Don’ts for Buddy Program Surveys

Creating lively, effective buddy surveys isn’t rocket science, but a few smart moves make all the difference. Let’s keep it practical and upbeat, with some lightly cheeky wisdom tossed in because you’ve earned it.

• Keep every survey tight—think 10 questions max
• Mix up scaled questions with juicy open-ended ones
• Always close the feedback loop (tell people what you changed!)
• Anonymize sensitive responses to keep answers honest
• Break up “big” milestones with friendly one-minute check-ins

What not to do? Survey fatigue creeps in fast if you get too chatty. Ditch the leading questions (“Was your buddy amazing?” Make them work for that praise). Ignoring negative feedback is a no-no—turn it into next-gen improvements. One-size-fits-all timing gets robotic fast; tailor by program stage and role.

On top of that, if you use onboarding software or HRIS with HeySurvey, you can get real-time alerts without lifting a finger—because HeySurvey is free, forever, with zero compromise. Each survey instantly pinpoints if a new hire expresses hesitation about their role and struggles to connect with the team. That’s your signal to pair them with a buddy to provide guidance and support, not leave the new hire to adapt on their own or escalate the issue to HR immediately unless it’s urgent.

Here’s a quick story: Last month, a new hire hesitated about their role before Day 1. A tailored buddy match (thanks to an honest pre-onboarding buddy survey) gave them the boost, connection, and clarity they needed to soar. It’s all about listening—and acting—at every step.

No matter where new hires start in your company, or how much confidence they bring, these buddy survey strategies help you greet every teammate like a superstar and build a culture where everyone’s success is celebrated, supported, and totally stress-free.