How do you collect useful onboarding data without creating too much admin work for managers?

[u/Fun_Trainer1136]

I’m working on improving our onboarding process, and I’m stuck on a pretty basic problem.
To know whether onboarding is actually working, we need some record of what new hires can do, where they’re struggling, and what support they’ve received.
But most of the actual development happens through OJT with frontline managers.
I used to work in frontline sales myself, so I know how quickly a “simple form” from another department can become annoying when you’re also responsible for your own targets and your team.
At the same time, if we collect almost nothing, it’s hard to tell whether the onboarding process is working or just assume that it is.
For those working in L&D/onboarding: where have you found the right balance?
I’m particularly interested in what information you’ve found genuinely worth capturing, and what you’ve stopped asking managers to document because the effort wasn’t worth it.

[u/mystle7]

I'd tap into the metrics that those teams already use to evaluate performance, such as conversion rate for sales, and defect rate for factory workers.

[u/rfoil → u/mystle7]

Power BI released an MCP which makes simple work out of this if your organization uses Power BI. I expect other business intelligence platforms will do the same.

[u/Pantspantsdance]

I find it's always better to get the info straight from the horses mouth, ie the new hire. Easy start with day 1/30/60/90 day surveys, get the managers/leadership buy in by offering to give high level feedback where improvements can be made in their areas. Initial survey is how the onboarding went, strengths and gaps, feedback on any other stakeholders involved, do you feel prepared and have what you need. This will help you to address your own gaps. 30 can be input on how "settled" they're feeling, if they clearly understand their role and available resources, if they feel they are being sufficiently trained/supported, and how they feel about where they are at now vs day 1; this feedback will help the manager. 60 can focus on company culture - do they understand how they fit into the bigger picture, are they making connections outside of their own dept, do they have opportunities made available to broaden their understanding of the work; this data can be trended for ELT. 90 is the final "how are we doing" and ask for overall feedback on their onboarding experience, do they enjoy their role, are they comfortable with their team leadership, would they recommend the company to others. This
last snapshot is great for all. Make sure that there are layers of anonymity throughout, people need to feel safe if they're going to share their experiences. Just a low tech low commitment idea :)

[u/Fun_Trainer1136 → u/Pantspantsdance]

Thanks for taking the time to share this in so much detail. This is really helpful.
I especially like the idea of changing the focus at each stage — onboarding experience on day 1, how “settled” they feel at 30 days, culture and broader connections at 60 days, and then the overall experience at 90 days.
The point about anonymity is also really important. We’re trying to understand the new hire’s actual experience without creating too much additional workload for either them or their managers, so this gives me a lot to think about.
Really appreciate you sharing how you approach it!

[u/jofa21 → u/Pantspantsdance]

I can agree with this and we do something very similar, although I'm going to take a look at our 30/60/90 survey questions to see if we can focus the questions as you've described. Nice tip!