New Manager Six-Month Assimilation Follow-Up Survey
Anonymous six-month follow-up survey for a new manager’s assimilation commitments. It captures observable change in communication, development, safety, and decision-making so you can see what improved and what still needs work.
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Overview
This template is an anonymous follow-up survey for a new manager, typically sent six months after an assimilation session. It measures whether the manager’s visible behaviors have changed in the areas that matter most to team performance: communication and transparency, team development and support, psychological safety and inclusion, and decision-making and accountability.
The survey uses 5-point Likert questions with clear semantic anchors, plus open-ended follow-ups that appear when a respondent rates an item 3 or below. That structure helps you capture both the score and the reason behind it, which is especially useful when you are trying to understand whether a manager is improving or just being perceived more favorably. The continue/start/stop section adds a practical summary of what to keep, what to begin, and what to reduce.
Use this template when a manager has already gone through onboarding or assimilation and you want to check whether the commitments made then are showing up in day-to-day behavior. It is a good fit for teams where trust, feedback quality, and decision speed affect retention or execution. Do not use it as a generic annual manager review, and do not use it before the manager has had enough time to demonstrate consistent behavior. If the team has had very limited exposure to the manager, the results will be noisy and less actionable.
Standards & compliance context
- Anonymous employee surveys should be designed to protect confidentiality and avoid collecting unnecessary identifying information.
- If you include demographics, keep them optional and last to reduce collection-bias risk and preserve trust in the anonymity guarantee.
- Use neutral, non-leading wording so the survey does not pressure respondents toward a positive answer about the manager.
- If the survey is used in a regulated environment, retain only the minimum data needed for people analytics and follow internal privacy policies.
- Be careful not to mix this feedback tool with compensation or disciplinary decisions unless your organization has a documented, lawful process for doing so.
General regulatory context for orientation only — verify current requirements with counsel or the relevant agency before relying on this template for compliance.
What's inside this template
Communication and Transparency
This section checks whether the manager is creating clarity, sharing context, and making people feel heard in the moments that shape day-to-day trust.
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My manager communicates team goals, priorities, and context clearly and consistently.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager keeps the team informed about decisions that affect our work in a timely way.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager actively listens and makes me feel heard in one-on-ones and team discussions.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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If you rated any of the above 3 or below, what specific communication behavior would you most want to see change?
Optional — share a specific example if helpful.
Team Development and Support
This section shows whether the manager is helping people grow through feedback, stretch assignments, and visible support rather than only managing output.
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My manager provides feedback that is specific, actionable, and timely — not just during formal reviews.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager actively supports my professional growth and helps me identify development opportunities.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager delegates work in a way that stretches my capabilities rather than just offloading tasks.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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If you rated any of the above 3 or below, what would meaningful support for your development look like from this manager?
Optional — be as specific as you can.
Psychological Safety and Inclusion
This section matters because people will not surface risks, mistakes, or dissenting views unless they believe the manager will respond fairly and without penalty.
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I feel safe raising concerns, mistakes, or unpopular ideas with my manager without fear of negative consequences.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager treats all team members fairly and consistently, regardless of background or working style.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager acknowledges and acts on team input rather than defaulting to decisions already made.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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If you rated any of the above 3 or below, describe a situation where you felt unheard or excluded.
Optional — specific examples help the most.
Decision-Making and Accountability
This section reveals whether the manager is removing friction, making decisions at the right pace, and holding commitments in a consistent way.
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My manager makes decisions at the right pace — neither bottlenecking the team nor moving so fast that context is lost.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager holds themselves and the team accountable to commitments in a consistent and fair way.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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My manager removes obstacles that block the team's progress rather than leaving us to navigate them alone.
Strongly disagree → Strongly agree (1–5)
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If you rated any of the above 3 or below, what is the most common blocker your manager has not yet addressed?
Optional — describe the pattern, not just a single incident.
Continue, Start, Stop
This section converts broad sentiment into practical guidance by isolating what to keep, what to begin, and what to reduce.
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What is one thing your manager is doing well that you want them to CONTINUE?
Be specific — name the behavior, not just the outcome (e.g., ‘Running focused 1:1s with a shared agenda’ rather than ‘Being a good manager’).
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What is one thing your manager is NOT currently doing that you want them to START?
Focus on observable behaviors that would have a direct impact on your work or the team.
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What is one thing your manager is doing that you want them to STOP or do less of?
Constructive specificity is more useful than general criticism.
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Compared to six months ago, how would you describe the overall change in this manager's effectiveness with the team?
Select the option that best reflects your experience over the past six months.
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Is there anything else you want to share that this survey didn't capture?
This is your space — any topic is fair game.
How to use this template
- 1. Set the survey to anonymous by default and decide whether any optional demographics are truly needed, keeping them last if you include them.
- 2. Preload the manager’s assimilation themes so the survey can be framed as a six-month follow-up on specific commitments rather than a generic opinion poll.
- 3. Send the survey to direct reports who have had regular interaction with the manager, and keep the cadence to a single follow-up unless there is a clear reason to repeat it.
- 4. Review the rating items first, then read the open-ended follow-ups for any scores of 3 or below to identify the behavior behind the number.
- 5. Summarize the continue/start/stop responses into a short action plan with the manager, naming the one or two changes that will most affect trust, clarity, or execution.
- 6. Close the loop with respondents by sharing what will change, what is still under review, and when the next check-in will happen.
Best practices
- Use 5-point Likert scales with semantic anchors such as Strongly disagree to Strongly agree, not raw numbers alone.
- Attach an open-ended follow-up to every rating of 3 or below so you learn why the behavior is not landing.
- Keep anonymity as the default, because people are more candid about psychological safety and manager effectiveness when they trust the process.
- Limit the survey to the behaviors that matter most after assimilation: communication, development, inclusion, and accountability.
- Use continue/start/stop prompts to convert feedback into action instead of collecting vague satisfaction comments.
- Do not ask demographics before the content, because that can reduce response rate and make the survey feel less anonymous.
- Treat a low score on decision-making or blocker removal as an operational signal, not just a coaching note.
- Close the loop quickly so respondents see that the survey produced visible follow-through.
What this template typically catches
Issues teams running this template most often surface in practice:
Common use cases
Frequently asked questions
What does this survey measure that a regular engagement survey does not?
This template is built to evaluate whether a new manager actually changed behavior after an assimilation session. It focuses on observable manager effectiveness signals such as communication, team development, psychological safety, and decision-making. The continue/start/stop prompts make it easier to connect feedback to the commitments made six months earlier.
Who should complete the survey?
It is usually completed by direct reports, and sometimes by a manager’s skip-level stakeholders if you want a broader view of team impact. The best results come from people who have had enough interaction with the manager to judge behavior over time. Keep anonymity as the default so respondents can be candid about psychological safety and accountability.
How often should this survey be run?
This template is designed for a single six-month follow-up after assimilation, not as a weekly or monthly pulse. Six months gives enough time for habits to show up in day-to-day work without waiting so long that the original commitments fade from memory. If you run it too early, you may only measure intent; too late, and the feedback becomes less actionable.
Should demographics be included in this survey?
Only if you truly need them for analysis, and they should come last. Demographics collected before the content can reduce trust and response rate because they signal that anonymity may not be real. If you do include them, keep them optional and limited to what is necessary for interpretation.
What are the most common mistakes when using this template?
A common mistake is asking only rating questions and skipping the open-ended follow-up for low scores. Another is turning the survey into a generic manager review instead of checking the specific assimilation commitments made six months earlier. Avoid leading wording, avoid 11-point scales, and do not bury the continue/start/stop prompts at the end without context.
Can this template be customized for different manager levels or teams?
Yes. You can keep the same four core sections and adjust the wording to match the manager’s scope, such as frontline, mid-level, or cross-functional leadership. If the role is highly technical or highly regulated, you can add one or two role-specific questions, but keep the survey short enough that people finish it thoughtfully.
How does this compare with an annual manager review or ad hoc feedback?
An annual review is broader and often mixes performance, compensation, and development, while this template is narrowly focused on post-assimilation behavior change. Ad hoc feedback is useful but inconsistent, and it often misses whether commitments were sustained over time. This survey gives you a structured before-and-after read on the manager’s impact.
What should leaders do with the results?
Look for repeated themes, especially around communication gaps, support for growth, fairness, and blockers that slow the team down. The open-ended responses should be used to identify the few behavior changes most likely to improve trust and execution. Close the loop by sharing what will change, what will not, and when respondents can expect follow-up.
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