Professional Questions to Keep Relationships Healthy

In the workplace, you’ll likely find yourself in a position to ask a lot of questions. You will want to keep your questions professional when getting to know new faces around your workplace.

This is why get to know you questions for employees are important. They help you avoid awkward conversations with co-workers. In addition, they help you establish rapport quickly, adding to your overall productivity while working.

The questions open up conversations that could give you a quick look into your colleague’s professional life.

Top Professional Get to Know You Questions

This section includes some get to know you questions for employees. It also explains the possible directions the conversation could take depending on the other party’s response.

What Was Your First Job?

This question is a simple question that could elicit some unexpected responses. You could be fascinated to realize your boss’s first job was as a waiter at a local restaurant.

Who Inspired You to Pursue Your Current Career?

This is one of the best icebreaker questions you can ask. It can spark a long conversation, especially if the person is passionate about their career.

What Book Did You Read Recently?

Questions like this one aim to assess your co-worker’s hobbies and things they do for fun outside work. Do they like reading or prefer seeing movies? Questions like this can help you build rapport and establish trust. This is especially easier if you like the same genres of books or writers.

What Advice Will You Give a Newbie?

This kind of question may not elicit an immediate response. They may have to give it a bit of thought before saying anything. In the end, their response offers an insight into mistakes they or others have made. In addition, it shows the things they hold dear on the job.

What’s Your Secret Talent

When you ask people this kind of question, the aim is to find other things they are good at. It could be something potentially useful for productivity. For instance, your content marketer may be good with web development.

What’s Your Favorite Quote?

A question about their favorite quote may give you an idea about their philosophy of life as well as their sense of morality. You’ll gain a lot of useful ideas to put into practice in your life. You’ll also know what kinds of human values, such as emotional intelligence, practicality, reason, and others, are more prevalent in your employees’ life.

Are You Working on Any Professional Skills at the Moment?

Use this question to learn about your conversation partner, build rapport, and learn about them. They might have a lot to teach you in the way of professional skills to become better at what you do.

Have You Had Your 15 Minutes of Fame Yet?

This is another good icebreaker question to ask an employee or co-worker. You give them to chance to talk about a proud moment they love. Typically, you’ll see them smiling as they talk about it.

Do You Own a Pet?

You can choose to ask this non-work related question if you want to have an idea of their likes. It helps you ascertain their predisposition to owning animals. Who knows, you may want to gift them one in the future.

Other Get to Know You Questions for Employees

• Do you prefer coffee or tea?
• Would you rather eat out or cook?
• What is your favorite place to eat?
• How do you cheer yourself up on a bad day?
• Which TV series are you watching right now?
• Where do you see yourself in two years?
• What is one thing you cannot do without?
• What work-related activity do you enjoy doing?
• Do you save your events digitally or with calendars?
• What memorable experience shaped your career choice?
• How do you feel when you make a mistake?
• What would you tell yourself if you could go back ten years in time?

Final Words

When meeting someone for the first time, it’s a great idea to create a conducive atmosphere and start things on a good note. You obviously want to make friends. Start things on a good note by asking any of the questions from the list above. Good communication is key to team building, and questions like these help team members bond. Ask the questions, let them answer, and pick things up from there.

As personal relationships need to be well-maintained and nurtured, so do professional relationships. Always be sincere and respectful, and make sure your work ethic is top-notch.