Ultimate New Hire Checklist: 10 Steps To Start Onboarding!
You’re excited. You’re pumped. You’ve gone through dozens of job applications and resumes, interviewed a handful of great people, and short-listed a stellar few.
After all the effort that goes into the hiring process, you’ve finally found the one.
Now you want to make sure don’t miss something during the onboarding process that could mess things up later.
Most importantly, you want to make sure they’re as excited and pumped to start as you are!
It’s best to formalize your new hire process and create an orientation program as part of a more structured employee onboarding process.
It can get a bit finicky, so I’ve written this article to help you cover everything to get new team members started quickly and efficiently.
The ten-step new hire checklist I’ve outlined here will take you all the way from making an official job offer to your new team member’s first day of work.
Important note: As you’ll see, while the proliferation of remote and hybrid working has changed many hiring and onboarding processes, this new employee checklist will apply regardless of whether you’re starting someone in the office or working remotely from home.
I’ll also answer a few FAQs when it comes to new hire orientation and onboarding, such as:
- What is the difference between new hire orientation and employee onboarding?
- Why is a structured employee onboarding process important?
- What are the key success factors for a successful new hire orientation program?
- When should new hire orientation and onboarding start?
You may already have some of the checklist steps in place, so use the following handy links to jump to a step of your choosing!
The New Hire Process
- Step 1: Present your new hire with an employment contract
- Step 2: Welcome the new hire with a call and email
- Step 3: Send a new hire welcome package
- Step 4: Send a new hire orientation email
- Step 5: Arrange for new hire paperwork to be completed
- Step 6: Prepare the new hire’s work tools and resources
- Step 7: Prepare the orientation program agenda
- Step 8: Create a training, development plan
- Step 9: Involve senior leaders in new hire orientation
- Step 10: Provide opportunities to meet, greet, and learn
The New Hire Process
Step 1: Present your new hire with an employment contract
Once you’ve identified your ideal candidate, conducted the required background checks and reference checks, and (in the United States) performed an employment eligibility verification, you need to make it official by putting a signed employment contract in place.
This is an important first step in the orientation and employee onboarding process, so avoid delivering the contract by email. Make it a priority to call your new team member, congratulate them, express your excitement, and offer to walk through the main points of the agreement together with them.
What information does an employment contract include?
A formal employment contract is a legal document that defines the employment relationship. It outlines the various legal rights of you and your new employee, as well as things like:
How you deliver the employment contract is an important first step to building the relationship with your new team member. It’s your opportunity to answer their initial questions, address concerns, and get them excited about what comes next.
As discussed in a previous article on hiring, a good business lawyer can help you draft an agreement, and explain the benefits of having a contract in place.
Is an offer letter the same as an employment contract?
An “offer letter” is not the same as an employment contract. This article by Bernie Portal describes how the two are different, and why you should have an employment contract in place in addition to, or even instead of, a simple offer letter.
Step 2: Welcome the new hire with a call and email
Once the employment agreement is signed, follow up immediately with a phone or video call.
This is another great opportunity to express your excitement and start preparing them for what comes next.
During the call, provide the new team member with a high-level overview of what they can expect from you before your first day of work.
Follow up a day or two after the phone/video call with a welcome email. The goal of this email, like the phone call, is to generate enthusiasm and help them feel supported and prepared for the next steps.
Provide a bullet-point list of the main elements of the orientation program; a more detailed breakdown can come afterward.
Corcuera also recommends: “Send a welcome email or video to the company introducing the new hire, and share a few fun facts about them. This is a great way for people in the organization to get to know their new team member.”
Step 3: Send a new hire welcome package
Everyone gets excited when they receive an unexpected gift in the mail or delivered to their door.
According to Corcuera, a new hire welcome package can include things like:
- Handwritten card, signed by you and their new teammates
- Company “swag”, such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, and notepads
- Employee handbook, in physical format, or (ideally) digitally on a USB stick
- Key cards/fobs, to access company facilities
- Benefits booklet, outlining medical and health insurance benefits
- Required paperwork, such as payroll and insurance forms
Make sure that your new team member will receive the welcome package well before their first day of work, and ideally just a day or two after your welcome call.
Step 4: Send a new hire orientation email
A new hire orientation email will contain significantly more detail about what additional information your new employee can expect to receive before their first day, and what they can expect their first day and first week of work to look like.
Essentially, it summarizes the rest of the steps in our new hire checklist.
What should be in a new hire orientation email?
Following are some of the types of information you could include in this email.
- Start time and location: when and where they should be for their first day. If there are special instructions for car parking, be sure to include them.
- Key contacts: include who they will first meet with on their first day (typically human resources, managers, and immediate team members), and other people they’ll likely rely on in their first week.
- Dress code: this is an often overlooked aspect of the first day. Letting them know what the dress code, if any, can help avoid unnecessary embarrassment.
- First week agenda: give your new hire time to mentally prepare, but keep it high-level e.g. Day 1: meet the team, building tour; Day 2: business overview; etc.
- Team members: provide them with an organization chart that includes your team. They can use this together with LinkedIn to familiarize themselves with their new colleagues.
- Key policies and processes: highlight 2-3 of the key ones that will impact them on day one. If you’ve sent them an employee handbook, point them to the relevant sections.
The email could be quite long, depending on the information you include, so you might want to preface it with a warning to your new team member to take their time in going through it all.
For further guidance, and a handy template, check out my article: Welcome Letter To New Employees Before Their First Day [Sample]
Step 5: Arrange for new hire paperwork to be completed
According to Sapling HR, the average new hire will be assigned 3 documents to sign, upload, or acknowledge.
Paperwork is a necessary, but often boring, part of the new hire process, so encourage your new team member to complete as many of the required forms as possible before their first day.
This frees the two of you up to focus on more important and exciting aspects of their new job.
What types of paperwork does a new employee need to complete?
Depending on your organization, the new employee may need to complete forms for things like:
- Payroll / direct deposit
- Tax withholding (e.g. TD1 in Canada, W-4 in USA)
- Medical coverage (e.g. MSP in Canada)
- Extended health insurance
- Group RRSP / 401(k) enrollment
- General employee information (e.g. date of birth, emergency contacts)
Step 6: Prepare the new hire’s work tools and resources
It’s important to prepare in advance, as much as possible, everything your new team member will need to be successful in their new role.
You will probably need to have many of these things ready before their first day, while others can wait, depending on your orientation and onboarding plans.
What are some common work tools and resources to prepare?
Following is a sample list of work tools and resources that you may need to have prepared, depending on where the new team member will be working (remote work from home, or in office), what they’ll be doing, and what you may have already provided in the New Hire Welcome Package.
- Workstation e.g. office, cubicle, or shared workspace; desk and chair (consider a sit / stand desk); filing cabinet; office supplies and stationary.
- Computer equipment e.g. laptop, desktop, and / or tablet computer; monitor(s); docking station; mouse and keyboard.
- Communications e.g. mobile phone; telephone landline; video conferencing equipment.
- Network access e.g. shared network drives; company intranet; email address; email list access; remote network access.
- Software licenses e.g. office productivity; project management; R&D applications.
- Office / facility access e.g. key card or fob; building alarm codes; ID badge.
- Travel resources e.g. business cards; product demonstration kits; company-branded clothing.
You can run through this entire checklist of items with your new team member on their first day, or go through the items as needed to avoid overwhelming them.
Step 7: Prepare the orientation program agenda
Your orientation program, which is part of a much longer onboarding process, will probably last around a week but can be up to a month.
You’ve already given your new team member a high-level overview of what they can expect in the new hire orientation email.
Now it’s time to map things out in a bit more detail. You may have a standard orientation program that applies to all new employees, or you may customize the agenda based on who your new team member is.
Creating a new hire orientation agenda will serve as its own checklist to ensure nothing is missed in the employee’s first days and weeks of onboarding.
What are some typical orientation program activities?
Remember to look at the orientation program like you’re building a tower, which starts with laying a strong foundation upon which they can continually layer on new learnings.
For example, the new team member’s first few days might include some of the following activities:
Step 8: Create a training and development plan
A key part of orientation and onboarding is to set the new team member up with the tools, training, and resources they’ll need to be successful.
A comprehensive review of how to create a training and development plan is beyond the scope of this article.
However, according to Tamara Wilson of FLIR Systems, there are six key steps to follow to build a successful training and development plan and implement the program for your team members:
- Assess the audience / team / learner’s needs;
- Identify the objectives / anticipated outcomes;
- Design a training plan outline;
- Build the program;
- Optimize engagement; and
- Evaluate the success of the training
Related read: Best Employee Training Software
Step 9: Involve senior leaders in new hire orientation
Perhaps you are the senior leader in your organization. If you’re not, schedule someone from the senior leadership/executive team to help with orientation and be involved in activities like:
- Deliver a company presentation
- Give a tour of the building or facility
- Present a specific training topic
- Take the new team member out for coffee or lunch
Why should senior leaders be involved in orientation?
Involving a senior leader like a founder, for example, gives that person the opportunity to teach the new team member, tell stories, and talk about company values, guiding principles, and culture.
It will also help encourage the new team member to feel a sense of belonging and inclusion.
According to Tamara Wilson of FLIR Systems, “It’s easy to get focused on job tasks, procedures, and processes. Integrating the employee into the company’s culture early on will connect the employee to their role, teams, and larger organization. It is the common language that connects all employees and makes the new hire feel more comfortable from the on-set.”
Step 10: Provide opportunities to meet, greet, and learn
As part of your new hire checklist, schedule short introductory meetings with key members of the organization and the new employee’s team.
You can also encourage and assist the new team member to schedule these themselves during their first week. This gets them using the work resources you’ve provided in the previous steps.
According to Bev Attfield at Jostle:
“One thing we do at Jostle that really helps is a 15-minute chat with the new team member and someone from every department/business area to hear what that team does and how they work with others. This means the person is (a) meeting roughly 12 people they wouldn't normally connect with; (b) they're learning about the business and that we're all responsible for it; and (c) they start to understand where they fit in, and what their contribution means.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Difference Between New Hire Orientation And Employee Onboarding?
Why Is A Structured Employee Onboarding Process Important?
What Are The Key Success Factors For A Successful New Hire Orientation Program?
When Should New Hire Orientation And Onboarding Start?
Get Our New Hire Checklist
Remember: You can get my downloadable new hire checklist below to walk you through all of these steps.
Join The Conversation
What are some other critical steps that should be included in a new hire onboarding checklist?
How extensive is your new employee orientation program?
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