How to create an Employee Onboarding Checklist
First impressions are the most important for any candidate looking to join your company, but they don’t end with the recruitment cycle. Onboarding a new hire is a vital time to prove all those values, perks, or culture claims you made in the interview or job spec really are true (which impacts retention, too).
Here’s how to use a new staff checklist during your employee induction to make sure your new hire has everything they need to hit the ground running.
What is an induction checklist?
An employee onboarding checklist is a handy tool to make sure everyone involved in employee induction is organised and ready for a new starter. That includes the obvious things like contacting your new employee and keeping them in the loop at regular intervals, but also things like briefing in anyone who needs to be ready for this new hire, like IT and the office manager.
It's not always about new hires, either. If your company is making changes, like moving from a hybrid to an in-office model, you might also want to consider a re-onboarding checklist.
What should be included in an onboarding checklist?
Your new staff checklist is your ultimate time-keeping tool. It will help you create a timeline for who needs to be doing what, and when they need to be doing it. For example, IT can’t set up an account if the People Team hasn't confirmed which tech the candidate prefers.
Before creating your staff induction checklist, you should consider who needs to be involved in welcoming a new starter, and go from there. Remember, everything counts, right down to making sure someone on reception knows to expect them on day 1 and guide them on where to go.
What are the stages of the induction process?
Here’s a rough idea of what stages your onboarding template and employee induction process need to include:
Before your hire starts
Making sure HR is on the ball
Onboarding starts as soon as a job offer is accepted, so make sure HR is ready to get things rolling. Whether your candidate’s start period is in three months or a week, you need to make sure you’re ready for them. Ensure all the essentials, like background and ID checks are underway as soon as you new hire accepts.
Sharing employee onboarding docs
Make sure your new hire has everything they need to understand how the company operates with onboarding docs. Some companies even like to do this early on in the recruitment process, so candidates have a full understanding of the brand, their values, and the role. This includes things like Employee Handbooks, details about benefits, and any supporting information about the onboarding process. You might even want to consider calling on AI to lend a helping hand, like an employee chatbot to answer all the most common questions.
Make sure IT is ready
Your candidate can’t do much without the right kit. If you give your team a choice of laptops, make sure you have what they need ready and waiting for them. IT needs to also get things set up like user accounts, security checks, and work emails. You might even need to double-check with the candidate what email they want if they use preferred names, so it’s essential to do this all in good time. This is a crucial item on your onboarding checklist if you’re a bigger business — research shows that only 36% of new hires at larger companies felt welcomed, with half not having their tech ready for them in time.
On this day
Arrange a suitable arrival day and time
No one wants to start a new job on the day their hiring manager is away, so make sure you work with your new hire to find a first day that suits everyone. Ideally, a day as many people as possible are available — not just the hiring manager, but their wider team, and IT and the People Team in case any issues come up.
It’s not uncommon for new starters to arrive a little later in the day, so they aren’t welcomed by a half-filled office or arrive before their hiring manager. So, your staff onboarding checklist should include a suitable time, maybe one or two hours after the start of the workday, to welcome your new hire.
Inform the wider team
It’s increasingly popular for new starters to send company-wide emails to introduce themselves and their role, often with some fun questions to break the ice (think ‘If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?’). If you use people management software with people profiles anyone on the team can view, then encourage your new starter to upload a profile picture so people can put a face to a name. This is true for any messaging platform you use, too.
Time for a tour
Don’t leave this off your staff induction checklist. As well as being useful for your candidate so they know where the toilets, kitchen, lockers etc. are, it’s also key for health and safety so they know where the fire exits are. You can also take this opportunity to introduce them to other teams as you pass so they know where everyone sits when it comes time to collaborate.
Pick a buddy
This is an optional addition to any onboarding template, but one that can be very valuable, especially for more junior hires. Providing a ‘work buddy’ during their first few weeks is a great way for new hires to feel supported without the formal feel. A work buddy provides the opportunity to learn more about the company in a casual setting — and that helps take pressure off your People Team when it comes to answering common questions. Their buddy doesn’t have to be someone from their immediate team, so it’s a great chance to establish cross-company relationships, too.
Make sure your checklist is future-facing
Employee induction isn’t over after the first day, or even the first month. Starting a new job isn’t easy, in fact, more than half of us claim it’s scarier than skydiving, so support for your new hire should be on-going. Have regular check-ins on your new staff checklist, not only 1-2-1s with a hiring manager but also with the People Team so you’re creating a safe space for them to talk candidly about any challenges that may arise.
Get started with LinkedIn
LinkedIn tools make sure that your team, and your new hire, are kept in the loop every step of the way, so finding, hiring, and organising a new starter is easier than ever.