New employee onboarding guide and resources

Learn how to develop an effective onboarding process that attracts new candidates and drives new hire engagement.

It’s always exciting when a new employee accepts a position at your company. With a strong employee onboarding experience, you can get them up to speed in their new role, as well as familiarize them with your tools and processes — all to enable their long-term success.

Discover onboarding best practices, comprehensive checklists, and resources from LinkedIn to optimize your employee onboarding experience — from the time leading up to day one to the weeks and months that follow.

Read on to learn more about the following topics:

Creating onboarding checklists for new employees ↓
Welcome email ↓
How to set up a strong remote onboarding process ↓
Related onboarding process and guide materials ↓

Onboarding best practices

Once you’ve hired a candidate through your LinkedIn Jobs posting, employee onboarding can begin. But first, you’ll need a strong onboarding strategy that you can achieve at scale. These onboarding best practices can help you get started:

Start onboarding before your new hire’s first day.

Start your new employee’s onboarding process before their first day. Try to schedule a phone or video call at least a week before their start date to prepare them for their first week. Discuss their onboarding schedule and who their onboarding partners will be. Email digital copies of important resources to your new hire so they can review them on their own time. Your goal is to ensure your hire has everything they need to succeed on day one.

Complete administrative tasks early.

Coordinate the completion of important administrative tasks with your new hire, including:

• Obtaining a dedicated work computer and generating a company email address

• Signing onboarding documents such as your company handbook, and filling out payroll documentation like tax and direct deposit forms
• Confirming the hire’s work location — whether in the office or at home — and whether they’re expected to be in office during the work week

You can accomplish these tasks before the new hire’s first day via email, digital documentation signing, and phone and video calls. In doing so, you can spend more in-office hours training your hire on valuable role and company information.

Offer a welcome package.

A welcome package is a great way to make your new hire feel at home at your company. It can contain anything you think your hire will need (or enjoy), including:
• Welcome letter
• Employee contract
• First-day agenda
• Employee handbook
• Office map
• Company-branded items like water bottles and backpacks
• Snacks
• Office map
• Guide to attractions near the office, like coffee shops and lunch spots

Assign a job shadow..

When your new hire can experience what a colleague in a similar role does on a daily basis, they’ll more quickly understand what’s required of them to succeed. Job shadows are also a great opportunity for new hires to ask role-specific questions that management may not have answered.

Prepare a work-relevant task.

There’s no better substitute for learning the ins and outs of a new role than by performing a task that benefits your company. Give your new hire practical experience with fulfilling their new job’s objectives so they can better understand why the role is important to your business.

Schedule regular check-ins.

Checking in with a new hire throughout their first weeks and months enables their near- and long-term success. Use this time to celebrate their accomplishments and course-correct when aspects of their approach need improvement. Field any questions that arise for your new hire during this early employment period and listen to any issues they have.

Creating onboarding checklists for new employees.

Onboarding new employees is much simpler when you can refer to comprehensive onboarding checklists. These onboarding guides provide a convenient snapshot of areas to focus on as you craft a new onboarding strategy or refine an existing one.

By following an onboarding checklist, you also ensure your new hire has everything they need to make the most of their first day, week, and month. Checklists also provide you with ways to demonstrate that your organization is invested in employees’ long-term professional development and well-being.

Illustration of a person reviewing onboarding materials on a desktop monitor

Use the following customizable onboarding templates — including an onboarding checklist — that offer information on everything you need to know about effectively onboarding new employees:

Before a new employee’s first day

The first day of a new job can be overwhelming, so 15 or more days before your new employee starts, try to:

• Schedule their welcome meeting
• Set up a company email
• Answer any questions they have
• Explain virtual meeting guidelines (if applicable)
• Provide all necessary technology, and embed them in relevant company systems
• Supply date, time, and dial-in information (if applicable) for first-day meetings

New employee’s first official day

Your goal for your new employee’s first day is to outline the week ahead while making them feel welcome — and crucially, not overwhelmed. Here are some ways to make it happen:

• Educate them on how to use company systems
• Invite them to team events
• Detail the remainder of the week’s meetings
• Introduce them (with their information and title) to relevant teams, coworkers, and partners
• Outline organizational processes and resources such as benefits, time sheets, and HR access

New employee’s second day

Your new hire is now familiar with their new role, company processes, and the people they’ll work with. Now, help them acclimate to their new work environment:

• Review their job description, duties, and what’s expected of them
• Discuss ways you can most effectively work with them
• Clarify the week’s schedule and confirm relevant training opportunities
• Answer emerging questions about organizational processes and role-relevant workflows

New employee’s first week

Now that you’ve eased your new hire into your workplace and their new role:

• Pair them up with a dedicated onboarding partner
• Review the company’s mission, values, and goals
• Supply essential resources, including brand materials
• Schedule check-ins to review onboarding progress and discuss questions and feedback
• Provide a challenging yet attainable and ultimately meaningful assignment to show them what they can expect

New employee’s first month

At this point, your new hire knows what’s expected of them and has the resources they need to succeed. Put them to work on the tasks that make up their role, and be sure to:

• Check in and provide regular feedback
• Assign and introduce them to a formal mentor
• Discuss successes and improvement areas from their first assignment
• Establish clear 6-month and annual performance goals

New employee’s second month and beyond

Experts agree that it can take up to a year for new employees to acclimate to their new work environment. As you learn your new hire’s work style over time:

• Celebrate their accomplishments
• Ensure their workload is consistently manageable
• Provide cross-organizational training opportunities
• Note the tasks and projects they enjoy and those they wish to improve at
• Share feedback on their onboarding experience with your HR, IT, and recruiting teams

Refer to this 60-day onboarding checklist for more on how you can maximize your new hire’s onboarding time.

Welcome email:

Use this template to tailor a welcome email that prepares your new employee to succeed before their first day:

Download template

Dear [first name],

Welcome to [company name]! We’re thrilled that you’ve decided to join us, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at our exciting orientation event on [weekday, month, and day] where you’ll learn more about our company, culture, and what it means to be a part of [company name].

If you can’t make it in person, don’t worry! You can telecommute in at [insert hyperlink to resource; use text: “this link”] at [start time] [AM / PM]. Just let us know ahead of time so we can follow up with additional important day-one information.

With that out of the way, here’s everything visitors to the office need to know for day one:

In-person orientation
[weekday, month, and day]
[start time] [AM / PM]–[end time] [AM / PM]
[company address]
[room number (if applicable)]
[link for directions]
Ask for [onboarding facilitator name].

Schedule
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM Welcome!
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Tour of your department and team introductions
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Partner introductions
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM             HR introductions and benefits discussions
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM             Equipment and resources
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM             Q&A
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM             Day 2 discussions
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM             Final questions and close

Before [weekday, month, and day], please fill out and return the attached PDF with the requested information for tax purposes to [email address]. Please also open an account with our HR platform [platform name] at [insert hyperlink to resource; use text: “this link”] and provide all personal information, including direct deposit information. This helps avoid any payment issues ahead of your first payment period. Finally, please read, sign, and return the attached NDA. You will not be able to begin working at [company name] if the NDA is not signed and returned before your start date.

If you’re fully remote, be on the lookout for a follow-up email detailing information about the delivery of any company technology, including your computer.
Thank you so much, and welcome to the team!

Best,
[First and last name]
[title]
[company name]

How to set up a strong remote onboarding process

Many companies are offering remote work as an incentive to attract high-quality talent from around the world. Of course, the remote onboarding process differs from the in-person onboarding process in some key ways:

Icon of two colleagues having a video conference

Collaboration

Since new employees onboarded remotely won’t have as many opportunities to speak with other onboarding hires, schedule video call opportunities for them to introduce themselves so they can organically identify ways to collaborate going forward.

Icon of a laptop in front of a stack of boxes

Costs

Remote onboarding doesn’t require your company to spend on flights, lodging, and meals associated with in-person onboarding. You may still be expected to pay the costs of sending your new hire a welcome package and equipment, but remote onboarding generally costs less than in-person onboarding.

Icon of a virtual meeting on a desktop monitor

Accessibility

Remote onboarding empowers new hires to succeed on their first day, week, and month. It also helps you improve diversity, equity, and inclusion by opening your digital doors to remote employees.

For more information on how to virtually onboard new employees with a process that embodies your company culture and mission, check out this remote onboarding guide.

The complete 60-day onboarding checklist for new hires

Long-term satisfaction, job performance, and retention all benefit from onboarding best practices. In fact, new employees are 2.8x more likely to say they have the best job after a strong onboarding process, which you can offer by following an onboarding checklist.

8 steps to creating a virtual employee onboarding program

Effective remote onboarding programs boost productivity, engagement, and retention by making remote hires feel welcome and excited. If you’re struggling with how to effectively onboard virtually, rethink your onboarding schedule, emphasize company culture and values, and nurture opportunities for new hires to connect.

The phases of successful online onboarding

The right structure for your entire remote onboarding process helps engage your new hire — and prevents them from feeling overwhelmed. After all, structured onboarding programs make 58% of new hires more likely to stay at a company for three years or longer.

Engage new hires with an improved employee onboarding process.

With onboarding best practices from LinkedIn, you can welcome your new hire while embodying your company values and prepare them for job success.

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New employee onboarding guide and resources

Onboarding best practices