Your complete checklist to onboarding new hires

Man and woman speaking while sitting at a table.

Onboarding is the initial process of orienting new employees and training them to become contributing members of the team. In addition to equipping new hires with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful in their new roles, onboarding should also help new employees become fully engaged and culturally acclimated, which means fostering the relationship with your new hires and proving the company’s dedication to investing in their professional growth.

The faster that new hires feel welcome and prepared for their new jobs, the sooner they’ll become productive employees. Onboarding is easily one of the biggest factors that impacts employee retention, so it’s essential that it be done correctly.

Between separation costs, lost productivity, and time spent recruiting your next perfect hire, the cost of losing and replacing an employee is enormous. For example, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported that on average it costs a company six to nine months of an employee's salary to replace him or her. For an employee making $60,000 per year, that comes out to $30,000–$45,000 in recruiting and training costs.

Another thing to consider is the impact on morale. Whenever a beloved employee leaves the company, the cultural change and increased workload can cause pain for the entire team – factors which can cause employees to disengage. In fact, according to a study by Gallup, there’s a strong correlation between engaged employees and an organization’s bottom line, turnover rate, and customer ratings.

As you can see, it’s important to do everything you can to prevent turnover. It starts with creating a successful onboarding program that is designed to engage and empower employees to want to stay for the long haul. To make it easy for you to implement a structured onboarding program, you can use these checklists as a guide, so you don’t miss a step.

Pre-arrival

Days 1 and 2

Week 1

Month 1