New Employee Onboarding Checklist

Onboarding a new employee can be quite challenging and time-consuming.  Every phase of the employee onboarding process is important, so make sure to have a new hire checklist to onboard your new employee.  You can use the following outline as a guide, however, every organization will have its own unique requirements.  These tasks will need to be adjusted for the type of employment (full time, part time, seasonal), but having an initial, general list will provide a good starting point for different positions.  We have outlined a new employee onboarding checklist to make it less daunting.

Step 1:

Create a list of tasks that new employees will need to complete and that current team members will need to work on/setup prior to the new employees first day.  Example tasks to put on new hire onboarding checklist could include, but are not limited to:

Prepare any State & Federal tax forms that need to be completed.  Some of these forms might require input from multiple individuals.  Having a system in place where these can be created and completed online can save time and resources.  The ability to upload these forms form a library can be beneficial to any busy HR professional.

Prepare any job-related forms that will need to be completed and/or signed by the employee or current team member.  Having a system in place to easily upload and create fillable forms can make this task much easier.

Gather any health insurance forms and benefits information

Identify any computer or other peripheral needs that need to be set up prior to the employee arriving on the first-day

Order any technology equipment

Order phone and create new extension

Obtain a new photo ID

Order business cards

Order any materials/supplies needed by the new employee

Make any arrangements for parking/transportation

Add new employee to relevant email lists

Identify any socialization tasks such as a tour of facilities or welcome lunch/meeting

Step 2:

Put together any supporting documents and links to any videos.  These should be items that do not require any input or signatures.  Example supporting documents might be included on a new hire checklist include, but are not limited to:

Welcome message for new employees

Contact names

Phone/extension list

Any training material or videos that will need to be watched

Benefit packages to review

 Step 3:

Assign tasks from the new employee onboarding checklist to current team members and new hires.  An automated process for task reminders is an invaluable tool.  Having the ability to set deadlines with reminders will ensure that the tasks will get done.  It is also helpful to be able to visually see the progress indicators that show any outstanding tasks.

Assign all tasks to any relevant person with a due date

Order assignments according to time needed to complete tasks and dependencies between tasks

Create email remainders

Monitor completion of tasks on the new hire checklist

Step 4:

Establish clear communication with the new hire.  Having an employee portal to facilitate the new hire checklist can make this much easier.  An employee portal can be viewed as their own virtual assistant that can help the onboarding process run smoothly.  Here are some items to include when using a portal:

Their manager’s contact information

List of tasks from the new hire checklist

Any materials that they need to review and/or sign (from Steps 1 & 2) A progress indicator and list of deadlines to help the new hire complete all the tasks

Step 5:

Review your plan and make necessary tweaks for the next employee.  Don’t assume that one new hire checklist is going to fit all employees!  Luckily fully-automated tools such as ApplicantStack Onboard allow for on the fly updates and customizations.