Onboarding new hires is one of the most vital parts of your employee’s relationship with your company.
But don’t take our word for it.
A study found that strong onboarding processes improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70% (Brandon Hall Group).
And with so much at stake, you can’t afford to leave your process in your head, always wondering if you’ve missed something important. That’s why we’re giving you a fully loaded employee onboarding checklist you can use to create a solid onboarding program.
What should be included in an employee onboarding checklist?
Before we jump into the checklist, what should it contain?
Every company’s process will look a little different, but there are some elements to include to avoid gaps in your onboarding program:
- 5C’s of employee onboarding (culture, clarity, connection, compliance, and checkback),
- Documentation (i.e., paperwork)
- Role-related training, which is different from onboarding
Employee onboarding checklist by phase
Each phase of onboarding a new hire is essential for their success, and you must complete certain tasks to ensure they have a smooth transition into their new role. Let’s dive into each.
Pre-onboarding (Before 1st day)
Contrary to popular belief, your employees don’t start onboarding once they clock in on their first day. Their onboarding journey begins the moment they accept and sign the offer letter.
That means a solid onboarding process needs to start long before they do. This phase, referred to as pre-onboarding (or preboarding), can make a difference in helping new hires feel more excited and welcomed for their big day.
Here are some pre-onboarding checklist items:
✅ Send necessary documents for them to e-sign
✅ Send a warm, welcome email from the CEO, which should include their first-day agenda and start time and date
✅ Send an employee handbook with everything they need to know, which you can send with the welcome email
✅ Get with IT to have your new hire’s equipment, accounts, and company and department-related software access ready for them
✅ Ensure their workspace is prepped and ready for them
✅ Assign a work buddy
✅ Send a new hire announcement to their team
✅ Schedule their orientation
✅ If applicable, schedule a first-day lunch with the team
✅ Send them a swag (yes, swag) package with company merch like a hoodie, shirt, mug or journal
Welcoming and orientation (1st day)
Do you remember your first day and how you couldn’t shake those nerves? Your new hire feels the same and is probably as excited as they are nervous. That’s why you continue your efforts during their pre-onboarding phase by giving them a warm welcome and high-level orientation on their first day.
Here are some welcoming and orientation checklist items:
✅ Give office tour
✅ Show them their workspace
✅ Have them sign the remaining documents (if any)
✅ Give them their company credentials and job-related login info
✅ Check with them to make sure they have access to their equipment and software
✅ Create a Welcome Thread in Slack for remote teams
✅ Go over the employee handbook
✅ Introduce them to their work buddy
✅ Lunch with the manager and team members (if possible)
✅ End of day one-on-one meeting with the manager
Training (1st week+)
The first day covered all the basics. This part of your employee onboarding checklist will help them get familiar with their role, responsibilities, and the company’s culture.
Here are some employee training checklist items:
✅ Have an end-of-week check-in
✅ Send out an onboarding experience survey
✅ Confirm they’ve met their department team members
✅ Assign them a small role-related task
✅ Clearly outline the job expectations and objectives
✅ Set up company-related policy and procedures training
✅ Set up role-specific job and tech training
✅ Ensure outstanding paperwork is completed
✅ Familiarize them with the company culture
Transitioning employee onboarding checklist (1st month+)
Can we let you in on a secret? Onboarding programs that help new employees feel welcomed and valued can last up to one year. In the transitioning phase, employees start settling into their roles and decide if your company is right for them.
It’s also where the bulk of employee training occurs. Most companies stop training after the first few weeks. But, the Allied Workforce Mobility Survey found that it takes new hires eight months on average to be fully productive.
Additionally, a study found that 80% of employees who felt undertrained during onboarding plan on leaving their company soon (Paychex). In other words, you can’t skip this step in your process!
Here are some employee transitioning checklist items:
✅ Set clear goals for the first few months
✅ Touch base at the 30, 60, and 90-day marks to see how they adjust to their role and where they might need additional help.
✅ Review performance, give feedback, and set new goals. Repeat quarterly
✅ Send out an onboarding experience survey monthly for the first three months, then quarterly within the first year.
✅ Offer continuous training and development opportunities
✅ Encourage them to participate in team-building and social events
Tips for a successful new employee onboarding process
Now that you have your checklist let’s look at some strategies to help you create an employee onboarding program built for retention.
Document your onboarding process
You know what’s worse than having no onboarding process? Having one that you never documented, so you’re winging it with each new hire.
Not only is this inefficient, but it makes your company seem disorganized. According to Paychex’s study, 22% of respondents described their last onboarding experience as disorganized. So, yes, employees notice.
That’s why documenting everything in an employee onboarding checklist is a must—so you can have your processes organized all in one place. Whale’s process documentation functionality lets you create your onboarding documents using one of our customizable templates, with the help of AI assist, or from scratch.
Update your process frequently
We’ll be the first ones to tell you that documentation is vital for successful onboarding. However, it’s not a ‘set it and forget it’ task. While it might not seem necessary, an onboarding program that hasn’t been updated for years isn’t improving the onboarding experience.
That’s the purpose of employee onboarding surveys. They help you see areas of your process you can refine to make new hires feel more welcome when they start. But it’s impossible to see those results without implementing the feedback.
Plus, updating your onboarding program ensures you always share up-to-date information with your employees (a solid two-for-one)!
Personalize your onboarding program
Yes, this is an employee onboarding checklist. But, an onboarding program that helps lower attrition rates and keeps new hires engaged doesn’t end when every box is checked off.
So what else should you do? 🤔
Focus on creating a personalized experience.
Bottom line?
An employee onboarding checklist is only the first step to a positive start in a new hire’s journey with your company. To see the fruits of a strong onboarding process, you’ll need to document your checklist somewhere you can update and personalize it as needed. If you’re ready to keep your onboarding documents in an easily accessible, centralized place, try Whale for free today.
