Employee Onboarding Checklist (Updated for 2024)

Employee onboarding is an integral part of the corporate experience that is very important for both the employee and employer to get right. As the old adage goes, “Morning shows the day”, a good employee onboarding checklist ensures that the employee easily acclimatizes to their work environment and their team. It also makes it clear what their responsibilities are, who they report to, who their team members are, etc. An effective employee onboarding improves communication within the workplace and improves the retention rate.  Hiring professionals can take certain steps to ensure smooth onboarding. Here is our employee onboarding checklist. See if your company is on the right track when it comes to employee onboarding

Pre-Onboarding Checklist

 It is essential to follow certain protocols to make the employee feel welcome in the organization even before the start of the onboarding process. The HR of the company or organization can send an email to the new hire welcoming them to the job and listing certain key information. This can include:

✅Reminding them the time and date of their joining

✅Schedule of the onboarding, and the rest of the first day

✅Dress code of the company

✅Telling them which documents to bring and who to contact

In addition, they can attach a brief description of the company.

It is also important to inform the existing employees of the new hire so that they can prepare and welcome them accordingly. The existing members of that team need to be especially informed. The background, joining date and time, and responsibilities of the recruit can be sent out as a mail to the other employees.

Preparation for onboarding

This part of the process in the employee onboarding checklist involves preparing the working area and tools required for the new employee to start their work. Their laptops need to be issued and ready, their new desk needs to be clean, and maybe have a welcome note on it.  You also need to assign an official email Id at this stage. Their login Ids need to be created for any employee dashboards or HR management software that the company may use. You are also required to prepare other paraphernalia like their business card, access card, ID card, etc. A welcome party can be arranged, if time and budget permits.  

Handover all the necessary documents to the employee for convenience. The list of documents can include the employee handbook, tax documents, payroll information, any necessary contracts or forms, and the job responsibility sheet.

Day One: The Beginning of Onboarding

This day is one of the most important days for an employee. It sets the tone for the entire duration for which the employee works in the company. The first impression they get of the company lets them know about the work culture, professionalism, and attitude of the organization. This, ultimately,  can motivate them to dedicate a considerable amount of time to the organization. It is the responsibility of HR and the existing employees to make them feel welcome at the company and familiarize them with the work environment. Some ideas to welcome them include:

✅Send them a welcome email

✅Organize a morning coffee session

✅Give them a welcome package

✅Introduce the new employee to his/her co-workers and vice-versa

Office Tour 

After the introduction and other formalities are complete, it’s time to give your employee an office tour. The employee can be taken on a walk around the office space so that they can be familiarized with their physical work environment. The tour can include a visit to their own cubicle and the areas where their teammates would work. You can take them to the places where their superiors would be working to build comfort regarding the work hierarchy.  Arranging a casual meeting with the superiors can also be a great move to enhance the employee onboarding experience. In times of pandemic or remote working, you can hold virtual office tours.

Employee Onboarding Checklist- Steps You Must Follow

Now, it’s time to take certain steps to ensure a hassle-free employee onboarding experience. Follow the below steps in the employee onboarding checklist and make your new hire’s first day a memorable one.

Assign assets and introduce HR policies to your new hires

Now, you need to hand over all required equipment to the recruit, like their work laptop, access card, appropriate stationery, and business cards. 

It is very important at this point that HR familiarizes the employee with all the rules and internal guidelines within the company. This includes:

✅Conduct policy

✅Leave policy

✅Sexual harassment policy

✅Safety and security guidelines 

✅Health insurance and other benefits

✅Information related to taxes, provident fund, or stock options

Make them familiar with the technology you use

 It is important for an employee to feel comfortable with the technology you use at your organization. As HR managers you need to make them familiar with all the internal processes and software that the company uses to manage the workers and work pipeline. These may include:

✅Messaging platform to keep up with and communicate with co-workers on work-related subjects (Like Slack, Zimyo Engage,  WhatsApp Business)

✅HR Software that can keep track of attendance, pending tasks, birthdays, leaves, holidays, etc.

✅Any other internal software or process to manage work pipeline and organize files such as a shared Google Drive or network folder. 

Any queries the employee might have, regarding any of the company policies, compensation packages, or software use. If necessary, the IT department can be contacted to solve certain queries beyond the scope of Human Resources. If the employee faces any issue with their work laptop or computer, the IT correspondent may be able to provide help. 

Arrange a meeting with the CEO

Arrrange a casual meeting with the CEO to make the new hire comfortable with the senior leadership. In case the CEO is unable to attend, someone else from top management can be assigned the responsibility. The CEO can brief the new employee about the company vision, their responsibility, and what is expected of them. You can also arrange coffee and snacks for this meeting. Topics of discussion may include:

✅Explaining the vision, mission, and values of the company

✅Providing a brief background of the company 

✅Discuss an overall industry overview

✅Highlight the goals of the company and how the employee fits in them

Arrange a meeting with the manager

It is important that the new employee gets to know who they are reporting to as part of the onboarding process. Therefore, it is important to arrange a meeting between the employee and concerned parties. The manager can deliver key information to the employee like:

✅Reaffirm their roles and responsibilities

✅Explain the organization chart

✅Set goals for the coming months

✅Explain their expectations from the employee

✅Listen to the employee’s expectations

✅Discuss further career development plans with the employee

Checking in with the employee in the first week

Contrary to popular belief, the employee onboarding checklist doesn’t just end on the first day. It is an ongoing process that may go on for weeks or months until the employee is fully settled in and feels at home. It’s important to keep checking in with the employee every day to make sure they are fully caught up on the work and are familiarized with their environment. You can schedule a daily meeting with your new hires to know if they are feeling comfortable or not in their new job roles or organization. Since it may not be entirely possible to introduce the new employee to all the teams and members in the office, time can be set aside in the first week for this purpose.

You can also hold regular software training sessions to train employees on required internal software, like Human Resources Management Software (HRMS), or an internal messaging platform. Any other type of training activities can also be held. Suggest recommended reading to the employee during this phase of their onboarding. Reading may include:

✅HR and company policy documents

✅Company-specific E-books written by other employees

✅Material regarding the technical knowledge required for the job

✅Employee conduct guidelines

Encourage employees to participate in company events 

While all this is going on, it’s important to remember to have fun occasionally to make the work-life of the employee fulfilling and interesting. Fun Friday activities can include:

✅Social gatherings

✅Fun competitions

✅Casual town hall meetings 

✅Team lunches or dinners

Anything else that can be thought of by Human Resources or other team members to make the employee comfortable during their first week can be included here.

Take help of technology

According to research by Brandon Hall Group, organizations with a strong onboarding process experience a boost in new hire retention by 82 percent and productivity by over 70 percent. Make your onboarding process hassle-free by leveraging technology such as employee onboarding software. Employee onboarding software automates all the redundant and time taking tasks and eliminates all the possible manual errors. It also reduces the administrative burden from the hiring managers, thus enabling them to focus on more strategic tasks. This software assists hiring managers in the following ways:

✅Eliminates all the paperwork

✅Sends automated reminders to both new hires and managers

✅Gather new hires data 

✅ Facilitate e-signatures and verifications

First Few Months

There are certain steps in the employee onboarding checklist that you can follow even after the joining of a new employee. This can be repeated in the first, third, and sixth months or any combination that the Human Resources team finds appropriate. Some of the things that may be done during this period include conducting employee surveys and analyzing progress reports. You can also ask the employee to fill out a survey form asking their opinions and feedback on their work and work environment. Try to resolve any questions or complaints your new hire might have. Human Resources, in collaboration with appropriate managers and co-workers, can prepare a progress report of the employee that may include:

✅Their performance

✅Employees’ attitude

✅How well they manage goals and expectations 

✅The possible future path of the employee within the company

Relevant training sessions need to be continued throughout the months where they are given a refresher on how to effectively use the tools and services used within the company, like their Human Resources Management Software (HRMS).  You can also organize regular social gatherings between the team members, across departments, or with managers to increase rapport and communication in the organization.

The Bottom Line

These are some of the steps that you can include in your employee onboarding checklist. This list may not be exhaustive as different companies and organizations have different policies regarding onboarding, but it’s an effective employee onboarding checklist to follow and base your own company’s onboarding around. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Onboarding Checklist?

An onboarding checklist helps to organize the steps required to be followed while onboarding a new employee. It contains a series of steps to be followed when a new candidate joins the organization.

What are the 5Cs of Onboarding?

To make the onboarding process better 5Cs of onboarding must be followed. The 5Cs of onboarding stand for

 

1. C- Compliance

2. C- Clarification

3. C- Confidence

4. C- Connection

5. C- Culture

  What is the checklist of Employee onboarding?

The onboarding checklist of an employee must contain the following key elements:

1. Providing a Pre-Onboarding Kit to employees– An employee onboarding kit should be provided to employees. This kit usually contains the organization’s brochure, employee’s ID card, bag or water bottle. 

2. Employee Orientation– Introducing new employees to the organization’s culture, their role, team members and their department.

3. Employee Training– Providing efficient training to the new employees so that they can get well-versed with the organization’s work as well as the tasks they have to perform. 

4. Employee Feedback– One-on-one feedback should be arranged with employees after they complete a month in the organization.

What are the most important elements of employee onboarding?

There are three key elements of an employee onboarding program- people, culture and milestones. The people and culture of an organization play a key role in achieving the milestones of the organization as a whole.

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