The secret to more productive employees? An employee onboarding checklist. Here’s why.

You want to make a positive first impression on all employees joining your organisation. After all, you want to set your staff up for success and ensure they feel motivated and engaged within their role. 

But, when introducing a lot of new staff regularly, offering a consistent and thorough onboarding process can be easier said than done. 

That’s where employee onboarding checklists come in. 

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering… 

• What an employee onboarding checklist is
• Why it’s important to your staff, culture and success
• What to include in your employee onboarding checklists
• What to do after onboarding

…you’ve come to the right place. 

Let’s jump in!

What is the employee onboarding process?

Employee onboarding is a structured process for introducing new staff into your organisation. 

It’s about setting new starters up for success, providing them with the information they need to perform their job well, and completing all the admin associated with bringing staff on board.  

Everyone wins when you invest in your employee onboarding process.

New starters feel more confident, valued and supported from day one.

And, as a result, your organisation reaps the rewards of increased productivity, retention and employee engagement. 

The statistics speak for themselves. 

79% of employees say that proper onboarding helps them to integrate and understand company culture.

And effective onboarding has been shown to improve employee retention and productivity by 52% and 60% respectively. 

What’s not to love?

What is an employee onboarding checklist?

Employee onboarding checklists are a way to organise the steps involved in integrating and supporting employees through those critical early days, weeks, and months in their role. 

An employee onboarding checklist lays out what tasks you need to complete and when they need to be completed.

By creating one (or a few), you set a standard of consistency.

You ensure every new starter gets the same in-depth, positive onboarding experience – no matter their role, manager or team. 

81% of employees say they felt overwhelmed during the onboarding process. 

Onboarding checklists can be a brilliant solution, allowing you to share information and schedule tasks in a way that’s conducive to high performance, without being overwhelming.

Plus, for HR teams, they make it easy to see what tasks are left to complete, reducing a lot of the tedious and time-consuming admin you face daily. 

Why is an employee onboarding checklist important?

There are a lot of moving parts when introducing new employees.

Especially if you’re regularly hiring a lot of new staff in one go.

Employee onboarding checklists allow you to cover the following stages of onboarding more efficiently:

Compliance

This is all the fiddly, legal tasks required before someone becomes an official employee.

It includes signing and sending employment contracts, sharing employee information and tax codes with HMRC, sharing company policies and health and safety training, and any other legalities your business must follow. 

Logistics

These are tasks that ensure new starters can show up on their first day (in-person or remotely) and do their jobs effectively.

This will include sharing the address of your offices, addressing accessibility concerns, assigning them a desk, setting up their work phone and computer, giving them access to internal systems they might need, and setting them up on your payroll.

Training

Introducing training early on helps employees reach their full potential as quickly as possible.

Incorporating learning and development into your employee onboarding checklist ensures these training opportunities are offered in a timely, consistent manner. 

As part of onboarding, you might introduce employees to your L&D processes, policies, and systems, carry out assessments to create personal development plans, schedule supervision and mentoring, and book any other role-specific training. 

Culture

You can’t just expect new employees to adopt your company culture from day dot.

The more you help employees find their place within the business, the more comfortable and engaged they’ll feel long-term. 

As part of your onboarding process, help employees better understand your organisation’s culture and values, assign time for them to meet their team and other key figures within the company, and, if you have a lot of new starters in one go, you might even organise welcome events and other social opportunities. 

What to include in your employee onboarding checklists

Now that you know what an employee onboarding checklist is, why they’re useful, and what topics you’ll want to cover, let’s dive deeper.

Related: Onboarding best practices

Here are some sample checklists for each stage of the onboarding process…

Preboarding checklist

Before your employee’s first day, help them (and you!) feel more organised and comfortable by properly preparing for their arrival. 

• Prepare and send employment contracts
• Set a start date and share this with the employee via email, alongside any other instructions and information for their first day
• Check for, and accommodate, any accessibility requirements
• Assign a ‘buddy’ within their team
• Assign them a desk and organise their welcome pack
• Order and set up any necessary devices and equipment 
• Open their business email and accounts for other internal systems
• Organise a ‘meet-and-greet’ with their team
• Order keys or security fobs
• Add to HR system

Onboarding checklist for day one:

Reduce those first-day nerves for employees by having a clear process for gathering information and integrating them into their roles, teams, and your company culture. 

• Get employee to fill in their details for HR and payroll systems
• Share employee information with HMRC and get them to sign HMRC’s new starter checklist
• Gather bank details
• Check right-to-work documents
• Schedule health and safety training
• Set up internet access and access to internal tools/systems
• Share company and team values, processes and expectations 
• Teach employee how to complete tasks such as booking holidays and meeting rooms
• Organise meetings with their new team, department and other relevant people within the business.

Onboarding checklist for week one:

For many employees, their first week will fly past in a blur.

At this stage, do what you can to increase their confidence in company processes and systems, and continue to perform the necessary admin to fully integrate them into the business. 

• Share official company documentation and policies
• Set objectives for their first, second and third month within the business
• Provide access to internal learning systems and show how to use them
• Perform skills assessments to uncover training opportunities
• Schedule supervision and mentoring meetings 
• Enroll in the company pension plan and other staff benefits
• Check that all equipment and software needs are covered
• Share the office’s security and fire measures
• Add their birthday to the birthday list
• Set a one-to-one meeting to check-in at the end of the week

Onboarding checklist for managers:

If you’re in the process of introducing new managers to your organisation, create a checklist like this to stay organised and ensure a consistent, positive introduction for all.

• Prepare and send employment contracts
• Send a welcome email
• Assign and clean their workspace before arrival
• Open their business email and accounts for other internal systems
• Order and set up any necessary devices and equipment 
• Greet employee on their first day and provide a tour of the workplace
• Introduce other team members
• Sign contracts and any tax, right to work or insurance documents
• Share company culture and team/organisational mission and values
• Set objectives for their first, second and third months within the business
• Schedule regular meetings to support managers in their first few months

Virtual onboarding checklist:

If a new employee will be working remotely, it’s even more important to share relevant information promptly, provide ongoing support and help them connect with their colleagues.

Here’s what a virtual onboarding checklist might look like. 

• Prepare and send employment contracts
• Send a welcome email that includes their start date and meeting schedule for their first day
• Order, set up and send office hardware and software
• Arrange a setup call for the new employee with IT
• Send or request any tax, right to work or insurance documents or forms
• Schedule and complete a 1:1 call to welcome them
• Schedule introductory calls with their new team and other key members of the business
• Arrange a call to share company processes, values, and mission
• Introduce learning and development systems 
• Set objectives for their first, second and third months within the business

Wrapping up

Making the onboarding process a key part of your culture. It allows you to welcome new employees, keep them engaged and encourage company growth.

Related: Easy ways to onboard new hires

However, as your recruit more and more, you will need to have plans in place to ease the process.

Investing in the right onboarding software allows you to consolidate your onboarding process and make the joining process, a simple one.

Remember, we offer a learning management system that means you can create a simple onboarding learning course via a specific dashboard for new hires.

Book a demo to see how we can help you create better learning experiences for your new starters.