Free Onboarding Checklists and Templates

The average onboarding process is either completely overlooked or tends to be thrown together at the last minute. Unfortunately, a bad onboarding experience can have an adverse effect on morale, engagement, and retention. 

And while many of us know (or think we know) about onboarding, chances are that we don’t always consider the entire onboarding process, especially from the new employee’s perspective. 

Onboarding is also commonly thought of as something “HR does in an hour or two” on the new hire’s first day. But onboarding includes far more than a few forms. Ideally, it should consist of team introductions, training on tools and systems, office tours, and handing off personal technology, badges, and anything else the employee will need.

The best onboarding experiences also answer all employee questions, let them know what to do if they have questions in the future, and give them a clear understanding of what they need to do to be successful.

When done well, onboarding can be a competitive advantage in terms of employee engagement, productivity, and even operating costs. Consider the following research:

• According to data collected by O.C. Tanner, 69% of employees say they will stay with a company for more than 3 years if they had a great onboarding experience. 

• Organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 50% greater new hire retention, per Urban Bound, an employee relocation management platform.

• Up to 20% of employee turnover happens in the first 45 days and is often attributed to issues that could have been prevented with better onboarding, per the Society for Human Resource Management.

• According to GlassDoor, replacing a single employee can cost as much as $4,000. 

Our onboarding checklist templates can help you build a perfect onboarding process. You can also download our free New Employee Orientation Checklist.

Onboarding Checklist Overview

There are three main types of onboarding tasks for a new employee, and you want to make sure that any of the action items on the onboarding checklist refers back to one of these:

Tactical Onboarding

This includes any onboarding task that allows a new hire to gain tactical or operational information necessary to function as an employee.

• Is my equipment set up on day one? 

• Do I know the WiFi password? 

• Is my parking pass ready? 

• Did I receive instructions with my schedule for my first day?

Job Knowledge and Organizational Context

This includes any onboarding task that allows a new hire to gain knowledge and understanding about their role in their new company and/or industry.

• Do I understand my role on my team and in the greater organization? 

• Have I been offered the training necessary on X to perform my role successfully? 

• Do I understand my goals or the contributions required of me?

Company Culture and Branding

This involves any onboarding task that allows a new hire to gain an understanding of the company's culture, voice, and values. 

• Do I feel a sense of belonging to my new company? 

• Have I gotten to know my coworkers? 

• Do I understand the cultural values?

To get you started, the following list offers 12 steps you’ll want to consider as part of your onboarding process. Of course, these are general items that you’ll want to include in your new employee checklist. You can add or remove items as needed.

1. Submit job requisition before the final hiring decision.
2. Prepare new hire paperwork.
3. Procure new hire devices and equipment.
4. Set up new hires on all relevant systems through IT.
5. Set up a new hire workspace.
6. Schedule new hire orientation.
7. Send a welcome email or packet to a new employee.
8. Provide new hires with a facility tour.
9. Introduce a new hire to a peer mentor.
10. Announce the hiring of the new employee internally.
11.Schedule a post-hire meeting one to two weeks out for onboarding feedback.
12. Schedule 30-, 60- and 90-day check-ins with new hires.

Download Our Free New Employee Orientation Checklist!

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Onboarding Templates for Hiring Managers

General Onboarding Template

Before they start

• Prepare paperwork, including tax forms, compliance documentation, basic details about the employee, and roles and responsibilities.

• Approve employee paperwork.

• Discuss roles, responsibilities, and early project goals with the supervisor.

• Prepare an employee's workspace.

• Provide access to any tools they may need.

• Assign required reading, training, or other steps to get them up to speed.

• Prepare benefits package.

• Provide a job description with responsibilities.

On their first day

• Welcome him/her to the team.

• Tour the office.

• Assign training material (if required).

• Provide a badge, technology, or any other physical items they need.

• Outline your expectations.

• Explain the company culture.

• Assign a mentor.

• Take them out to lunch!

During the first month

• Outline expectations for the first 30 days.

• Assign their first project.

• Approve their first project.

• Provide constructive feedback and other coaching.

• Review and finalize paperwork and answer any questions they may have.

• Plan follow-up check-in meetings.

• Co-develop long-term goals.

Retail Onboarding Template

Before they start

• Record employee information.

• Collect mandatory forms.

• Schedule employee meeting.

• Notify relevant teams and managers.

• Arrange a meeting with the team.

• Add employees to appropriate email distribution lists.

• Send a welcome video (if one exists) or other training materials.

• Prepare for the orientation session.

On their first day

• Tour facilities.

• Explain relevant technology and systems.

• Introduce team members and employees.

• Describe job expectations and performance requirements.

• Train on more advanced equipment (if appropriate).

• Continued Q&A and ongoing communication.

During the first month

• Schedule or promote one-on-one meetings.

• Schedule a 30-day check-in for early feedback and constructive coaching.

• Encourage questions, provide feedback, and create longer-term goals.

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Food and Beverage Industry Onboarding Template

The food and beverage environment is fast-paced. You’ll want to start the onboarding process by highlighting employee work duties and introductions to staff members. You’ll want to:

Before their first day

• Record a new hire’s details.

• Prepare a welcome letter.

• Highlight other staff and total work duties.

• Assign a mentor.

• Inform other staff.

During their first month

• Evaluate performance closely.

• Schedule follow-up meetings for feedback (if necessary).

• Provide an opportunity for questions or to provide more information

Field Operative Onboarding Template

With company field operatives, you’ll want to confirm the home office location and job start date. You’ll also want to provide your new hire with contact information and other important details.

Before their first day

• Confirm start date, location, contact details, and other information.
• Send the employee a welcome email with a welcome packet or a link to an onboarding portal.
• Provide access to documentation so they can complete it ahead of time.
• Send a confirmation 3 to 5 days before the start date.
• Confirm details such as meeting field-based managers or other personnel.
• Provide field-based equipment or technology, such as a laptop, mobile device, or specialized equipment.

During their first month

• Give the opportunity for regular check-ins to make sure employees are getting up to speed.

• Check in with the employee about technology, machinery, or use of field-based equipment.

• Answer any early questions the employee may have.

• Communicate performance goals and objectives.

• Check-in with supervisors or team leads.

• Schedule relevant training sessions.

• Review certifications (if needed) and schedule learning events to keep them up to speed.

Remote Worker Onboarding Template

Onboarding a remote worker requires clear communication. For instance, you must provide a written explanation of a new hire’s role and responsibilities clearly. You must also clearly communicate your company’s culture, mission, values and other details. You’ll also want to:

• Create an offer letter that includes all details.

• Include details related schedules, time-off policies, on-site requirements (if any), equipment you may/may not provide, and more.

• Communicate important details related to reporting, working with managers, and collaborating with team members.

On their first day

• Prepare paperwork, such as tax forms, legal forms, the job offer, job description, and more.

• Have employees complete paperwork, ideally ahead of time.

• Walk employees through company-specific elements such as the company org chart, company directory, handbooks, videos, policy documentation, and more.

• Have employees sign documents using e-signature-enabled HR software or onboarding technology.

During their first month

• Engage employees!

• Make them feel part of the team.

• Keep them excited, motivated, and informed.

• Encourage team members to welcome new hires.

• Make them part of the team with informal recognition, kudos, or other forms of encouragement.

• Recognize and reward early efforts and successes.

• Answer any questions they may have.

• Train employees on existing systems, such as intranet software, CMS tools, or other ways to find information they need to do their jobs.

• Schedule regular meetings to answer questions and provide feedback.

Related resource: If you’re looking for additional information related to communicating, collaborating, and engaging remote teams and virtual employees, download our eBook, “A Better Way to Communicate and Engage Remote Workers,” today.

Set the Stage for Effective Onboarding

New hires must consume a lot of information. It helps to provide new hires with information in chunks. This technique enables new hires to process information better and get up to speed faster.

For example, you can start out by training a new hire on your company’s values, mission, and goals. An overview of their job-related project and deliverable responsibilities is ideal for the next phase of training.

Next, you can provide them with information about the company structure, such as your various departments and workflows. Here, you’ll also want to go over the key people in charge of running the company.

You also want to provide separate training where you can dive into a new employee’s role and responsibilities. During this part of training, you’ll also go over whom the new hire reports to and introduce them to their coworkers.

During the next training chunk, you can introduce the new hire to your company tools. You’ll want to provide step-by-step guides to help your new employee become familiar with the tools that they must use to do their job during this training phase.

Think Beyond Your New Hire Checklist With HR Cloud

Manual onboarding processes can prove frustrating. However, automation can help you to streamline the training process. With HR Cloud, you’ll have everything that you need to manage the employee experience successfully—from start to finish. 

With our platform, you’ll make your new hires feel like part of the team. More importantly, you’ll keep them excited, motivated, and informed throughout their career.

We provide you with the tools that you need to encourage existing team members and welcome new hires. Furthermore, our technology makes it easy for you to show staff that they’re part of a team with informal recognition, kudos, and other great forms of encouragement.

We also provide resources that enable you to train employees on existing systems such as company intranets and CMSs. With our platform, you can easily provide your staff with the information that they need to do their jobs.

You can also use our technology to schedule regular meetings. You can use these meetings to answer questions or provide feedback about employee performance.

Connect with HR Cloud today to request a free demo.

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About the Author

This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications and engagement, and rewards and recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.