Set Motamedi
February 23, 2023
The difference between a good organization and a great one? A fantastic new
hire onboarding process. New hire onboarding with an employee onboarding
checklist is paramount to the success of your organization, supporting
enhanced efficiency and a vibrant workplace culture. Plus, you can always look
back at your employee onboarding checklist to ensure that no critical steps
were missed — asserting a certain level of confidence and competence at every
level of your staff.
Below, we’re showing you the steps to include in your employee onboarding
checklist within your organization, keeping your team informed and competitive
as they continue to innovate in their respective zones of genius.
1. Organize hiring documents
Paperwork and contracts are essential to make the employee hire official.
Information such as payroll bank account numbers, sensitive employee
information, and emergency contacts can be harvested by onboarding documents,
which should be arranged and presented with employee contracts, agreements,
and the official employee handbook. Organizing this ahead of time and giving
your new hire a single packet and step to complete ensures a seamless start to
their tenure with your company.
2. Tick off background checks
Depending on the nature of your profession, there may be multiple steps to
this — however, most companies engage with a single background check (at a
minimum). Fitting this in at the very start of your process ensures that both
parties undergo the onboarding process in as safe a way as possible
— ensuring that company standards are upheld.
3. Prepare the (virtual) workspace
Logins and IT breakdowns can give a rocky start to a new hire. Taking the time
to prepare logins after the background check is completed and the contract is
signed can help your team member to hit the ground running. Commonly
overlooked areas of need in this area of onboarding include:
Email accounts
Messaging systems (i.e. Slack, Microsoft Teams)
Website logins or admin accounts (i.e. Wix, WordPress)
Social media logins (for marketing roles or adjacent positions)
Virtual desktop or monitoring programs
Passwords and logins for company devices and tech
You can choose to include these steps separately on your employee onboarding
checklist, or as a single task to be carried out by IT on an individual
basis.
4. Organize the office
Upon hire and their first day, you’ll want your team to feel welcomed into
their new space. Organizing their office space or investing in a few welcoming
gifts would be a great touch to help with this. You can choose to enlist the
help of team members (forming a type of welcoming committee) or you can make
time to do this yourself. There’s no “wrong” way to do it — but cleaning would
be considered near-essential for both employee safety and perception.
5. Prepare for success
Adopting a “future vision” with your employees helps to establish the rhythm
of progression and growth culture you want to see in a modern-day business.
You may take this opportunity to introduce ongoing 1:1 check-in dates and
goal-setting to keep your team members engaged at every step of their
process.
6. Schedule employee training
Every role in your company likely has different facets that must be learned
for success. This is why the employee onboarding process can’t be identical
for all. Summarizing these facets into an employee training course or manual
helps to ensure continuity and accuracy as the job is performed — giving
them something to turn back over to if they have any questions that come up
later on. This can cut down 1:1 training time and offer the opportunity for
independent learning, for those that have that reference.
In this step, you might also choose to have a “buddy” to walk through the
process of onboarding and training with them, keeping them engaged and
offering an honest and true-to-life example of what your company culture looks
like.
7. Go the extra mile
In today’s post-pandemic and post-Great Resignation era, team members are
looking for businesses that continue to go above and beyond for their staff.
Consider the “soft skills” or nicer things in life as you build this into your
employee onboarding checklist, and consider arranging a warm welcome to your
new team member. Ideas that align with this step may include:
Luncheons or dinners
Welcome parties
Gift baskets and presents
While this step looks different for every brand, the completion of it can
indicate a culture of growth and personal care to your team member
— which will help them to more easily offer trust and engagement within
their specific role.
Connect with an HR specialist for help building your employee onboarding
checklist.
Looking to put your HR on autopilot? Reach out to the team at
today. You can have the support of a dedicated HR manager for just $99/month.
You can also create HR-compliant policies, audits, training, and more.