New Hire Checklist Template

After you close your new hire on their new job, you'll need to successfully onboard and set them up within your company. Companies often create new hire checklists as a way to help managers and HR ensure they're covering all the necessary steps to welcome a new member to the team.

What goes into an HR new hire checklist?

Before the new employee's first day at work, you'll need to prepare the forms and agreements you need to properly onboard them. Some of these documents may be required by labor law, while others are optional.

The new hire checklist documents all of these forms and agreements that need to be completed to welcome the employee into the team. This includes documents such as:

  • Employment forms required by law
  • Internal forms required by the company
  • Employee handbook and policies
  • Benefits documents

In addition to this, companies also sometimes create new employee onboarding guides. Unlike the HR new hire checklist which is oriented on getting them ramped up by human resources into the organization, these are more oriented on getting the employee ramped up to their role and team. These are employee-focused guides are customized to their new position and team.

Not having an organized HR onboarding process can mean mistakes like missing forms, poor flow of vital information to the new employee, and in some cases even potential legal liability in the future. Having an up-to-date and standardized process ensures that all the bases are covered.

New Hire Checklist Template

Here's an example of a new hire checklist for the employee's first 30 days. This is a checklist shared by HR and the new employee's manager to ensure that everything is getting done.

BEFORE THE EMPLOYEE’S START DATE

Prior to the employee's first day, make sure that everything is in place to welcome them on their first day.

Workplace setup
  • Determine start date with HR
  • Ensure that HR coordinator has a counter-signed copy of offer letter
  • Identify and formalize an onboarding buddy
  • Pick where they will sit and notify facilities
  • Notify IT and set up their work email and desk phone
  • Order technology equipment and software
  • Order office or work area keys
  • Arrange for parking, if needed
Schedule and Job Duties
  • Call employee:
    • Confirm start date, time, place, parking, etc.
    • Identify computer needs and requirements
    • Provide name of their onboarding buddy
    • Remind them to bring identification documents for filling out HR and legal forms on their first day
    • Answer any questions (dress code, first day, team, role)
  • Add regularly scheduled meetings (e.g. 1:1s, team, and company) to employee’s calendar
  • Add employee to relevant email lists.
  • Plan the employee’s first assignment
  • Identify relevant trainings required for this job

FIRST DAY

Welcome
  • Be available to greet the employee on the first day
  • Introduce employee to others in the workplace
  • Introduce employee to his/her buddy
  • Take employee out to lunch or arrange for someone to do so
Benefits Orientation
  • Life and health insurance
  • Mobile plan
  • Stock options
  • Retirement plan
  • Disability insurance
  • Paid time off/vacation policies (including any paid holidays)
  • Flexible work policies
  • Sick leave
  • Employee wellness perks
  • Tuition reimbursement
Employment forms Work Orientation
  • Review the job description, outline of duties, and confirm any required trainings or meetings on the calendar
  • Provide an overview of the functional area, organizational structure, and goals
  • Take the employee on a tour of the office

WEEK 1

Schedule, Job Duties, and Expectations
  • Give employee his/her initial assignment
  • Debrief with employee after he/she attends initial meetings, attends training, and begins work on initial assignment. Also touch base quickly each day
  • Set up regular 1:1s on the schedule to check in
  • Explain the annual performance review and goal-setting process
  • Define and write down first 90 day goals
  • Discuss performance and professional development goals. Give employee an additional assignment

Use Notejoy to manage your new hire process

Spend more time building high-performing teams and less time managing the onboarding process. With Notejoy, you can create a customized version of this checklist to streamline your entire employee onboarding process for managers throughout the team.

Share your checklist with the team

You can use this checklist as a template, and make a custom version for each employee and manager which starts.

Collaborate in real-time

Manage who has permission to view and edit each note. Edits happen in real-time, so everyone can stay in sync on what's been completed as it happens.

Fast and easy to use

Rather than setting up a complicated process or another complex form, Notejoy's interface is fast and easy to use. So everyone can get started quickly.

Get started free with Notejoy

Additional Resources