Talent leaders like you are almost always hiring, but do all your new joiners get the same ‘over the moon’ experience? If your answer is ‘probably not’, you need to restructure your onboarding.
You want your new joiner to be as effective and contributing as their predecessor. But that’s not possible without a hiring and employee onboarding checklist template.
That's why we want to bring you employee onboarding checklists for every important stakeholder in your company, so you make a positive, compelling impression and turn them into your own employer brand ambassador. Hang on tight, this is going to be an exciting ride, as we go through every stage in the onboarding journey.
Why Is Onboarding So Crucial To An Employee’s Lifecycle?
| Paul Jones, and Billy Maddock, Talent Specialists remark, “When a new player joins a football team, the team spends billions on them and wants them to hit the ground running. If they didn’t start performing in the first week or six weeks, bad behaviors can come into play, and morale drops down. A solid onboarding plan can help alleviate that, and help the new employee start contributing quickly.” |
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After a busy interview phase, and a rather difficult offboarding, the candidate finally arrives at your office, and all they need is a smooth transition, to be seen, respected and showed you are eager to start working with them.
They also hope they will deliver their life’s work while in your company. When they get a few hiccups right at the start, it’s just unprofessional, and gives a very bad image.
If these issues keep growing, or appropriate measures are not taken in a timely manner, they become disappointed, and slowly start resenting the company. This is the last thing you need as talent leaders.
The new employee may even be tempted to hop back on the job market, and spread bad word about your brand. Needless to say, this will further affect how you attract candidates.
If they aren't properly integrated into the team, and their purpose frequently iterated, they might feel meaningless, and start taking uninformed leave. The problem is exacerbated if their joining overlaps with the relieving date of their predecessor, causing you to increase replacement costs.
Different Stakeholders Involved In Onboarding
HR (Talent Management + Recruitment)
Managers
| Special Instance |
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| Max Wenneker, a famous leadership and business coach for founders says, “I onboarded a new employee once, and we were about 6 months into someone’s role and it was time for the initial performance evaluation. During those 6 months, I had been pretty unhappy with this person’s performance and I thought it was obvious based on the things I asked them to do about their work. At the discussion, I conveyed my disappointment in their results, and they were shocked because they thought they were doing a fantastic job. Without a clear blueprint, people fill gaps with assumptions. That’s why onboarding checklists templates are important for managers.” |
One mistake managers make when they onboard a new hire is that they expect them to perform immediately and start hitting targets. Be clear to them that for the first 2 weeks, there’s no performance expectations on them at all. Once the two week-period is over, affix goals, and job responsibilities for their first month, 3 months, and 6 months.
Onboarding is also the time when managers need to ask what the new employee's preferred working style is, and feedback method, so the entire relationship can be sculpted accordingly. They’re also the major influencer in the team and the quality of rapport they have completely changes how the employee feels about the company in general.
IT
| Special Instance |
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| In ABC, a product company, the IT team didn’t have a timeframe to dispatch the laptop when they got new-hire info from the HR team. So right before the day of joining, they hurriedly shipped the recently collected predecessor’s laptop to the new hire, since they were in the same city, only to find it was shattered. They had to make the new employee sit without a laptop for 3 whole days after joining. |
A crucial team whose contribution directly affects the work productivity and impression the new hire has on the company. From the predecessor's laptop getting collected, to getting delivered to the new joiner, to getting all ends secured, access to tools promptly, the IT team’s plate is full, when it comes to onboarding, next only to HR.
Transportation
Only if this is coordinated correctly from the first day onwards, will the new hires easily be able to access the workplace, whether through shuttle services, company-arranged transportation, or guidance on commuting options.
This is particularly important for employees unfamiliar with the area or those working in locations with limited public transport. A well-organized transportation system reduces stress and logistical challenges, allowing new employees to arrive on time and focus on their onboarding without concerns about their commute.
Admin
They streamline key employee onboarding processes such as ID badge issuance, payroll registration, and benefits enrollment. They also can share the map of the office campus for an office tour and campus walk, compile the welcome kit, and onboarding materials correctly, show the new employee where to park (if they commute on their own vehicle), show where the printer is, show their way around the cafeteria.
Legal
From drafting legally sound employment contracts to verifying work authorization documents, important paperwork, their involvement helps mitigate risks related to non-compliance, misclassification of employees, and potential disputes. Without their oversight, organizations may inadvertently violate labor laws, leading to legal repercussions and reputational damage.
The legal team ensures that new hires receive clear information about company policies in the employee handbook, confidentiality agreements, and compliance-related training. This protects both the company and employees by setting expectations on ethical conduct, data security, and regulatory adherence. Their role extends to safeguarding employee rights, ensuring workplace inclusivity, and addressing any legal concerns that may arise during the onboarding process.
Team Members
| Special Instance |
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| In another fast growing startup, when a particular employee was onboarded, the team wasn't properly notified of their arrival and they weren't given a chance to get to know the new employee. Being a team of remote employees, the new employee found it very hard to connect with their team, and the company culture. Eventually they weren't included in conversations, and team's weekly meetings, treated like an outsider, and had no one to connect with. A month later it started reflecting on their performance. Three months later, they went on a long absence and never returned, only to send a resignation mail before returning their laptop unannounced. |
A common mistake that hiring teams make is not informing the remaining team members that they’re joined by a new candidate. When the new recruit does arrive, they are surprised, and won’t be able to make them feel comfortable. That’s why they need to be prepared, informed of who is joining, where they’re coming in, and how they are going to build a solid partnership with them, thereby clouding the candidate from seeing the true company culture.
Making Every Stakeholder Stay Informed And Proactive – Employee Onboarding Checklist
| Paul Jones, and Billy Maddock, Talent Specialists observe, “It’s the responsibility of the entire business to onboard someone correctly. It’s not just on the founder, or the hiring manager, it is the responsibility of everyone in the company, to make sure everyone is aware, new recruits are welcomed. It’s not just on the hiring manager. The sooner someone feels welcome, the sooner they are going to start performing.” |
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Without a robust and frequently updated checklist for every stakeholder in the onboarding program, something is sure to fall through the cracks. If you feel you need to make onboarding creative for every employee, and not make it mundane, take cognizance of the fact that creativity is actually increased in processes by checklists.
You need measurements, structure, deadlines, and most important of all – accountability for every stakeholder if you want to create the best onboarding process. What if any one of your stakeholders is super busy on the date of joining, and there’s a critical time happening in the onboarding process? That’s why these checklists are crucial. A checklist turns an annoying necessity into a competitive advantage, and ensure a positive onboarding experience.
Tie in all stakeholders into the checklist, and make the checklist reportable, and viewable by every stakeholder and their manager so that there's a profound sense of accountability and no blame game if anything is stalled.
This also helps in the stakeholder downstream follow up if the one before them starts slacking or misses a deadline. Incorporate the checklists into your HRMS, so that everything is stored in one database.
Employee Onboarding Checklist For Every Stakeholder In The Complete Onboarding Process
HR
Pre-Boarding
| Task | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Alert your Background verification partner company for reference and background checks | Immediately after offer acceptance |
| Engagement emails to candidates with company’s recent updates (latest funding rounds), market insights, new launches etc. | Two every week |
| After offer acceptance, ask them how involved they want to be, so you can let their to-be manager assign essential pre-onboarding tasks accordingly | In the week following offer acceptance |
| Rewards letter – an email with all possible benefits, perks, and rewards the employee is eligible for (depending on their department, and role) | One week after offer acceptance |
| Assign a buddy to the new recruit, and block their schedule for the new recruit’s joining date | One week before date of joining |
| Send a link to your HRMS, and ask the new recruit to upload important documents such as bank statement, cancelled cheque, offer letter from their current company, resignation acceptance from their current manager, PF details, Income Tax documents, and their recent pay stubs. | 1-2 weeks before their joining |
| Alert your wellbeing partner on the addition of new recruit, so they’re eligible for EAP from day one | One week before candidate joining |
| Clear the first few hours of your calendar on their date of joining, so you can give them a comfortable start | Day before candidate joining |
Onboarding – Day of Joining
| Task | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Tender the welcome gift to the employee, with their welcome kit (company merchandise, stationery, welcome note etc) | Within the hour of them joining |
| Show the employee to their workplace/cabin after welcoming them from reception, and introduce them to co-workers (for in-office working) in person and through a company wide welcome email. | Within the hour of them joining |
| Generate the employee code and update it onto the HRMS | Within the hour of them joining |
| Provide ID card/Access card | Within the hour of them joining |
| Provide communication devices (if required for the role), a new SIM if necessary, and a company vehicle with chauffeur contact details | Within the day |
| Open a new personnel file (for in-office working) | Within the day |
| Send the new employee to go through mandatory training programs | Within the day |
| Share a 5-day, 5-week, and 5-month induction plan with their HoD, Reporting Manager, and the new employee themselves | Within the hour of them joining |
| Add them to the payroll master, attendance and leave master (online/offline) | Within the hour of them joining |
| Give a tour of the office, and emergency procedures and protocols | Within the day |
| Issue Employee Handbook, and Org Chart and have them read and sign them | Within the day |
| Introduce the buddy to them, and arrange for a buddy connect call | Within the day |
Post-Onboarding – After 2 Weeks
| Task | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| 30-day check in | After the first month |
| 60-day check in | After the second month |
| Mid-probation review | After the third month |
| Wellbeing check-in | After every month until end of probation |
Managers
| Task | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Meet with the new employee and welcome them heartily | On day of joining |
| Meet with them for a lunch, and build a rapport | At the end of the first week |
| Set goals for their performance in the next month, 3 months and 6 months | Within the first week |
| Daily call to connect, clarify, converse, and guide the new employee | For the first two weeks |
| Arrange for shadowing calls for new joiners with high performers | 2 calls weekly, for 2 months |
| Arrange calls for new hire with external agencies they’re supposed to interact with regularly | Within the first month |
| Track goal vs attainment continuously, with clear distinction on what ‘good’ looks like, and ‘bad performance’ looks like. | First month, 3 months, and 6 months |
| Prepare a career roadmap for them in the company | Within the first 2 weeks |
IT
| Task | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Ascertain what hardware the employee needs. How many monitors, what all equipment do they need? | Before 2 weeks of them joining |
| Procure the right type of license, and online accounts for tools employee needs to use (HRMS, Project Management, Performance Management, Internal Communications, and Time Tracking etc) | |
| Set up the right OS in their computer | |
| Create their unique email ID, and password after talking to HR | |
| Install antivirus, and blockers to protect the system | |
| Install MS Office/Google Workspace with their email ID and password | |
| Set up password manager , and help them access credentials | |
| Browser-based password key disabling | |
| Create or forward documentation on how to use the tools |
Transportation
| Task | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Transport registration | 1-2 weeks before joining |
| Route & schedule planning | 1-2 weeks before joining |
| Parking allocation | 1-2 weeks before joining |
| First-day transport coordination | On day of joining |
| Reception & drop-off assistance | On day of joining |
Admin
| Tasks | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Share the campus map with the new employee | On day of joining |
| Show them around the office | On day of joining |
| Make sure their desk/office is well kept | Before day of joining |
| Arrange for business cards, name plate for them | Before day of joining |
| tock up stationery, and other administrative tasks necessary for them | Before day of joining |
Legal
| Tasks | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Prepare a training chart for the new hire’s mandatory training | 1 week before the day of joining |
| Share the chart with the new employee | On day of joining |
| Collect and store important documents | On day of joining |
| Prepare Non-Disclosure & Confidentiality Agreements (NDA) | 1 week before the day of joining |
| Get the documents signed and sealed | On day of joining |
| Workplace Safety & Legal Compliance Training | On day of joining |
Team Members
| Tasks | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Set up an introductory 1:1 call with the new employee | Within the first week |
| Meet for a coffee chat (online/offline) | Within the first 2 weeks |
How Do You Know If Your Onboarding Checklist is Effective?
By the rule of thumb, your new hires, when onboarded effectively, should be able to perform at 80% of their potential by the third month, and at their full potential by the sixth month.
Check employee satisfaction after 6 months
If employees actively participate in training sessions, interact with team members, and take ownership of their tasks early on, it's a strong indication that the effective onboarding program has set the right tone.
If managers note gaps in knowledge or performance within the first few weeks, it could suggest that certain checklist items were either overlooked or not thorough enough.
How Can Darwinbox Help?
Instead of relying on scattered emails and manual tracking, HR teams can automate and streamline onboarding end-to-end with Darwinbox.
With a built-in centralised task management in the employee onboarding software, you don't have to assign tasks or send repeated reminders on Slack anymore. Darwinbox will take care of assigning and managing tasks sequentially for the stakeholders involved in every onboarding.
You can also configure multiple checklists for multiple bands, grades, geographies and verticals depending on your needs, and the tool will accommodate all of it easily.
No more chasing employees or other departments. Darwinbox sends timely alerts and tracks completion.
Now for the first time in your experience, you can finally sit back, and watch each new hire’s onboarding status, identify bottlenecks, and step in when needed. You don't have to worry about every little thing that goes on, because Darwinbox will do it for you.
Contact our team today to discuss how we can make this possible for you.
