Employee Onboarding Process Checklist

New employee onboarding process sets out what you need to do to help a new team member settle in and make their first few weeks a success.

Handling the first few days and months of a new employee’s experience is crucial in ensuring new hires are engaged in their new role and hit the ground running from day one which helps higher retention.

Onboarding can be a complex process and involves many important steps from formal documentation and workplace integration.

Looking to employ a new member of the team. Our step-by-step employee onboarding process is a checklist for an effective onboarding process.

A must-have checklist for every HR team.

What is employee onboarding process?

The Onboarding process is a term that refers to the process of introducing new employees to their workplace. It is a term commonly used by the human resource industry for the time when a newly hired employee arrives within a business to start working for it.

In this process, the company will introduce the new employee to the business culture, policies and procedures, and the new employee will be made aware and clearly understand their new position, job role and tasks that are expected to perform.

The whole process is done to ensure that the new employee is given a smooth transition into his/her new job. In today’s competitive market, companies need to make sure that their employees are trained to the highest level. 

Staff onboarding process is a critical aspect of any business, as it is where new employees become part of the team and start to understand the company culture and primarily gain a good impression about the business.

While onboarding is an essential part of staff recruitment, it is also important to know what happens after the employee has been hired by the company. There are many benefits that an employer can get from a well-managed employee onboarding process, including new employees being more productive, increased loyalty, developing good work habits and becoming more engaged with their work.

Employee Onboarding Process Checklist

Help a new team member settle in

Contact Candidate

Identified candidates, contact candiates via email or phone, Set interview date and time.

Official Job Offer

Found the perfect candidate make an official offer by telephone, or email.

Prepare Job Offer Letter

Make it official.

Lay out everything within a Job Offer

Signed Off

Get everyone that needs to sign off the appointment.

Await Formal Acceptance

Set a date by which you require an acceptance or decline for the position.

Confirm Start Date

Mutual agreed start date working with notice period from previous job.

Create Employee File

Document the recruitment process.

Attach CV, Contact details, Notes from interview.

Start Pre Employment Checklist

What Pre employment checks do you need to run?

Contact references provided to determine information regarding previous employment is accurate.
Confirm the right to work in the UK

Prepare for First Day

Access, training, equipement,

Why create an onboarding process?

The employee onboarding process should be designed in such a way that new employees are able to feel comfortable at their workplace. It is not uncommon for new employees to experience some challenges when they first join an organization.

These challenges may include: Not knowing people or the culture of the organization. Not knowing how the company operates. Not understanding what is expected of them in their position. In order to create a comfortable and welcoming environment for new employees, the company needs to take several steps.

First, the employer needs to ensure that the employee onboarding process is well organized. This will allow the new employee to get a good start at his/her new job. Employees need to be given clear information about what is expected of them. It is important to have a detailed job description that includes all the necessary details about the responsibilities of the position.

The new employee should be given an opportunity to ask any questions that he/she may have before they are formally hired. New employees should also be shown how the company operates. They should be given an introduction to the organization’s culture. They should also be taught how to work in the organization.

Importance of new employee onboarding process

In short, you need to have an introductory meeting with each new hire that covers how things work around the office, what their responsibilities will be, etc.

Explain why you’re bringing them on and what your expectations are for their work.  The goal is to ensure they understand your expectations from the start. How they fit into the business and what role they will take in the business goals.

Is it mandatory for all employees? If not, why? Because if can mean the difference between success or failure. This should be a positive experience because there are so many benefits if you create a successful onboarding process.

What are the benefits of employee onboarding process? 

An onboarding process is an important step that every company should follow before hiring a new employee. This process is a set of actions taken by the company to get acquainted with the new employee and make them feel comfortable and at home. It helps to create a good rapport between the new employee and the company. An effective onboarding process also helps to build a strong relationship between the company and its employees. 

This is an essential step for any business as it helps in the growth of the business. There are many benefits of an effective onboarding process. Here are some of the best benefits of an effective onboarding process: 

• Positive Employee Experience – Helps to create a great impression about the company and build a strong relationship between the company and its employees.
• Increase Productivity and Performance – Having the knowledge and tools they need to be able to complete their work. Onboarding benefits have been proved to improve proficiency and productivity by over 70 percent
• Working Habit – Clearly defined expectations from the beginning
• Identify the weaknesses in the company and the employees.
• Higher employee engagement –
• Establish & Build Trust – Strengthening the communication lines between the company and its employees. 
• Employee Retention – Save money, time, and energy which it takes to recruit and rehire.

what are the 4 phases of employee onboarding

The process of bringing a new employee onboard can be thought of as four stages. 

Pre onboarding process – In a nutshell, the first stage of the onboarding process actually starts when they apply to your company. This is where you should be doing most of the work in ensuring that they are a good fit and that they understand the company culture, values, etc.

How to implement a good onboarding process for new hires. There are 4 different phases of the onboarding process:

• Orientation – Welcoming new hires and introducing them to the work environment and colleagues. The employee needs to feel comfortable working within the company creating a positive first impression for the new employee.
  This is the initial part of the onboarding process, where you introduce the new employee to the company and the organization.It usually consists of introductions to the CEO, CTO, HR, and other key members of the organization.
  You can also introduce them to the company’s product and services.
  The goal of this phase is to give the new employee a good understanding of the company’s culture, company’s mission, values, and business goals and how they can best help achieve them. 
• Onboarding – The new hire needs to be introduced to the company’s processes, systems and procedures. You will also want to make sure that they understand what their role is and what the expectations are for them.
  In order to ensure that a new hire is successful in their first few months or weeks at your company, it is important to take the time to properly train them. Role-specific training and a support structure in place.
• Integration – The new hire needs to integrate into the company’s culture. 
  This phase of the onboarding process usually takes place at about one month after the new employee has been hired. During this phase, the new employee is expected to take on more responsibility within the organization. They should be prepared to handle anything and everything that comes up during this period. You will want to make sure that the new employee is comfortable with all aspects of the business and their role.
• Retention – The final phase of the onboarding process is retention and communication is critical. This is a long-term phase. The goal is to make sure that the new employee feels like they are a part of the team, that the company has their best interest in mind, and that they will be successful. 
  This includes communicating any changes in policies, performance reviews, benefits, refresher training, new training, promotions etc. 

How to improve employee onboarding process

The purpose of this process is to get new employees familiar with the company, the culture, and their colleagues. This helps them settle into their new role quickly and smoothly. However, it can be difficult to set up a smooth onboarding process for your new team members.

If you’re struggling to set up an effective onboarding process, consider these tips and resources. How to improve your onboarding process. It’s important that new hires have a positive experience during the first few days on the job. They should feel welcomed and supported by their new team, as well as able to fit in with their new organization.

Create welcome Email / Pack – A welcome pack is an effective way to welcome new employees to your company and introduce them to the culture. It gives new employees a sense of belonging and helps them feel comfortable in their new role. Receiving a welcome email that includes the following:

• A link to your company’s website
• Your company’s mission statement
• Names of the people who will be their team leader /managers
• Working Hours
• Location, time and who will be carrying out their onboarding
• A brief outline of the onboarding process
• Buddy Scheme / Mentor
• Department and team structure. Adding images so they know who is who.
• Company Structure
• Emphasis their role with in the Business

Follow-ups and Support –  Regular follow-ups within a few days after they start work. Ask questions about their experience, how they feel about the business, and what kind of training and support they need.

Training – Make sure you provide all the information they need to get started in their new role, including any documents, manuals, and forms they need to complete. Include any topics related to the company’s mission, policies, procedures, processes and other important information that may be new to the new employee.

Orientation – Helps new employees learn about the culture and get familiar with their new workplace. This can be done either on-site or online, depending on your company’s needs. 

How long should employee onboarding last?

This question has been asked many times, but there isn’t a definitive answer. Here’s my take: The length of time to onboard employees should depend on the type of onboarding that is needed and your long term outlook. It’s been suggested that if you are giving your new hires a crash course, it should be 2 weeks to a month but…

Recruitment is costly in both time and money, so why try and make sure this is a long term investment for the business.  So when it comes to onboarding new employees, you need to ask yourself “What do I want out of this?”

Orientation – First week
Onboarding – First month or two
Integration – First year
Retention – Long term 

 You might also want to take a look at your current employee onboarding process and see if there are any gaps. All processes should be refined over time by getting feedback from people who have been through the process and information gathered at exit interviews.

Onboarding is critical because you want to make sure that your new hires are ready to hit the ground running and going to be with you long term.

We also have a client onboarding process and many other checklists to help onboard clients.