New hire first day checklist

The following checklists will help you kick off a positive onboarding experience for your new hires:

HR team: tasks to do on a new hire’s first day

• Prepare your new hire’s workstation before they arrive. Consider decorating their desk with:
  • Your employee handbook
  • An onboarding kit or a welcome gift
  • A welcome letter from their manager or the CEO
  • An agenda for their first day
  • A nameplate or employee ID
  • A set of business cards
  • Necessary office equipment, including a computer and a phone
• Make sure someone from your team enthusiastically greets your new hire when they arrive and walks them to their desk. This person could be:
  • A member of the HR team (e.g the recruiter that new hires already know)
  • Your office manager
  • New hire’s manager
• Give new hires a tour of your office.
• Help new hires fill out HR paperwork:
  • Provide digital or physical copies of forms
  • Explain terms of agreement (e.g. on health insurance and benefits documents)
  • Answer any questions your new hires may have
• Present your key company policies.
• At the end of the day, check back with new hires to learn how their first day went. Ask them:
  • How did your first day go?
  • What do you think of the company and your team?
  • Do you need any clarity on our policies?
  • Do you have everything you need? (e.g. hardware, stationery, etc)
  • How has the first day lined up with your expectations of the job?
  • Do you have any questions?

Hiring manager: tasks to do on a new hire’s first day

• Introduce your new hire to your team members in-person and to the company via email or company messaging software.
• Make sure your new hire’s computer station is up and running. Check whether the IT team has:
  • Set up new hire’s accounts (e.g. email)
  • Installed software and applications, including anti-virus systems
  • Shared necessary manuals
• Run a role-specific training. Train new hires on:
  • Their main responsibilities
  • The team structure (names, roles, duties and organizational chart)
  • Job-specific tools
  • The team’s objectives
• Schedule meetings for your new hire with team leaders they will collaborate with.
• Assign first tasks to your new hire. Make sure to:
  • Offer guidance, as needed
  • Provide resources that your new hire is likely to use (e.g. reports, spreadsheets and glossaries)
  • Clarify questions that may arise
• Assign your new hire a work buddy to help them adjust to their new workplace.
• Invite your new hire to a group lunch to help them get to know other employees.
• Give your new hire an overview of the first week and the first month on the job.
• Make sure to set aside time for new hires to ask any questions they might have.