New hire checklist template: Before the first day

Give new hires a thoughtful and warm welcome by preparing for their first day in advance. Being proactive during onboarding will help you:

• Avoid legal risks, by reminding you to submit all employment documents within deadlines.
• Focus on the most important things once your new hire arrives (e.g. New employees can meet their team instead of spending time trying to set up their corporate email.)
• Make new hires feel more comfortable, as you’ll have prepared their workspace.
• Create a friendly, collaborative environment, as current employees will know when and how to welcome their new colleague.

You can use the following new hire checklist as a guide to remind yourself of tasks to do before your new employee’s first day.

New hire paperwork to complete

• Prepare an employment contract and receive signed, if applicable. This contract is usually written as a detailed job offer that includes:
  • Job information (job title, department)
  • Work schedule
  • Length of employment
  • Compensation and benefits
  • Employee responsibilities
  • Non-disclosure agreement
  • Non-compete agreement
  • Time off policy
  • Termination conditions

• Send an offer letter. This is a document (often an email) that spells out the basics of the relationship between employer and employee. In your job offer letter or email, include:
  • Job title
  • Department
  • Name and position of direct report
  • Work schedule
  • Start date
  • Compensation
  • Benefits (brief mention)
  • Length of employment
  • Date by which candidate needs to respond to your offer

You could also attach the employment contract, where you describe terms of employment in detail.

• Complete employment forms required by your country or state law. The most common types of forms new hires fill out are:
  • W-4 form
  • I-9 form
  • State tax withholding form
  • Employee invention agreement form
  • Direct deposit form
  • Benefits forms (e.g. health insurance agreement)

Tasks to do before a new hire’s first day

• Ask new hires to send you:
  • Personal data to enter into company HRIS (e.g. ID or passport number, contact details, SSN number, tax identification number)
  • Bank account information, if you’re using direct deposit to pay employees
  • Copies of certificates and diplomas that are necessary to perform the job (e.g. for nursing or accounting positions)
  • Any food allergies or preferences they may have (e.g. vegetarian or gluten-free)
• Send new hires a welcome email that includes:
  • Arrival time on their first day
  • A copy of your office map
  • A rundown of the dress code, if you have one
  • A first day or first week agenda
• Invite new hires to join corporate accounts, including:
  • Email
  • Messaging software (e.g. Slack)
  • HRIS
  • Productivity tools (e.g. Trello, ToDoist)
  • Password security (e.g. LastPass)
• Send a new hire announcement email to all employees to make sure they give a warm welcome to their new colleague.
• Remind new hire’s manager to send a chat message announcing the new employee on their start date (e.g. on Slack, Workplace.) Make sure to mention:
  • New hire’s name and job title
  • Department/team they’ll be joining
  • A few things about their professional or academic background
  • Welcome events you may have organized (e.g. an after-work dinner)
• Send a reminder to hiring managers to make sure they prepare new employee’s first-day tasks.
• Send new hire’s data to your:
  • Accounting department, so that they add new employee to payroll
  • IT team, so that they can help them set up accounts for corporate software
  • Office Manager, so that they can set up their workstation
• Prepare your new hire’s tech, including:
  • Laptop
  • Monitor
  • Phone
  • Mouse
  • Keyboard
  • Headset
• Arrange for new hire’s ID card, building access fob and personal locker.
• Order new employee’s business cards and/or name plates.
• Ask for new hire’s T-shirt size and place an order for a work uniform and/or a company T-shirt as a welcome gift.
• Prepare and send an onboarding kit. Here’s what you could include:
  • Employee handbook
  • A welcome letter from their manager or CEO
  • Computer setup instructions
  • Stationery (e.g. notebook, pens, stickers)
  • A company t-shirt
  • A company mug
  • A copy of your organizational chart
  • A copy of a book relevant to your company or its culture
  • A guide of local points of interest (e.g. nearby cafes and restaurants)
• Prepare a tentative first day and first week agenda that covers:
  • A company overview, including mission, teams and policies
  • 1:1 meetings with manager and team members
  • Completing HR paperwork
  • Role-specific trainings
  • Product-related demos
  • Team-building activities (e.g. a group lunch)
• Assign a buddy to help new hire through first few weeks or months in the role.

Learn how Workable’s recruiting software integrates with bob, an HR, employee engagement and benefits platform.