The ultimate onboarding checklist for small business owners
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Check out our HR HubFirst impressions count. Creating a great onboarding experience for your new employees is really important.
A bad onboarding experience will disengage them, and they’ll likely think they’ve made a bad decision in joining the company.
A great onboarding experience will engage them and they’re more likely to perform in a shorter time scale.
When the cost of recruiting and replacing employees is so high, you cannot afford to disengage employees in this way due to poor organisation. It’s seriously costing you thousands of £££.
And when it comes to new employees, a brilliant onboarding experience can transform a nervous newcomer into your next superstar.
To help you to think about what a great onboarding experience looks like, we’ve created a templated checklist for you to follow.
Pre-arrival (1–2 weeks before start date)
- Send a formal offer letter and employment contract
- Receive the signed contract and return of acceptance
- Confirm the start date and working hours
- Complete all necessary pre-employment checks (e.g., references, DBS (if applicable), right-to-work)
- Set up payroll and request a P45 (or new starter form if not available)
- Create an employee profile in your HR/payroll system
- Assign a line manager and onboarding buddy
- Agree and document first-month objectives with their manager
- Prepare workstation, equipment and IT access (email, systems, phone, etc.)
- Share the company handbook, policies and welcome pack
- Email a welcome message
Day 1
- Greet them personally on arrival
- Conduct a welcome meeting with their manager
- Complete the right-to-work check and ID verification
- Confirm emergency contact and personal details
- Give a tour of the premises (kitchen, loos, fire exits, etc.)
- Introduce them to team members and key people they’ll work with
- Ensure that they can access their email, calendar and systems
- Provide health and safety briefing
- Review their role, responsibilities and first-month goals
- Go for a welcome coffee/lunch to ease nerves
- Give them time to settle in and explore at their own pace
Week 1
- Schedule a daily check-in (even if brief) with their manager
- Assign their first achievable, meaningful task or project
- Provide training on tools, systems and processes that they’ll be using
- Set clear expectations for the probation period and how performance will be reviewed
- Introduce them to people in other departments or teams that they’ll collaborate with
- Confirm any benefits, holiday entitlement and how to request time off
- Ensure that all HR paperwork is complete and saved securely
- Create space for questions and feedback at the end of the week
Month 1
- Conduct a formal 1:1 check-in to discuss how things are going
- Revisit first-month objectives and provide feedback
- Share deeper insight into company goals, values and strategy
- Help them to build connections—invite to team lunches, events or group projects
- Identify training needs and offer additional support
- Start discussing development opportunities and future growth
- Gather their feedback on the onboarding process so far
- Celebrate early wins and contributions
Month 3 (probation review)
- Review performance against agreed goals
- Discuss what’s going well and where support is needed
- Confirm whether the probation period will be passed, extended or not completed
- Formalise permanent employment, if successful
- Agree next steps for growth, development and future objectives
Need help with creating a great onboarding experience your new team?
Get in touch and we’ll be able to help you.
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