Your team invests a lot of time and energy into recruiting and hiring a new employee. A large part of new employee satisfaction is ensuring they are onboarded properly. Here is a complete employee onboarding checklist for you to make sure your new team member feels prepared for success.

1. Send a Pre-Arrival email 

Once your new employee has signed their contract and has an official start date, make sure you send them a “pre-arrival” email with all of the information they will need for their first day. This email is essential in making sure your new employee feels prepared and enthusiastic for their start date. In the case that they have only spoken with a recruiter and a hiring manager up until then, it will also put them in touch with the person they can ask for any onboarding or first day questions.

Here are some things you can include in that pre-arrival email:

• Introduction sentence congratulating the employee on receiving the role

• Office address and any information they will need to access the office

• What to bring to the office their first day

• Any paperwork they will need to fill out before their first day

• Office dress code

• Employee handbook

2. Send a Welcome email 

A welcome email will be on their start date. It should come from the HR team. The welcome email will welcome the new employee to the company as well as introduce them to the rest of the team. A welcome email could include:

• Picture of the new employee

• Link to their LinkedIn profile to encourage other team members to connect

• Their role and department

• Fun fact about the new employee

3. Make sure they have the tools they need 

Depending on their role, part of your new employee onboarding checklist will be to make sure they have all of the tools they need to perform their job. This could include a computer, uniforms business cards, specific software, etc. Make sure you speak with the new employee’s manager to determine what they will need on their first day to be successful in their new role.

Read: Are Company Uniforms Necessary? Everything You Need to Know

4. Prepare their welcome kit

Welcome kits are useful for a number of reasons and should be included in your employee onboarding checklist. They help improve employee satisfaction by making them feel welcome at their company since day one. If created correctly, they can also instill company values and create a sense of company loyalty with your new employee.

To be effective, welcome kits should include a mix of important onboarding information and fun company swag.

Read: What to Include in a Welcome Kit for New Employees 

5. Plan out their first week 

Managers should have a plan for their new employee, but so should HR. Make sure your new team member is scheduled for training, classes, or anything else that they will need to complete their first week.

Also, try to include some fun activities. Maybe a one-on-one coffee with the department head or a team activity to get to know their new coworkers.

Interested in receiving more tips on how to increase employee satisfaction? Remember to subscribe to our newsletter. 

6. Plan a first-day lunch 

Make sure the new employee has lunch plans for their first day.

Does the entire team work in the office? As a step in your employee onboarding checklist, maybe plan a first-day lunch with the employee’s new team. This will foster a sense of team and collaboration from day one. Is the team unavailable for lunch? Have a HR employee take the new employee out to lunch. Since they will already be in contact with the employee from before their start date, they will be a familiar face for the new employee.

7. Introduce them

If their immediate manager is in meetings on the new employee’s first day, take the opportunity to introduce them to their team members. Make sure you also introduce them to other departments they might not have as much interaction with. Introducing your new employee will make them feel a lot more welcome on their first day.

Are there other new people joining the same day? Make sure to introduce them to each other and they can ask each other “newbie” questions!

8. Explain more perks of the job 

Are there some perks of working with your company that weren’t explained in the hiring process? Make sure to create a “Guide to Company’s Perks” for your new employee. These can help instill company values from day one and also ensure your new employee feels knowledgeable about their new company.

Some of these perks might include:

• Travel stipends or discount programs

• Company Health and Wellness programs

• Different company cultural activities they can get involved in

• Referral bonuses

9. Check in with them

As you can see in this checklist, there will be so much going on for your new employee. Make sure you reach out to them and check in with them throughout their first week. Ask if they have any questions or if they need anything. They will appreciate the opportunity to ask.

10. Get feedback 

Hiring and onboarding should be a continual process of improvement. After their first week or two, ask the new employee for any feedback on their interview process and onboarding. If you believe they had a really great interviewing experience, ask them to leave an interview review on your company’s Glassdoor page to increase your visibility.

Ready to start planning your employee onboarding program? Download here your own Employee Onboarding Checklist: