The new hire checklist: What to include at every stage

A new hire checklist is a structured set of employee onboarding items, including tasks, documents, responsibilities, and key milestones, outlining each phase of the new hire process from offer acceptance through the first 90 days on the job. 

New hire checklists serve three audiences at once: HR, hiring managers, and new employees. HR looks to them for compliance paperwork, systems and equipment setup, and other onboarding requirements. Hiring managers use them to guide introductions and early performance goals. And new hires reference them to align with expectations and ensure they have everything they need to hit the ground running. 

Here, we’ll explore why these checklists are so important and what they should include. 

Why a new hire checklist matters

A structured approach to onboarding matters because it allows new hires to spend their first week on the job actually working, instead of on a wild scramble for account access and information. Checklists reduce ramp-on time, clear up any ambiguities surrounding expectations, and even aid early retention by giving new hires a polished glimpse of the company culture.

Companies that forego new hire checklists often deal with issues like delayed system access and missed deadlines for crucial paperwork, resulting in a choppy new hire experience when employees are still forming their first impressions of the workplace. 

Common new hire checklist mistakes to avoid

Building your first checklist? Beware of these common mistakes when auditing your processes. 

Missing or unclear coverage

The least effective new hire checklists read like a half-written script. 

They omit key details or overlook important pre-requisite tasks needed for employees to start working. They list tasks so vague that no one knows what “done” means in practice. Or, worse still, they point new hires and hiring managers in the direction of old HRIS systems and onboarding platforms that were retired years ago. 

When documents lack key details or reflect stale processes, they do more harm than good. 

Poor execution and follow-through

Ownership is one of the most common oversights. Onboarding tasks get assigned to HR or IT teams rather than individuals, causing them to fall off the radar. A lack of deadlines leads to tasks being completed only when someone remembers or when a new hire starts asking questions. 

Verification is the piece teams most often skip. Everyone's been through the new-role version of this, where the box next to the access task is checked but you still can't log in on day one. Making sure someone confirms the work is done matters as much as assigning it.

New hire checklist by timeline

The smart way to organize the key elements of a new hire checklist is by phase, and the following list takes both when and what needs to happen into account.  

Before day one to first week

Two tasks in particular have sufficiently long lead times to cause disruption: background checks and hardware procurement. HR should kick off the first as soon as a conditional offer is tendered, and factor in at least a week of shipping time for the second if the new hire is remote. 

Immediately after an offer is accepted, teams should: 

• Send offer confirmation and a welcome note detailing the start date, time, and location or video link.
• Order background checks and any other required screenings.
• Order equipment and confirm shipping addresses for remote workers.
• Send new hire paperwork for candidates to complete before day one.

One week out:

• Submit access requests for email, calendar, and every role-specific system.
• Add the new hire to payroll and enroll them in benefits.
• Provision a workspace in the office or coordinate remote setup stipends.
• Send the schedule for the first week, including orientation and introductions.
• Notify the rest of the team.

On the first day:

• Verify account access by having the new hire log in. 
• Run company orientation and review the employee handbook.
• Hold the manager kickoff covering role expectations and the first-week plan.

During the first week:

• Run introductions with other cross-functional teammates.
• Set up recurring 1:1s with the hiring manager.
• Have the candidate complete any compliance and security training.
• Coordinate reasonable first deliverables to show progress and aid ramp-on.

First month and beyond

Here is where too many onboarding processes quietly stop. But it’s a pivotal phase for early retention. Here’s what to cover to keep employees engaged and succeeding. 

• Weeks 2 to 4: Role-specific training, shadowing, and progressive handoff of increasingly important work.
• 30-day mark: The first formal check-in on progress against week one goals. This is also the time to take stock of the candidate’s perception of the onboarding process, while it’s still fresh.
• 60-day mark: Expanded scope, review of achievements during the first two months, and assessment of how well the job description aligns with actual work.
• 90-day mark: Formal performance review, close out of the ramp-on plan, and goal setting aligned to the broader team’s quarterly performance review schedule.

Roles and ownership for onboarding tasks

Each onboarding task needs a named owner and a deadline; otherwise, it won't happen consistently. 

Here’s how to align ownership when multiple roles overlap. 

Core owners across HR and IT

HR

HR teams are responsible for the following: 

• Offer paperwork
• Compliance documentation
• Company policy acknowledgements
• Benefits enrollment
• Payroll setup
• General coordination 

Most of the HR-specific tasks run from the time an offer is accepted through the first two weeks. 

IT

IT handles all hardware and software provisioning, including: 

• Equipment procurement
• Software licensing
• Account creation and access
• Security setup

IT works closely with HR to spec equipment and access considerations from offer acceptance through day one on the job. 

Manager and training responsibilities

Hiring manager

Hiring managers come into the picture on day one and oversee key facets of the work new hires do through the first 90 days, like:

• Team intro
• Review company mission and best practices
• Role expectations
• Early goals and quick wins
• Check-in cadence
• Formal reviews

Training 

Training teams handle all of the following, typically completed during the first weeks on the job:

• Orientation programming
• Compliance training 
• Systems training 
• Role-specific enablement

There are two key handoff points where things can fall apart without careful planning. 

The first handoff is HR to IT; HR knows when a new hire starts, and IT needs to get the equipment and systems in place before then. The second handoff is IT to hiring manager, when IT configures access to key systems before turning over responsibility to the hiring manager. 

To solve for both, name one person to oversee first-day readiness and serve as the connective tissue across functions. 

Compliance and new hire paperwork

Compliance paperwork spans federal, state, local, and company-specific requirements. Obligations depend on the state where the employee actually works. For remote workers, that may not be where the company is headquartered. Confirm which state tax forms, new hire reporting, and labor law notices apply where your new employee works before you finalize their onboarding paperwork.

Commonly required tax forms and notices

• Form I-9: Employees must complete section 1 no later than their first day of work, and employers must complete section 2 within three business days after the employee's first day. For example, an employee who starts on Monday must have section 2 completed by Thursday.
• Form W-4: Employers should collect this before running the new employee’s payroll for the first time. 
• State withholding forms: Most states require their own version, while some accept the federal W-4. Confirm the one you need for the new hire. 
• ACA notice of coverage options: Required at the time of hire. The Department of Labor treats the requirement as satisfied if the notice is delivered within 14 days of the employee's start date.
• Labor law notices: Federal and state notices must be posted; for remote employees, send these to them directly. 

Employee records and reporting

A few other forms you’ll need for reporting and record keeping: 

• Employee information form with legal name, address, and contact details
• Direct deposit information
• Emergency contact information
• Signed handbook acknowledgement 
• Company property and equipment agreement

Employers are also required to report basic information on new employees to the state where they work within 20 days of hire, or sooner depending on the state. Some states set deadlines as short as 7 to 15 days, so confirm the rule where your employee works.

Nail the search before building the new hire checklist

The best new hire checklist in the world can’t make up for a wrong-fit candidate. That’s why having a full, qualified talent pipeline is so important.

Juicebox is the sourcing layer that sets up that robust pipeline. With Juicebox, recruiters use plain-language search to build a qualified shortlist pulled from hundreds of millions of candidate profiles across dozens of sources in seconds. Try a free search today. 

FAQs

What should be included in a new hire onboarding checklist?

Include offer confirmation and welcome outreach, compliance paperwork, payroll and benefits enrollment, equipment and system access, workplace setup, orientation and training, team introductions, and the 30-, 60-, and 90–day plan. 

How long should the onboarding process last?

Onboarding begins with offer acceptance, but it doesn’t end with the typical two-week ramp-on. Make sure managers and training teams are empowered to take the baton from HR and IT after the initial setup. Training for compliance and security takes place over the first several weeks, while hiring managers work with new employees on the 30-60-90 day plan to run formal reviews and help them ramp on to progressively important tasks. 

Who is responsible for completing the new hire checklist?

Responsibility is shared across various functions: HR, IT, managers, and training teams. One person should have a direct line of sight into all the moving parts to prevent breakdowns at key transition points.