[Onboarding and growth](https://www.teampredict.ai/templates#onboarding) # New hire onboarding checklist A five-stage onboarding checklist with 22 items for the manager, from the week before the first day to day 90, to tick off, copy or print. New hire Role Start date Manager Buddy **Before day one** Send a welcome note with the start time, the place and who to ask for Order equipment and set up accounts and access Name a buddy from the team Block time in the manager's calendar for the first day Share the plan for the first week **Day one** Welcome them in person or on a call before anything else Walk through the role and the plan for the week Introduce the team and the buddy Check that every account and tool works Hold the first one-on-one **Week one** Agree goals for day 30, day 60 and day 90 Set a recurring one-on-one Give a first small task they can finish this week Explain how the team communicates and makes decisions **The first 30 days** Hold the day 30 check-in Send the onboarding survey Introduce the key people outside the team Ask what is still unclear, and answer it **By day 90** Hold the day 60 and day 90 check-ins Review the goals and set the next ones Have a first career conversation Ask what they would change about onboarding Last updated October 14, 2026 ## An onboarding checklist gives every new hire the same good start. Onboarding is the first 90 days of a new job: the practical setup, the introductions, the first goals and the first feedback. A checklist matters because the quality of a start usually depends on which manager a person happens to get, and on how busy that manager was that week. This checklist has five stages and 22 items for the manager, from the week before the first day to day 90. The early items are logistics. The later ones are the conversations that decide whether a new hire stays: goals, check-ins and a first talk about their future. ## Here is how to use the new hire onboarding checklist in five steps. _Figure: How to use the new hire onboarding checklist in 5 steps. Step 1: Start before the first day. Step 2: Make the manager the owner. Step 3: Plan the first week in detail. Step 4: Book the check-ins now. Step 5: Close it at day 90._ 1. **Start before the first day.** Open the checklist when the offer is accepted. Equipment, access and the welcome note all need lead time. 2. **Make the manager the owner.** The people team and IT each do their items, and the manager holds the list and the dates. 3. **Plan the first week in detail.** A new hire with an empty calendar on day two starts to doubt the decision. Fill the first week, then loosen. 4. **Book the check-ins now.** Put the day 30, day 60 and day 90 check-ins in both calendars in week one, so they survive busy periods. 5. **Close it at day 90.** Finish with a review of the goals and one question: what would you change about your first three months? ## Here is a worked example with invented names. Take an invented company, Brambleworth Logistics, which hires Amara Diallo as a transport planner. Her manager, Felix Novak, opens the checklist the day she accepts. The first stage shows that the planning software licence takes five working days to arrive, so Felix orders it at once. On day one her laptop and access work, a buddy sits with her, and her calendar for the week is full. In week one they agree three goals, one for each check-in. _Figure: A filled-in example. Brambleworth Logistics, an invented company: one new hire. New hire: Amara Diallo, transport planner. Manager: Felix Novak. Found before day one: The planning software licence takes five working days. Day one: Laptop and access working, buddy assigned, calendar full for the week. Week one: Three goals agreed, one for each check-in. Day 30 feedback: Depot visits helped most. Nobody explained how route changes get approved. Change for the next hire: A depot visit and the route-change process are now part of week one._ At day 30 Amara says the depot visits helped most and that nobody had explained how route changes get approved. Felix adds a depot visit and that explanation to week one for the next hire. ## These mistakes spoil onboarding. - Treating onboarding as day one and the paperwork, then leaving the new hire alone. - Ordering equipment and access on the first day, so the first week is spent waiting. - Giving a new hire nothing to finish in the first week. - Letting the check-ins slip because the new hire seems fine. - Never asking new hires what onboarding was like, so the same gaps repeat. ## People ask these questions about onboarding checklists. ### What should a new hire onboarding checklist include? The practical setup before the first day, a planned first day and first week, goals for the first 30, 60 and 90 days, regular one-on-ones, check-ins at each milestone and a way to collect the new hire's feedback. Each item needs an owner and a date. ### How long should onboarding last? Plan for 90 days. The first week covers setup and introductions, the first month covers learning the job, and the second and third months cover doing it with less and less help. Complex roles can take longer to reach full speed. ### Who is responsible for onboarding a new employee? The hiring manager owns it. The people team handles records and company-wide introductions, IT handles equipment and access, and a buddy answers everyday questions. Without one owner, each assumes another has it covered. ### What is the difference between onboarding and orientation? Orientation is the first day or two: paperwork, a tour, the company basics. Onboarding is the whole first three months, including goals, feedback and becoming part of the team. Orientation is one stage of onboarding. ### Why does onboarding matter for retention? The first months are when a new hire decides whether the job is what they were told it would be. A disorganized start gives them a reason to doubt it, and an early exit means paying the cost of hiring twice. ## These glossary terms explain the ideas behind it. - [New-hire turnover](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#new-hire-turnover) New-hire turnover is the share of a hiring cohort that leaves within a set early window, usually the first ninety days or the first year. - [New-hire retention](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/new-hire-retention) New-hire retention is the share of a hiring cohort still employed after a set milestone, commonly ninety days, six months or one year. - [Cost of a bad hire](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/cost-of-a-bad-hire) The cost of a bad hire is what a hire who does not work out costs you in total, from sourcing and onboarding through lost productivity, manager time, exit and re-hiring. - [One-on-one](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/one-on-one) A one-on-one is a recurring private conversation between a manager and a direct report about the work, the obstacles and the person's growth. - [Employee retention](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/employee-retention) Employee retention is a company's ability to keep the people it wants to keep, for as long as the business needs them. ## These pages on this site go deeper. - [Retention rate calculator](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/employee-retention-rate-calculator) - [15 employee retention strategies](https://www.teampredict.ai/blog/employee-retention-strategies) ## These templates pair well with this one. - [30-60-90 day check-in template](https://www.teampredict.ai/templates/30-60-90-day-check-in) Three questions and a status at day 30, day 60 and day 90, plus a goals table. - [New hire onboarding survey template](https://www.teampredict.ai/templates/onboarding-survey) Eight rated statements and three open questions for week one, day 30 or day 90. - [One-on-one meeting agenda template](https://www.teampredict.ai/templates/one-on-one-meeting-agenda) Six timed parts for a 30-minute one-on-one, with their topics first. ## Find out what one wrong hire costs. Lost productivity, recruiting, onboarding, management time, the exit and the backfill: the free calculator totals it up. [Calculate the cost of a bad hire](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/cost-of-a-bad-hire) Free, no signup required. About TeamPredict TeamPredict is retention early-warning software that flags resignation risk from public LinkedIn signals, so you have lead time to keep the people you want to keep. [See how TeamPredict works](https://www.teampredict.ai/retention-software) [Back to the HR templates](https://www.teampredict.ai/templates), where all 22 are listed.