TL;DR:
Have accounts, equipment and a first-week plan ready before the first day.
Schedule the people they should meet, and say why each conversation matters.
Give small real tasks early, with a named person to ask.
A new teammate arrives on Monday and finds no laptop login, no calendar invitations and nobody sure what to hand them first. They spend the morning waiting and conclude, fairly, that no one expected them.
Good onboarding is mostly preparation done a few days earlier. This article gives a checklist you can build in a shared document or a spreadsheet, plus a worked two-week plan.
Before day one
Accounts: email, chat, calendar, the tools they will use daily, and any shared folders. Create them early and test that the login works.
Equipment: laptop or device, charger, and any access cards or keys, if relevant.
A welcome message the week before: when and where to arrive, who will meet them, and what to wear or bring.
Their manager's calendar blocked for the first day.
A named buddy, a teammate who is not their manager, who answers small questions.
Never ask a new hire to share a password in chat, and have them set their own on first login. Check with whoever manages accounts before granting access to anything sensitive.
Steps for building the plan
List what they must be able to do: Write three to five things the person should be able to do by the end of two weeks. These come from the job, not from a generic template.
Map the people: List who they should meet and why: their manager, buddy, the teammates whose work touches theirs, and someone from a neighboring team.
Pick first tasks: Choose small tasks with a clear finish that use real work. A first win in the first week builds confidence.
Schedule check-ins: Plan short regular meetings with the manager, such as at the end of each day in week one and weekly after that, so questions do not pile up.
Worked example: the first two weeks for a new teammate
Say a support specialist starts on a Monday. The details below are an example of the shape, not a rule.
When | What happens |
|---|---|
Day 1 | Welcome with manager, accounts check, meet buddy, tour of the tools, read the team's help articles |
Day 2 | Shadow a teammate answering customers; write down questions |
Day 3 | Meet the person who owns the product; practice replies in a test inbox |
Day 4 | Answer a few real questions with the buddy reviewing before sending |
Day 5 | Check-in with manager: what is clear, what is not |
Week 2 | Own a small queue with review; update one help article; meet two neighboring teams |
Count it: five days in week one plus a full second week gives 10 working days, and the plan puts a real task on day 4. By the end of week 2 the person has met their manager, buddy, product owner and two neighboring teams, which is the five conversations your list called for.
Check-ins that catch problems early
At the end of each of the first days, ask three things: what went well, what was confusing and what do you need tomorrow? Write the answers down. If the same confusion shows up twice, fix the document or the process, not the person.
At the end of two weeks, compare with your three to five goals. If something is missing, extend the plan rather than guessing. Ask the new hire what you should change for the next one.
Mistakes to avoid
Starting with a pile of reading and no people.
Leaving the manager's calendar full on day one.
Giving only huge tasks, or only trivial ones.
Assuming the new hire will ask when stuck. Many will not, so ask them.
Making the first tasks real
A good first task is small, has a clear end, and touches real work, such as updating one help article or answering five tickets with review. It teaches the tools and the team's standards at once, and gives the person something they can point to after a week.
Avoid giving only reading. People remember what they do, and a new hire who has shipped one small thing feels part of the team. Pair each task with the person who can answer questions about it, and say who that is when you assign it.
A short list for the manager
Print or copy the list below for the first morning, and tick items off with the new hire so both of you see the same list.
Logins work, including chat, calendar and shared files.
They know where to sit or which link to join each day.
They have met their buddy and know how to ask for help.
They know their first task and who reviews it.
Next check-in is on both calendars.
Doing it faster
Keep the checklist as a template you copy for each hire and improve after each one. DuckyHelper can look at your screen and help you find a setting in an unfamiliar tool when you ask out loud, which can help during the first days. Your manager and buddy remain the main source of answers.
Frequently asked questions
How long should onboarding last?
It depends on the role. Two weeks covers the basics for many jobs, and learning continues beyond that. Plan check-ins for at least the first month.
What if the new hire is remote?
Do the same things, with more video calls and written instructions, and make sure the buddy reaches out first.
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