Onboarding Checklist for Managers: How to Set New Hires Up for Success

A structured onboarding checklist is essential for managers to successfully integrate new hires

This guide offers a detailed timeline, breaking down crucial steps from pre-start preparations like defining roles and setting up tech, to first-day welcomes and first-week training. It also covers the critical 30-60-90 day period, emphasizing regular check-ins, performance reviews, and relationship building. By following this checklist, managers can provide a consistent and engaging experience that sets employees up for long-term success, a process that can be greatly enhanced with automation tools.

A great onboarding experience is critical for setting new employees up for long-term success, and managers are at the heart of this process. But without a clear plan, it’s easy to miss key steps that can make or break a new hire’s first impression. A structured, step-by-step onboarding checklist ensures every new team member receives a consistent, welcoming, and effective introduction to your company. It transforms onboarding from a series of administrative tasks into a strategic process that boosts engagement, accelerates productivity, and improves retention. This guide provides a comprehensive, timeline-based checklist designed to help managers create a seamless journey from day one to day 90 and beyond.

Why Managers Need a Structured Onboarding Checklist

While HR lays the groundwork for compliance and company-wide orientation, the manager owns the new hire’s daily experience and integration into the team. An unstructured process can lead to confusion, disengagement, and a longer ramp-up time. Research consistently shows that a positive onboarding experience is directly linked to higher employee retention and engagement. In fact, winning over employees in their first 90 days is a key battleground for HR leaders today.

A checklist provides the necessary framework to ensure no critical touchpoints are missed. It helps managers:

1. Create Consistency: Every new hire receives the same high-quality, comprehensive welcome, regardless of the team or manager.
2. Set Clear Expectations: From day one, new employees understand their role, responsibilities, and how their work contributes to team and company goals.
3. Foster Connection: A checklist prompts managers to schedule crucial introductions and social events, helping new hires build relationships with colleagues and stakeholders early on.
4. Save Time and Reduce Stress: By outlining every step, a checklist removes the guesswork for busy managers, allowing them to focus on building rapport rather than scrambling to remember administrative tasks.

A well-executed checklist is a key component of any effective employee onboarding program.

Why Managers Need a Structured Onboarding Checklist

Onboarding isn’t a one-day event; it’s a journey. Breaking the process down by timeline helps managers prioritize tasks and provide support when it’s needed most. Here is a detailed checklist to guide you through each phase.

Before the New Hire’s First Day

Preparation is everything. The work you do before your new team member arrives sets the stage for a smooth and welcoming first day.

1. Coordinate Pre-boarding Communications: Work with HR to ensure all necessary paperwork is completed beforehand. Send a welcome email a week before their start date, sharing key information like the first-day schedule, dress code, and where to go (or log in). A message from you, the manager, adds a personal touch and builds excitement.
2. Define Role Clarity & Goals: Finalize the new hire’s job description, key responsibilities, and initial performance goals. Prepare a 30-60-90 day plan to outline expectations for their first three months. This clarity is fundamental to their success.
3. Set Up Workspace, Tech, and System Access: Ensure their physical or virtual workspace is fully equipped. Request and confirm access to all necessary systems, software, and tools, including email, communication platforms (like Slack or Teams), and any project management software. Nothing says “we weren’t ready for you” like a first day spent waiting for IT.
4. Schedule Introductory Meetings: Proactively fill their first-week calendar with brief introductory meetings. Schedule 1:1s with yourself, key team members, and cross-functional collaborators. This helps them start building their internal network immediately.

First Day Checklist

The first day is all about making your new hire feel welcome, informed, and connected. The goal is to ease their nerves and reinforce their decision to join your team.

1. A Warm Welcome & Introductions: Be there to greet them personally when they arrive. Introduce them to the entire team, and perhaps organize a morning coffee gathering to break the ice.
2. Office Tour (Physical or Virtual): Give them a tour of the office, pointing out key areas like the kitchen, restrooms, and meeting rooms. For remote hires, provide a virtual tour of your digital communication tools, explaining which channels are used for what.
3. Policy & Compliance Overview: While HR will cover the details, briefly review team-specific processes and essential company policies they need to know right away.
4. Assign an Onboarding Buddy/Mentor: Pair them with a friendly and knowledgeable team member who can answer informal questions and help them navigate the social dynamics of the workplace.

First Week Checklist

During the first week, the focus shifts from orientation to integration and initial learning.

1. One-on-Ones with Team Members: Ensure the scheduled 1:1s take place. These meetings give the new hire a deeper understanding of their colleagues’ roles and how they will collaborate.
2. Begin Initial Training: Start any job-specific training sessions. Don’t overwhelm them; instead, create a structured training plan that builds from basic to more complex tasks.
3. Host a Team Lunch or Social Event: A relaxed social setting is a great way to help the new hire bond with the team on a personal level.
4. Initial Feedback Touchpoint: At the end of the week, have an informal check-in. Ask them how their first week went, what they’ve learned, and what questions they have. This opens the door for ongoing, two-way feedback.

30-60-90 Day Checklist

Onboarding doesn’t end after the first week. The first three months are crucial for reinforcing learning, monitoring progress, and ensuring the new hire is on a path to success. A strong onboarding strategy relies on this extended support.

1. Schedule Regular Check-ins: Maintain a weekly 1:1 meeting cadence to provide ongoing support, answer questions, and monitor progress against their 30-60-90 day plan.
2. Review Performance Goals: At the 30, 60, and 90-day marks, formally review their progress. Discuss achievements, address challenges, and set goals for the next phase.
3. Encourage Peer Relationships and Networking: Actively encourage them to continue building relationships across the organization. Suggest coffee chats with colleagues from other departments to help them understand the broader business.
4. Gather Feedback on the Onboarding Experience: Ask for their honest feedback on the onboarding process itself. This not only makes them feel heard but also provides valuable insights to help you improve the employee onboarding experience for future hires.

How to Use (and Automate) Your Manager Checklist

A downloadable, editable checklist is a great starting point. You can adapt it to fit your team’s specific needs and use it to ensure a consistent process for every new hire. However, manual checklists can be difficult to manage at scale. As teams grow, it becomes challenging for managers to keep track of every task for every new employee, leading to missed steps and an inconsistent experience.

This is where automation comes in. Onboarding automation tools, like Enboarder, can transform your checklist from a static document into a dynamic, interactive journey. Instead of manually tracking tasks, the system sends automated nudges and reminders to managers, new hires, and their buddies at just the right time. For instance, an employee onboarding software can automatically schedule check-in meetings, send welcome messages, and deliver training content, freeing managers to focus on the human side of onboarding: building connection, providing coaching, and fostering a sense of belonging.

Empowering Managers with the Right Tools

Ultimately, managers are the key to a successful onboarding experience. Providing them with a structured checklist and the right tools is one of the most impactful investments an organization can make. A checklist provides clarity and consistency, while automation removes the administrative burden, ensuring that even the busiest managers can deliver a world-class welcome. By combining onboarding best practices with powerful technology, you can empower your managers to not just onboard new hires, but to truly integrate them into the fabric of your organization, setting them up for success from day one and beyond.