Onboarding Guide
In order for someone to have a good first day, you actually have to start planning day one in the hiring process. Politically, who needs to have bought into this new role and this specific hire? Who does this role report to - and does this role have any direct reports? Are there any influential people who, if allied from the start, would help this person accelerate their success? If not embedded into the hiring process, how do you ask them for input, gather feedback, and keep them in the loop so that they are ready to help this new hire upon their arrival?
Anyone above, below, and next to the new role needs to know who this person is, why they were hired, and how this will impact them. Once you have a signed contract and a start day, then it’s time to dig in and get ready.
HR basics - get them done early
What paperwork must be completed before the first day? It really stinks to be worried about when health insurance is going to kick in or wondering if your paperwork won’t be filed in time to get that first paycheck. Here are some typical HR documents to review before the first day:
Tax forms (W-4 or W-9)
Employment contract
Non-disclosure, non-compete, or other legal documents
Employee handbook
Benefits literature
Make sure you send some documents for your new hire to read ahead of time. It’s a lot to process! Then have an actual person help answer questions and offer to walk through the forms, individually, as the employee fills in them.
Establish a 30-60-90 feedback timeline
The truth is, you never know whether or not someone will be a great fit until they are actually on the team motoring alongside you. It’s a great practice to set up the first 90 days as a trial period - a way for both of you to test out if things are working as well as hoped from the interview process. New hires should know about the 30-60-90 day review process before they start so that it’s not a surprise. It’s a great way to start building up a feedback rapport and, if it’s clear that someone is not a great fit, it’s enormously useful to have the checkpoints in place from the start for those conversations.
Send them some swag
Who doesn’t love a welcome present? Mail something branded to new hires, if you have time, with a quick “welcome to the team” note. If you don’t have time to mail it, you can always have a present waiting on their desk when they arrive.
Create a schedule and start mid-week if you can
It’s helpful to provide a lot of structure for the first two days and to have new hires start on a Wednesday or Thursday so that they have a couple of days to get introduced and oriented - and then they have a break to adjust any systems they need to in order to gear up for a full week. It’s also exhausting to start a new job, so starting mid-week makes that first sprint more manageable.
Customize the experience
Everyone is different. Some people would rather come in quietly and assess the scene, while others prefer a big welcome. Asking for preferences up front sets the stage that who you are really matters to us. Little things go a long way like asking for any dietary restrictions or allergies.
Things you may want to ask your new hire in advance:
Do you have any preferences on office supplies and materials (see below)?
Would you like to edit or revise the welcome email I’m going to send about your arrival?
How would you like to meet everyone? Would you like for us to host an “open house” for you to meet everyone? If so, do you have a favorite snack I could get?
How do you learn best? Do you prefer to read first, then discuss?
Is there anything I should know as I set up your first week?
What are you most nervous or anxious about?
Make a plan for lunch
Although a lot of people think it’s a really nice gesture to plan a lunch for a new hire on their first day, it’s important to ask for their preferences on this one. Explain what the options are for lunch (is there a cafeteria? A microwave?) and ask the new hire if they’d like for you to organize something special - or keep that time for themselves. Make sure they know that whatever they choose is fine. Introverts will be grateful that one of the options is a quiet lunch alone.
Tactical support: tools and passwords
On a very basic level: it’s helpful to know exactly when the new hire will arrive at work (physically or virtually) and make sure they have access to the building or virtual company hub. It’s a really nice touch to have someone waiting for a new hire to make these first few moments as smooth as possible. What practical tools and materials will allow this person to get moving as quickly as possible? Can you pre-order this person’s laptop so that it will be ready on day one? Can their favorite office supplies be waiting for them on their desk? Can you make a cheat sheet of tools the company uses, links, and passwords?
Two of the most practical documents you can give someone are a face directory so that they can easily match names and faces and find people and an organizational chart, so they can contextualize how everyone connects in the organization.
Offer a tour: Intros + basic human needs
Back in the day when we were all in physical buildings, it was helpful to walk the floor with the new person and briefly introduce them to everyone. Show them the bathroom, the water fountain, and make sure they understand how to use everything in the kitchen. It’s important to give everyone on the floor a heads-up that this is happening at least 24 hours in advance so they aren’t annoyed that you’re interrupting and making noise. If your hire is virtual, it takes a bit more coordination to create these casual introductions, but you could recreate the sentiment of a walk-around by setting up 15-minute speed chats with a bunch of colleagues individually or in small groups.
Schedule quiet time
First days are really overwhelming - especially for introverts. Make sure that there’s quiet time built in so that they can get settled in the office, set up their email, review documents, and retreat from interaction if it’s exhausting.
Start with the big picture
We’ve found that it’s extremely valuable to give all new hires - regardless of their seniority - the history and context of the company and to sprinkle in biographical information about who joined the team when. Within the first few days, try to provide enough background information that you can eventually segue into where the new hire fits into the organization, what the annual and quarterly goals are, and how they will help us get there.
Here are some documents you may want to review together:
Organizational history
Organizational chart and its history
Culture and values
Five year vision
Annual + quarterly goals
Set up clear manager expectations
Since the manager is the person who will be contributing to a new hire’s performance review, it’s important to set that relationship up with a strong base from the start. Managers should make sure to ask their new hires about how they like to receive feedback. It’s useful to show a new hire what the review process looks like early on as well, so they know how they will be evaluated.
As a manager, we encourage you to make yourself available daily to any new hires every day during the first week. It’s also helpful to schedule frequent meetings during the first month to help with the learning curve, and then settle into an ongoing 1:1 meeting rhythm once the new hire feels ready.
Here are a few things managers may want to discuss in the first few meetings:
Explain how you like to run regular check-ins and meetings
Describe what you want the employee to do to prepare for these meetings
Do you prefer to have materials and an agenda sent in advance? How far in advance?
How do you like to communicate? How often? How does someone get your attention when urgent help is needed?
What format is best for you to receive information?
What’s your schedule like?
What level of detail is helpful for you to know about what things?
Explain what success looks like
It’s helpful to define success so that everyone knows where to aim. What does it look like to achieve individual and organizational goals? On a daily and weekly basis, what does it look like to be successful in meetings? What level of preparation is important? Who is doing a great job already for the new hire to observe?
Make internal and external introductions
Who will be important for this new hire to know? How can you set them up for success with a glowing and warm introduction? We encourage you to make a list of all internal and external stakeholders and, once the new hire is ready to take meetings, make a handful of e-introductions each day until you’ve completed the list. This allows your new hire to pace themselves with responses and meetings. When it makes sense, make sure to bring the new person into meetings where key people will already be convening, to make it easier for them to follow up and establish their own relationships.
Consider setting new hires up with a buddy
Although not necessary, it’s a really nice touch to ask a veteran teammate to be this new hire’s buddy. Make sure you clearly explain what is expected of the role for both parties. You may want to have the buddy introduce themselves in the first few days and then set up a regular touchpoint for the first month. The benefit of a buddy is that it’s a safe person to ask questions that you may not want to ask your manager. It can make a huge difference to have someone you can ask subtle questions about relationships or the dress code. If it’s safe to do so and you have the funds, it’s lovely to give this buddy pair some funding to go out to lunch or coffee a few times together.