Checklists
Employee Onboarding Checklist
Most onboarding does not fail on the big things. It fails because the laptop arrived on day three, nobody was named to meet them, and the probation date was noticed a month after it passed. This is the full sequence, with an owner against every line, so it survives whoever happens to be running it.
Who it is for
- HR managers and HR executives in companies of 20–500 people
- Founders and operations leads who are still doing HR themselves
- Reporting managers receiving a new joiner
- Anyone whose onboarding currently lives in one person’s head
What it helps with
- Give a new joiner a first day that looks organised
- Stop documents going permanently uncollected
- Get the joiner onto payroll before the cut-off rather than after
- Make sure probation is reviewed on time and the decision is recorded
- Hand the whole process to someone else without rewriting it
Before they join
Most of what makes a first day go well happens in the week before it. This is the part that gets skipped when a joining date moves forward.
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offer accepted in writing, and the acceptance saved to their file | HR | ||
| Joining date confirmed with both the candidate and the reporting manager | HR | ||
| Background and reference checks completed — or consciously waived, and noted | HR | ||
| Document checklist sent to the candidate with a deadline, not just a list | HR | ||
| Relieving date from the previous employer checked against our joining date | HR | ||
| Reporting line, team and seat confirmed | Reporting manager | ||
| A buddy named for the first week, and told they have been named | Reporting manager | ||
| Laptop, phone and tools raised with IT at least five working days ahead | HR | ||
| Email address, groups and system accounts requested | HR | ||
| Welcome email sent: joining time, address, dress code, parking, who to ask for | HR | ||
| Induction slots booked in the calendar with everyone who is needed | HR | ||
| Payroll cut-off checked — does this joining date make this month’s run? | Payroll |
Information and documents
Collect these once, completely. Chasing a missing certificate in month three is how a personnel file ends up permanently incomplete.
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signed offer and appointment paperwork returned and filed | HR | ||
| PAN card copy | HR | ||
| Aadhaar copy | HR | ||
| Passport-size photographs | HR | ||
| Educational certificates — highest qualification at minimum | HR | ||
| Relieving letter and experience letter from the previous employer | HR | ||
| Last three payslips, where the salary was fitted to a previous CTC | HR | ||
| UAN from the previous employer, or a declaration that this is a first job | Payroll | ||
| PF declaration and nomination forms completed and signed | Payroll | ||
| Gratuity nomination completed | Payroll | ||
| ESIC details collected, where the employee is covered | Payroll | ||
| Emergency contact and blood group recorded | HR | ||
| Permanent and current address recorded | HR | ||
| Personal email and mobile confirmed — they will need both after they leave | HR |
Payroll and bank details
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank account number and IFSC collected, and the account name matches | Payroll | ||
| Cancelled cheque or first page of a bank statement collected | Payroll | ||
| Salary structure recorded against the offer, and approved | Payroll | ||
| Tax regime recorded as the employee declared it — HR does not choose it | Payroll | ||
| Investment declaration form issued, with its deadline stated | Payroll | ||
| Reimbursement categories and the claim process explained | Payroll | ||
| Added to the payroll master before the cut-off, not on payday | Payroll | ||
| Attendance and leave record opened, with opening balances set | HR |
Workspace and access
Access late is the single most common thing new joiners remember about a bad first week.
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat, desk and access card ready | Admin | ||
| Laptop imaged and encrypted, handed over against a signed asset record | IT | ||
| Email account live and tested before the first day, not on it | IT | ||
| Added to the right groups, channels and shared calendars | IT | ||
| Access granted to the systems the role needs — and only those | IT | ||
| Software licences assigned | IT | ||
| VPN and two-factor set up and tested | IT | ||
| Phone, SIM or other equipment issued and recorded on the asset register | Admin |
Day one
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A named person is there to receive them — by name, not "someone from HR" | Reporting manager | ||
| Welcome and introductions to the immediate team | Reporting manager | ||
| Tour: exits, washrooms, pantry, first aid, security | Admin | ||
| Handbook or policy pack shared, and the acknowledgement recorded | HR | ||
| Leave and attendance explained, including how to actually apply | HR | ||
| Pay date, payslip access and who to ask about pay explained | Payroll | ||
| Code of conduct and the POSH policy explained, acknowledgement recorded | HR | ||
| IT and security basics: passwords, data handling, what not to install | IT | ||
| First-week plan shared in writing | Reporting manager | ||
| Photograph, seat and directory entry updated | HR |
First week
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role expectations and what month one looks like, in writing | Reporting manager | ||
| Introduced to the people they will work with in other teams | Reporting manager | ||
| Trained on the tools and systems the role actually uses | Reporting manager | ||
| First real piece of work assigned — small enough to finish | Reporting manager | ||
| Buddy check-in held | Buddy | ||
| Any documents still missing chased and closed out | HR | ||
| They can see their own payslip, leave balance and attendance | HR | ||
| End-of-week conversation: what is still unclear? | Reporting manager |
First 30, 60 and 90 days
Three dates in a calendar, set on the day they join. A probation review that happens because somebody noticed the date has already gone wrong.
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 30 — probation goals agreed and written down | Reporting manager | ||
| Day 30 — first feedback conversation held, and noted | Reporting manager | ||
| Day 30 — HR check-in, held separately from the manager | HR | ||
| Day 60 — progress against the goals reviewed, and gaps named plainly | Reporting manager | ||
| Day 60 — training or support needs acted on, not just noted | Reporting manager | ||
| Day 90 — probation review held BEFORE the due date | Reporting manager | ||
| Day 90 — decision recorded: confirm, extend or exit, with reasons | HR | ||
| Day 90 — confirmation letter issued where confirmed | HR | ||
| Day 90 — any salary or role change passed to payroll with its effective date | Payroll |
Probation follow-up
| Task | Owner | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probation end date diarised on the joining date, not remembered | HR | ||
| Manager reminded two weeks before the date | HR | ||
| The review conversation written down, whatever the outcome | HR | ||
| If extended: new end date, the reasons, and what must change — in writing | HR | ||
| If confirmed: benefits, leave and policy changes that start on confirmation applied | HR | ||
| Records and payroll updated on the effective date | Payroll |
How to use it
- Copy the sheet once per new joiner and put their name in the filename. It becomes their onboarding record, not a template you keep editing.
- Fill in the target date column the day the offer is accepted — especially the three probation dates, which are the ones nobody remembers later.
- Send the "Information and documents" rows to the candidate as their own list, with a deadline. They can only chase what they have been asked for.
- Give the IT and Admin rows to those teams at least five working days before the joining date.
- Sit with the manager on day 30, 60 and 90 with the sheet open. It takes ten minutes and it is the whole difference between a probation review and a surprise.
Where onboarding usually goes wrong
Treating the paperwork as the plan
Collecting documents is administration. Onboarding is whether somebody knows what they are meant to be doing by the end of week one. A file can be complete while the joiner is still guessing.
Nobody owns the first day
"HR will handle it" and "their manager will look after them" produce the same outcome: a person sitting alone until 11am. Name the person, in writing, before the day.
Access arrives late
A laptop on day three and an email account on day four costs a week of work and is the thing new joiners describe to their friends. Raise it before the joining date, not on it.
Probation dates live in somebody’s memory
Nine times out of ten a probation review is late because the date was never in a calendar. Diarise all three on the day they join.
The offer and the payroll master disagree
A structure typed twice is a structure typed differently. Record it once, have a second person check it against the signed offer, and do it before the first payroll run rather than after the first complaint.
No separate HR check-in
A new joiner will not tell their manager that their manager is the problem. One conversation at day 30 with somebody else is how you find out in time to fix it.
Questions people ask
Through the end of probation. The first day is the visible part, but the decision that matters — confirm, extend or exit — happens at 90 days, and it is only a real decision if somebody has been collecting evidence since day one.
Use the pre-joining, documents, payroll and day one sections and ignore the rest until you are twenty. Those four are the ones that cost money or credibility when they are missed. The 30/60/90 rhythm can be a recurring calendar entry rather than a form.
One named person, usually in HR, even where individual rows belong to IT, Admin and the manager. A checklist with five owners and no owner is the one that stalls.
Where to go next
Flabido keeps the everyday HR work of a growing Indian company in one place — people records, leave, attendance, payroll inputs, hiring and letters. See what it does or ask for a free trial.