Onboarding checklist
Use this page as a structured onboarding checklist to help new team members ramp up quickly and confidently. Customize each section based on your team’s real processes.
Welcome aboard! Follow this checklist to get oriented, connected, and ready to contribute.
Onboarding overview
Give new teammates a clear sense of what to expect during their onboarding journey. Add a short summary of your onboarding philosophy or goals here.
Complete pre‑start setup
Meet your team and complete required training
Start contributing to real projects
Before day 1
Help new teammates prepare before they officially start:
- Create necessary accounts
- Ensure permissions and access are provisioned
- Share relevant documentation or policies
- Provide hardware or credential requirements
First week
Introduce teammates to people, processes, and tools:
- Meet the team and key collaborators
- Complete required training modules
- Set up development or work environment
- Walk through core tools, dashboards, or systems
- Pair with a buddy or mentor
First month
Guide teammates toward full productivity:
- Start their first real project or task
- Review role expectations and success metrics
- Set up regular check‑ins with manager or mentor
- Encourage questions, feedback, and process improvements
Best practices for onboarding
Tips to help onboarding run smoothly:
- Assign a buddy or mentor for the first few weeks
- Encourage new hires to take notes and ask questions
- Provide small, confidence‑building tasks early on
- Avoid overwhelming new teammates with too much information at once
- Review progress regularly and adjust the plan as needed
What to read next
Point new team members toward useful internal resources:
- Team handbook – Culture and communication norms
- Engineering docs – Architecture, development workflows, and runbooks
- Decisions (ADR template) – How your team records key decisions
Customize this checklist to reflect your real onboarding experience and tools.