Boost performance & retention with proper onboarding

The Playbook

Step 1: Contracts & agreements  

Onboarding starts before day one, with a professional, well-drafted employment contract. 

First impressions matter, so ensure your employment agreement is clear, and comprehensive, and sets the right tone for the relationship. If there are standard forms to sign, send them all at once and give the candidate reasonable time to review and ask questions. 

You never want to wing it with the paperwork, so consult a lawyer about compliance with local laws. A few hours of fees now can help you avoid a major headache. 

Want an idea of what to include? Here’s a sample employee contract.

Step 2: Pre-boarding tasks  

Before the official start date, take care of logistical items to make day one smooth.

If you’re providing equipment, ensure it’s ordered and ready on the job site for them — or ship it directly to them, with plenty of lead time. 

Set up their system access. Before they start, make sure email accounts, software logins, and IT access are set up.

Finally, make a document that lists their responsibilities, where they can find resources about those processes, any credentials they’ll need to complete the job, and a point of contact if they need help. 

Ideally, you should have an SOP for each task they need to do. (Here’s the playbook on building great SOPs.)

Step 3: The First Day Master Document

When your employee starts, you want to put the essential information at their fingertips.

Give them not just their responsibilities but the big picture of your company: mission, culture, values, and code of conduct. (Here’s a sample doc.) 

Ideally, the new hire’s manager should have a couple of first-week tasks in mind to give them some quick wins.

Step 4: The first-day schedule 

Don’t go overboard on the first day. 

• First thing in the morning: Kickoff call to walk through the Master Document

• Throughout the day: Introductions with people they’ll be working with, but reserve some free time for them to read through the resources you’ve put together

• End of day: Feedback session, where they can ask questions, clarify details, and discuss expectations for the next day. 

Run end-of-day check-ins for the first week. They don’t have to be long, but it’s a great opportunity to resolve any blockers your new hire might have encountered — and it’s a great way to identify holes in your onboarding process (like that login that was never created, or the SOP that’s incomplete).

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Other factors to consider

Here are a couple of other best practices:

• Break up training. If any systems or software require special training, break it up into manageable chunks over the first few weeks. This will avoid overwhelming them while ensuring they’re up to speed. 

• Leave space in their schedules. They’ll need time to read your documentation, and if they have questions, encourage them to check their resources first. 

• Assign them a mentor or coach. Having a go-to person they can bring questions to will go a long way. 

• Integrate them into the team. Ask existing employees to reach out and connect. Even if the new hire works remotely, set up meet-and-greets with many people, even if they won’t work directly together. 

• Take the long view. Onboarding is not a one-week or one-month process. Especially if a business is mature, true acclimation is an ongoing process over the first year.

• Consider spouses or other family. A small gesture like sending a thank-you note or a small gift can go a long way in building goodwill with your new hire.