Employee Onboarding Checklist (Free Excel Template)

New hires decide in their first weeks whether they made the right choice. This free onboarding checklist makes sure nothing falls through the cracks, from the signed contract to the 90-day review.

What's in the checklist

• 26 tasks in six phases: before day one, day one, week one, first 30 days, days 31–60 and days 61–90
• An owner for every task: HR, IT, manager, buddy or the new hire
• Automatic due dates: enter the start date once and every task gets its date
• Status and progress: mark tasks as open, in progress, done or not applicable; overdue tasks turn red and the progress percentage updates itself

The six onboarding phases

1. Before day one (pre-boarding): contract, personal data, equipment, accounts, a buddy and a welcome email with the first-day agenda.
2. Day one: welcome, equipment hand-over, handbook and policies, paperwork and a team lunch.
3. Week one: expectations and a 30-60-90 day plan, stakeholder meetings, mandatory training and a first small task.
4. First 30 days: first goals, weekly 1:1s and a 30-day check-in.
5. Days 31–60: first recurring responsibilities and a feedback round.
6. Days 61–90: progress review, end-of-probation or 90-day review and an onboarding survey.

Read more about designing the process in how to create a stellar employee onboarding process.

Automate onboarding

A spreadsheet works for the occasional hire. With onboarding in flair, checklists start automatically when a contract is signed, tasks go to the right people with reminders, and new hires see their own to-dos in the app.