An employee onboarding checklist is a written list of everything a new hire needs, from paperwork before day one to a review at 90 days. Copy the one below, cut what doesn’t fit your business, and use AI to fill in the role-specific parts and the how-to docs.
If you hire a few times a year, you probably onboard from memory. Something always slips. The laptop isn’t ready, nobody set up their email, or they spend day three waiting for someone to show them the job.
A checklist fixes that. It also makes training new employees less dependent on whoever happens to be free that week.
Before day one
Start this as soon as the offer is signed.
Paperwork
- Signed offer letter
- Tax and employment eligibility forms for your state or country
- Direct deposit details
- Emergency contact
- Any policies they need to read and sign, like your handbook
Which forms you need depends on where you are. Check with your accountant or your local rules.
Accounts and logins
- Work email
- Calendar and shared drive access (Google Drive, for example)
- The tools they’ll use daily, like your CRM, scheduling app or job software
- A password manager, if you use one, so logins don’t get shared over text
Equipment
- Laptop or phone, charged and updated
- Keys, badge, uniform or safety gear
- A desk, truck seat or workspace that’s actually ready
Schedule
- Their start time and where to go
- Who meets them at the door
- A rough plan for the first week, sent the Friday before
Day one
Keep day one light. The goal is that they leave feeling welcome and knowing what tomorrow looks like.
- Welcome. You, not just a manager, say hello and explain why the role matters.
- Tour and intros. Walk them around and introduce them to the people they’ll work with most.
- Tools. Log in to everything together. Fix access problems now, not on day four.
- A first small task. Something real they can finish by end of day. It beats eight hours of reading.
First week
This is where training new employees actually happens.
- Shadowing. Pair them with someone who does the job well. Watching a real day teaches more than a manual.
- Written how-tos. Give them the steps for the tasks they’ll do most. If you don’t have these yet, the AI section below helps.
- Check-ins. A 15-minute chat at the end of day two and day five. Ask what’s confusing and what they still need.
First 30, 60 and 90 days
- 30 days. Agree on two or three goals for the next month. Ask how onboarding went while it’s fresh.
- 60 days. Give honest feedback both ways. Fix small problems before they become habits.
- 90 days. A proper review. Are they on track? What do they need from you to keep growing?
Put all three dates on your calendar on day one. If they aren’t booked, they usually get skipped.
How AI can help with onboarding
You don’t need special software for any of this. ChatGPT or Claude, plus the docs you already have, covers most of it.
1. Draft a role-specific checklist. Paste your job description into ChatGPT or Claude with this:
Here is a job description for a new hire at my [type of business]. Turn the general onboarding checklist below into one specific to this role. Add the tools, tasks and people they will need in their first 90 days. Ask me questions if anything is unclear.
[paste job description]
[paste the checklist above]
Read what comes back and edit it. It’s a first draft, not a finished plan.
2. Turn recordings into how-tos. Record your screen with Loom while you do a task, or talk through it in a voice memo.
Paste the transcript into Claude or ChatGPT and ask for numbered steps a new hire could follow. Save them in a shared Google Doc or Drive folder.
I wrote more on setting this up in how to set up Claude Projects.
3. A FAQ they can ask questions against. Put your handbook, how-tos and common answers in one document. Load it into a Claude Project or a custom GPT.
Now “Where do I log mileage?” gets answered at 7am without anyone getting a text.
4. Automatic reminders. Use calendar invites or a simple automation to remind you about check-ins, the 30, 60 and 90 day reviews and any paperwork deadlines. Your onboarding stops relying on you remembering.
If you want this set up so it runs on its own, Book a free call.
What not to hand to AI
- Sensitive personal info. Don’t paste ID numbers, bank details or tax forms into a chatbot.
- Legal and tax decisions. AI can explain a form in general. Which forms you need, and how to fill them in, is a question for your accountant or local rules.
- The welcome. A new hire remembers who said hello on day one. Do that part yourself.
Where to go from here
Copy the checklist into a Google Doc today. Fill in your tools, your people and your first-week plan. Then pick one task you explain to every new hire and record yourself doing it.
If onboarding is one of many admin jobs eating your week, read virtual assistant or automation to sort what a person should handle and what software can. For more places AI fits, see how to use AI in your business.
FAQ
What should be on an employee onboarding checklist?
Paperwork, accounts and logins, equipment and a first-week schedule before day one. Then a welcome, intros and a small first task on day one, shadowing and check-ins in week one, and reviews at 30, 60 and 90 days.
How long should onboarding take for a small business?
Plan on about 90 days from offer to first proper review. Most of the setup happens before day one and in the first week.
What’s the best way of training new employees without a manual?
Have them shadow someone good for the first week. Record yourself doing common tasks and use AI to turn the recordings into written steps they can keep.
Can AI do employee onboarding for me?
It can draft checklists, write how-tos and answer routine questions. Keep personal data, legal or tax decisions and the actual welcome with a person.