Work

Onboarding Checklist Template

Most onboarding checklists list tasks. This one gives each task an owner and a due date, adds a Done when section so everyone knows when onboarding is over, and keeps open issues in one place. Copy it, or start from the filled-in checklist closest to the hire you are making.

Updated 2026-10-27

Copy and adapt

The template

Onboarding checklistTemplate

5 examples

Examples for different situations

The same structure, filled in for the situations people actually bring to it. Copy the one closest to yours.

1.Remote software engineer, two time zones away

When it fits: Use this when the laptop has to ship, the new hire will never walk into an office, and the risk is a first week spent waiting for access while the team is asleep.

Remote software engineer, two time zones awayExample 1

2.Restaurant line cook

When it fits: Use this when the role is hourly, training happens on shift, and onboarding is two weeks of stations rather than three months of meetings.

Restaurant line cookExample 2

3.Sales account executive with a ramp quota

When it fits: Use this when the new hire has a number to hit, the ramp period is in their offer letter, and onboarding has to get them to a first real deal rather than through a training deck.

Sales account executive with a ramp quotaExample 3

4.Internal transfer into a first management role

When it fits: Use this when the person already works at the company, so HR paperwork is trivial, but almost everything else changes: access, peers, what their week looks like and who they hand their old work to.

Internal transfer into a first management roleExample 4

5.Freelance contractor for six weeks

When it fits: Use this when the person is not an employee, the engagement has an end date, and the checklist has to cover removing access as carefully as granting it.

Freelance contractor for six weeksExample 5

What belongs in an onboarding checklist

The top onboarding checklist templates agree on the phases: before day one, day one, the first week, the first month, and the stretch to 90 days. They mostly stop at headings. An onboarding checklist template is useful only when each item is concrete enough to be ticked by a specific person on a specific day.

Before day one. Paperwork, equipment, access, a welcome message that says exactly when and where to show up, and a buddy. This is where most first-day problems are created.
Day one. Forms, a working laptop or a uniform, a first conversation with the manager about what good looks like in 30 days, and lunch with someone who is not the manager.
The first week. Required training, introductions to the handful of people they will depend on, and one small piece of real work finished end to end.
The first 30 days. Weekly check-ins and a 30-day conversation about what is unclear.
Days 31 to 90. A first real responsibility and a review.
Done when. The line that ends onboarding.
Open issues. One place for whatever is blocked.

Give every item an owner and a date

Onboarding fails at the handoffs between HR, IT and the manager. Each assumes the other ordered the laptop. The fix is boring and works: every line gets one person's name and a due date, worked back from the start date. "IT to provision access" becomes "Dev access requested (@Claire) by Nov 4". When a date passes, the owner is obvious and so is the conversation.

Work backwards from the start date for the before-day-one section. Equipment that ships needs a week. Security approvals can take five working days. A welcome email sent the evening before reads like an afterthought.

Define when onboarding is done

None of the top-ranking checklists says when onboarding ends. Without an end, it fades: the check-ins stop, nobody asks for feedback, and three months later the new hire is still unsure what is expected of them.

Write the Done when section before the person starts. It should be a measurable sign of independence for this role: a solo shift on a busy night, a change shipped to production, a first deal closed, a time-off request approved without asking anyone. Tell the new hire what it is on day one. When it is true, the manager signs it off, HR collects feedback, and onboarding is over. Ongoing goals move to a 30-60-90 day plan or the regular one on one.

Remote and hybrid hires

A remote new hire cannot pick up context by overhearing it, so the checklist has to do more of the work. Ship equipment so it arrives two working days early. Write both time zones in the header and book every first-week meeting inside the new hire's working hours. Choose a buddy whose day overlaps theirs. For US hires, arrange the I-9 document check in advance, since it cannot wait until they visit an office.

Common mistakes

Owners that are departments. "HR" never does anything. A named person does.
A first week of slides. People learn the job by doing a small piece of it. Put a real task in week one.
One checklist for every role. Keep a shared company section and write the rest per role.
Forgetting internal moves. A promotion into management changes access, peers and the shape of the week. It deserves its own checklist, as the fourth example shows.
Granting access with no end date. Contractors and temporary staff need the removal written down when the access is granted.

When to use a different template

For the new hire's own goals over the first three months, use a 30-60-90 day plan. When the person whose work the new hire is taking over is leaving or moving, ask them for a handoff document before their last day. And if the same onboarding steps repeat for every hire, the company-wide part is worth turning into an SOP.

Customization tips

Name a person on every line
A line owned by "IT" or "HR" is owned by nobody. Put the name of the person who will actually do it, even if it changes next time. If you do not know the name, the first task is finding out.
Write the Done when section before day one
Decide what independent looks like for this role (a solo shift, a merged change, a closed deal) before the person starts, and tell them on day one. Without it, onboarding fades out rather than ends, and nobody asks for feedback.
Split it by role, not by department
Keep one company-wide section (paperwork, security training, benefits) and swap the rest per role. A line cook and an engineer share almost nothing after day one, and a single checklist for both ends up generic for each.
Give remote hires a time-zone line
Write the new hire's time zone and the team's in the header, and book every first-week meeting inside their working hours. The cost of forgetting is a new hire who spends their first afternoon waiting for someone to wake up.
Add an offboarding section for contractors
Anyone with an end date needs the removal of access written down with a date and an owner, in the same note where the access was granted. It is the step most often missed.

In the app

How to do this in Scribelet

Open Desk Settings, then Templates, tap Add Template and paste the template above. Make one template per role family (engineering, hourly, sales) so the next hire starts from the right list.
Write items as - [ ] Laptop shipped (@Claire) @due(2026-11-04). Every open item shows up in the Tasks view and on your daily note until it is ticked, so nothing waits for someone to reread the checklist.
Add @remind(2026-11-06 09:00) to the lines that cannot slip, such as the I-9 deadline. Scribelet sends a push reminder at that time in your local time zone.
Link the checklist to the person's note with [[Arjun Mehta]]. Their 1:1s and 90-day review link there too, so the backlinks panel shows the whole first quarter in one place.
On the Team plan, keep onboarding checklists in a shared desk so the manager, buddy and HR tick the same list.

Templates, template variables and AI generation are documented in Note templates.

Frequently asked questions

What should be on an onboarding checklist?

Five phases: before day one (paperwork, equipment, access, a welcome message, a buddy), day one (forms, a working laptop, a first 1:1), the first week (training and a first small task), the first 30 days (weekly check-ins) and days 31 to 90 (a real responsibility and a review). Each item needs an owner and a date, and the list needs a line that says when onboarding is finished.

How long should employee onboarding take?

Most office roles take about 90 days to reach independence, which is why many checklists end with a 90-day review. Hourly roles with on-shift training often take two to four weeks. Set the length by the Done when section rather than by the calendar: onboarding is finished when the person can do the core job without help.

Who is responsible for onboarding a new employee?

The hiring manager owns the outcome. HR owns paperwork, payroll and benefits; IT owns equipment and access; a buddy owns the informal questions. The checklist works only if each line names one of those people, not a department.

What is the difference between onboarding and orientation?

Orientation is the first day or two: forms, policies, a tour, introductions. Onboarding is the whole period until the person works independently, usually weeks to months. An orientation is one section of an onboarding checklist.

What paperwork does a new hire need to complete in the US?

At minimum, Form I-9 (the employee completes Section 1 by the first day of work and the employer completes Section 2 within three business days) and Form W-4 for federal tax withholding, plus any state forms, direct deposit and benefits enrollment. Contractors complete a W-9 instead. Check with your HR or payroll provider for state requirements.

How do you onboard a remote employee?

Ship equipment early enough to arrive two working days before the start, book first-week meetings inside their time zone, and assign a buddy who overlaps their working hours. Give them a small, real task in the first week. Remote hires cannot pick up context by overhearing it, so write down what an office hire would learn at lunch.

An onboarding checklist that reminds people instead of waiting to be reread

Save this checklist as a template in Scribelet, give every line an owner and a due date, and let open items appear in each person's task list until they are done. Encrypted, free to start.

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SOP Template (Standard Operating Procedure)

An SOP is only useful if a person who has never done the task can follow it and get the same result. This template puts the trigger, the checks and the escalation path next to the steps, and gives every procedure an owner and a review date so it does not quietly go stale.