Free onboarding plan template

What is onboarding?

Onboarding is the structured process of welcoming new employees into an organisation and helping them to become effective in their roles. It covers everything from paperwork and systems access to role clarity, training and cultural integration.

Beyond the basics, the onboarding process is about shaping a positive early experience. It ensures that new employees have access to the people, tools and information they need to feel supported and understand how their role fits into the bigger picture. An onboarding plan is a useful tool for HR teams and those in management roles to make sure that no critical step is missed and provide the best possible start from day one.

What is an onboarding plan template?

An onboarding plan template is a reusable framework that outlines the steps, tasks and timelines involved in welcoming and setting up a new employee. It ensures that every new starter receives a consistent experience, regardless of their role or location.
Using an onboarding process template removes guesswork and helps teams to deliver a structured, repeatable approach. It allows HR to standardise best practice while giving managers the flexibility to tailor details to their team.

New employee onboarding template

A new employee onboarding template translates all the essential processes into practical actions. Below, we’ve put together a general-purpose onboarding plan template that your organisation can follow to ensure a great start for every new employee.

Send offer letters and contract

The onboarding journey starts well before an employee’s first day. Sending clear, accurate offer letters and contracts promptly helps to establish trust and professionalism from the outset. It also gives new hires time to review terms, ask questions, and feel confident about their decision to join.

This step is essential for all employees, whether full time or part time, temporary or permanent. The offer letter and contract should outline working patterns, pay and benefits, while also setting out the key terms and conditions that protect both the employee and your business. Including this task in your onboarding process template reduces delays and avoids last-minute issues that could arise from inaccurate documents.

Complete pre-employment checks

Before a new hire officially starts, it’s essential to complete all required pre-employment checks. These might include right-to-work verification, background checks and contacting references, as well as role-specific screening like DBS checks.

Managing these checks as part of a structured onboarding plan helps to protect the organisation and ensures compliance without creating unnecessary friction. When checks are delayed or poorly communicated, it can cause uncertainty for both the business and the new employee.

Set up systems and tools

Access to the right systems and tools has a direct impact on early productivity. New starters should have logins, devices and software ready on or before day one, so they can focus on learning rather than chasing access.

This stage also includes any employee self service tools for managing personal details, benefits and payslips. Introducing platforms that support flexible benefits packages early on helps employees to understand and engage with their complete reward offering from the start.

Run first-day induction

The first day sets the emotional tone for the entire onboarding experience. A structured employee induction helps new hires to understand how the organisation works, what’s expected of them, and where to go for support.

An effective induction balances essential information with opportunities for connection. It should introduce the company’s purpose, structure and ways of working without overwhelming new starters with too much detail at once.

Introduce team and key contacts

Feeling like part of a team is critical to engagement and confidence. Early introductions to colleagues, managers and key contacts help new hires to understand their role within the wider organisation, and makes unfamiliar faces feel more approachable.

Encouraging informal communication alongside formal introductions can make this process feel more natural. Simple gestures, like coffee chats or team check-ins, can make a big difference to how quickly someone feels at home.

Share company policies and values

Clear communication around expectations is essential in the early stages of any role. Sharing HR policies and procedures helps new hires to understand their responsibilities, rights, and the standards they’re expected to uphold.

Equally important is communicating your company’s values. When employees understand not just what the rules are but why they exist, they’re more likely to settle into the way your organisation does things.

Set early job-specific training goals

Early training provides direction and reduces uncertainty. Setting clear, role-specific training goals helps new to hires focus on what matters most in their first few weeks.

Linking these goals to wider organisational development objectives ensures that onboarding supports both individual growth and long-term business plans. This approach also gives managers a framework for prioritising learning activities on an individual basis.

Schedule regular check-ins

Regular check-ins provide space for questions, feedback and reassurance. They help managers to identify issues early on, and show new hires that support is ongoing, not just limited to the first week.

Including structured mechanisms, such as 360-degree feedback, encourages open communication and continuous improvement. These conversations can bring to light areas that might be missed in a more informal approach.

Define clear SMART goals

Clear goals help new hires to understand what success looks like. Defining SMART goals ensures that expectations are specific, measurable and achievable within agreed timeframes.

Embedding goal-setting into your onboarding plan template creates alignment between individual performance and business objectives. It also gives employees a sense of progress and purpose as they settle into their new role.

Complete first-year performance review

Onboarding doesn’t end after the first few weeks. A structured first-year review helps employees, team leaders and managers to reflect on progress, achievements and development needs.

Including performance appraisals as part of the onboarding journey reinforces the idea that growth and feedback are ongoing commitments. It also provides a natural transition from onboarding into regular performance management.

Employee onboarding documents checklist

Documents form the backbone of any onboarding process, supporting compliance, clarity and consistency. We’ve put together a handy onboarding checklist template specifically for essential documents to make sure nothing is missed.

Hiring documents

Hiring documents are typically collected during or immediately after the recruitment process. These include offer letters, contracts, role descriptions and right-to-work documentation.

Managing these documents centrally reduces duplication and ensures that information flows seamlessly from recruitment into onboarding. It also creates a clear audit trail for compliance purposes.

Preboarding documents

Preboarding refers to the period of admin before the new employee actually starts their role at your company. Preboarding documents are shared before the employee’s first day and help them to feel prepared. This might include welcome packs, policy acknowledgements or system access forms.

Effective preboarding reduces first-day admin and allows new hires to focus on learning and connection. It also signals that the organisation is organised and considerate of their time.

Onboarding documents

Onboarding documents support employees once they’ve started. These might include training materials, process guides, performance frameworks or development plans.

Providing the right documents at the right time helps new hires to build confidence without being overwhelmed. It also reinforces key messages introduced during their induction and early training.

How to create an effective onboarding checklist template

If you’re creating your own onboarding materials, a checklist is one of the most practical tools you can use. Let’s look at the key steps for creating a well-designed onboarding checklist template that helps teams to stay aligned, track progress, and deliver a consistent experience across roles and departments.

Define the purpose of the checklist

First of all, it’s important to define what the checklist is for – as well as what it isn’t for. Knowing its purpose helps to ensure that it supports your onboarding plan rather than becoming an unfocused list of admin tasks. A clear purpose also helps stakeholders to understand how the checklist should be used, and who it’s designed to support.

Break the checklist into phases

Onboarding happens over time, not all at once. Breaking the checklist into phases such as pre-boarding, first week, first month and first year makes it easier to manage and less overwhelming for everyone involved. This phased approach reflects how people actually learn and adapt, helping new hires to absorb information gradually.

Include both admin and compliance tasks

Administrative and legal requirements are a critical part of onboarding. Including tasks related to HR compliance ensures that you meet these obligations without relying on memory or manual tracking. When these tasks are embedded into the checklist, they become part of the process rather than an afterthought.

Assign ownership for each task

Every checklist item should have a clear owner. Assigning responsibility ensures accountability and prevents tasks from being overlooked. Clear ownership also helps new hires to understand who to contact if something hasn’t been completed, or if they need support.

Build in time for personal connections

Onboarding isn’t just about tasks and documents. Building in time for personal connections supports engagement and wellbeing, which is essential for a positive employee experience. Approaches such as a buddy system or informal check-ins help new hires to feel supported and connected, which can have a lasting impact on retention.

Create employee onboarding templates for different roles

Not all roles have the same needs. Creating tailored templates for different employee groups is a great way to ensure relevance and effectiveness. Whether you’re onboarding executives, remote workers or deskless teams, adapting your approach helps everyone to get what they need from day one while keeping the process consistent across the organisation.

Manage your entire onboarding process smoothly with PeopleHR

A well-crafted onboarding process template brings structure, clarity and consistency to what can otherwise be a fragmented experience. From understanding what onboarding really involves to using employee onboarding templates and checklists effectively, the goal is to support new hires while protecting the business and setting clear expectations.

Using dedicated HR software helps to centralise tasks, documents and communication, making it easier to manage and adapt your onboarding plan template as your organisation grows. With the right tools, HR teams can automate admin, support managers, and deliver a better experience for every new starter.

If you’d like to see how PeopleHR can support your onboarding activities, watch a 4 minute demo of our software or get in touch via our contact page to find out more.

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