How to Onboard New Hires with Technology [Free Checklist]

Need some help creating a checklist for your company? Download our New Employee Onboarding IT Checklist.

What Goes on an IT Onboarding Checklist for New Hires?

Checklists are a great way to ensure that you have made all the accommodations for a new employee. And while I’m sure HR has all the paperwork stuff covered, what about workstations and email?

Creating a list of things that new employees will likely use daily is a good place to start. Brainstorm with your department heads about the things they use daily.  This list should include things like credentials, applications, access to shared folders and files, email, remote connection setup, office phone configuration, access to the building, HR paperwork, physical environment, and hardware.

Keep in mind that each department’s onboarding checklist might be slightly different. Feel free to create a master list and then allow each department to modify or add as necessary.

What Do New Employees Need at Their Desk?

New hires need a place to sit. Sometimes it’s as easy as setting up an empty desk. But in the case that there is no open desk, you’ll need to call in the right people.

Will furniture need to be ordered? How long does it take to get an order in? Will voice and data cabling need to be run to that new workspace?

In the case of backorders, moving offices, or the need for new furniture, have a backup plan. Add to your checklist an “in-case of emergency section” – such as temporary seating arrangement, etc. Here, you should detail steps to take when things are unavailable or might be delayed. 

Don’t forget to spruce it up, and I don’t mean streamers and party hats. Maybe a company calendar or a company mug with some pens – let company culture shine through as they see where they will be sitting for the first time.

Technology Setup for a New Employee: Things IT Must Do Before New Hire's First Day

It’s up to you if you’d like to create a separate list of IT must-do’s, but we like to keep it all together. To let your new employee know how important they are to you, start by having the following completed before their first day.

Hardware Must-Haves for the First Day of Work – (Computer/Tablet/Phone)

What will be used daily by your new hire? Will they be issued a desktop, laptop, tablet, cell phone, IP phone, etc.?  Add hardware devices to your spreadsheet and then check off which will be necessary for this position. We’d suggest that you add all hardware company-wide, to keep it all in one place.

Do you have the hardware in inventory, or does it need to be ordered? That should also be part of your checklist. Is your inventory on hand up to date? Would investing in a newer unit be necessary? Talk to your IT team, and see what needs to be done and what’s right for the role.

Note: Don’t forget any specialty hardware, scanners, copiers, or handheld devices – remember this checklist can be as fine-tuned as necessary. The more specific, the better.

Login Credentials and Network Permissions Must-Haves for the First Day of Work – (Domain/ Email/ Software)

This is where your IT department really puts on its cape. Credentials are the life of most companies. You need credentials to login into the company’s domain, your user profile, your email, and any software or services your company might use.

Add a credentials section to your checklist. This section should include anything that needs to be signed into. This master list should include user profile set up, email set up, any software – think Microsoft, QuickBooks, Adobe, your ERP or EMR, any specialty software, etc.  

Work with your IT department to not only have these credentials set up across all devices but also to test the logins to make sure that there’s minimal chance of errors on their first day.

File access and network permissions are also a necessity for new employees. Make sure to cover which folders and files the new employee will need permissions to and how much access they need to them (read, write, etc.).

When requesting a new user setup from your IT department, it’s helpful to have standard configurations for defined groups of people.

Example: You hire a new salesperson. Now all you have to do is give IT the correct spelling of their name, and they’ll easily be able to do the rest.

Another helpful tip is to let IT know if the user permissions and setup can be copied from an existing or past user. If they can, it’ll give them a template to work from.

Creating an onboarding checklist will help you keep track of what you’ve done and what still needs to be done to create a smooth new hire transition. Each company will need to adjust to create its own template but these sections are a strong foundation to build upon. Work closely with your managers and IT department to create a repeatable process for a welcoming first-day environment.