Template · Onboarding
First day checklist for new employees
In short
A first day checklist is a timed plan for a new employee's first day: what the manager, HR, IT and buddy prepare the day before, an hour-by-hour agenda from arrival to the end-of-day check-in, and the first week schedule that follows. Use it so every new hire leaves day one with working tools, a clear role and people they know.
New Employee First Day Checklist template
New Employee First Day Checklist
New hire: [Name] | Role: [Job Title] | Manager: [Name] | Buddy: [Name] | Start time: [Time] | Location or video link: [Site / Link] Times assume a 9:00 start. Shift them for your schedule. Owner in brackets: (Mgr) manager, (HR), (IT), (Buddy), (Emp) new employee.
The day before
- (Mgr) Block your calendar from 9:00 to 10:30 and from 4:30 to 5:00; you are the first and last meeting of the day
- (HR) Confirm the new hire received start time, address or link, parking or transit details, dress code and who to ask for at reception
- (HR) Remind the new hire which original documents to bring for Form I-9
- (IT) Laptop, phone, headset and badge ready; logins created and tested on the actual device
- (Mgr) Desk or workstation cleaned and stocked; name on it if that is your culture
- (Mgr) Print or share the first week schedule
- (Buddy) Lunch booked; buddy knows they are the go-to person for small questions
- (Mgr) Team told who is starting tomorrow and asked to say hello
8:45 to 9:30: arrival and welcome
- (Mgr) Meet the new hire at reception or open the video call yourself; do not delegate this
- (Mgr) Short tour: workspace, restrooms, break room, exits, first aid and fire assembly point
- (Mgr) Give the new hire the day's agenda so they know what is coming
- (Buddy) Quick introduction and coffee
9:30 to 11:00: paperwork and setup
- (HR) Review I-9 documents and complete Section 2, or schedule it within the legal window
- (HR) Collect any forms not finished in pre-boarding: W-4, state tax form, direct deposit, emergency contacts
- (IT) Hand over equipment; new hire logs in to email, chat, HR portal and core systems while IT is still there
- (IT) Set up multi-factor authentication and password manager
- (HR) Issue badge and parking pass; take ID photo if needed
11:00 to 12:00: the role
- (Mgr) Explain why the role exists and how it connects to the team's goals
- (Mgr) Walk through what good performance looks like at 30 days and at 90 days
- (Mgr) Explain working hours, breaks, how to call in sick, and how time is recorded
- (Mgr) Share the team's communication norms: which channel for what, expected response times
12:00 to 1:00: lunch
- (Buddy) Lunch with the new hire and one or two teammates; company pays if possible
- (Buddy) Cover the unwritten rules: where people eat, who to ask about what, how meetings really run
1:00 to 4:30: people and first work
- (Mgr) 15-minute introductions with 3 to 5 people the new hire will work with most
- (Emp) Shadow a teammate on a real task for at least an hour
- (Emp) Complete one small, finishable piece of work or training module
- (HR) Review handbook highlights and collect acknowledgment; leave full policy reading for week one
- (Emp) Set up workspace, bookmarks, email signature and profile photo
4:30 to 5:00: end-of-day check-in
- (Mgr) Ask what went well, what was confusing and what they still need
- (Mgr) Fix any access or equipment gap before tomorrow morning
- (Mgr) Walk through tomorrow's plan and confirm start time
- (Mgr) Book weekly 1:1s for the next month
Rest of week one
- Day 2: role training block in the morning, shadowing in the afternoon; buddy check-in
- Day 3: I-9 Section 2 completed by end of day at the latest; required compliance training started
- Day 4: first independent task with review; meet one stakeholder outside the team
- Day 5: manager 1:1 to review week one, agree 30-day goals, and ask for feedback on onboarding
Sign-off
- All day-one items complete
- YesNo, see notes
- Open items and owner
- Manager signature
- Date
How to use this template
- Copy the checklist when the start date is confirmed and fill in the header with names, start time and location.
- Adjust the times to the employee's shift; for a 7:00 or night start, keep the same order and move the blocks.
- Send the day-before items to HR, IT and the buddy at least two working days ahead, with a named owner for each.
- Share the day's agenda with the new hire on arrival, or by email the evening before.
- Tick items as they happen and write down any gaps in the open items box.
- Use the end-of-day check-in to fix gaps before day two, then hand the open items to whoever owns the rest of onboarding.
What day one is for
Day one has three jobs: the new hire should go home with working tools, a clear idea of what their job is, and at least two people they would feel comfortable asking a question. Everything else, including most policy reading, can wait.
A useful test: ask the new hire at 5:00 to describe their role in one sentence and name the person they would ask about a payroll question. If they cannot, the day was spent on the wrong things. This checklist covers the single day in detail. For the full 90-day plan around it, use our new hire onboarding checklist.
The day before decides the day
Most bad first days were lost the afternoon before. The laptop that arrives without the right software, the badge nobody requested, the manager who booked a client call at 9:00. The day-before block is short on purpose and every item has one owner.
IT setup deserves extra care. Test logins on the actual device the new hire will use, not on an admin account. A new employee who spends the first two hours watching someone reset passwords learns something about the company, and it is not flattering. If you hire in batches, have IT stage all devices on the Friday before a Monday class and run a login test on each.
Keep paperwork short and people time long
Collect forms before the start date wherever the law allows, so day one has only what must be done in person, mainly reviewing original documents for Form I-9. Federal rules require Section 1 by the end of the first day of employment and Section 2 within three business days, so you do have a little room if the morning is full.
The manager should own the first 90 minutes personally. In employee surveys, new hires rarely remember the benefits presentation, but they remember whether their manager showed up. If the manager truly cannot be there, they should call before 9:00 and name who is covering. The buddy lunch matters for the same reason: it is the first relationship that is not a reporting line. Our buddy program template explains how to brief buddies so they know what to do.
Give them real work on day one
New hires want to contribute something on the first day, even if it is small. Pick a task that can be finished by 4:30: close a low-risk ticket with a teammate watching, update a spreadsheet, complete the first module of system training and pass the quiz. Finishing something gives the day a shape.
The first week then builds on it. Days two to five mix training, shadowing and a first independent task, ending with a Friday 1:1 where you agree 30-day goals. For professional roles, that Friday conversation is where the 30-60-90 day plan gets written. For hourly roles, it can be as simple as three targets: training completed, system certification passed, attendance on track.
First days for shift workers and hiring classes
When a distribution center or contact center starts 25 people on the same morning, day one becomes a cohort event. Run the welcome, safety walk and paperwork as a group, with HR and the trainer presenting once, and split into small groups for system setup so IT can troubleshoot at each station. Assign one team lead or buddy to every 5 to 8 new hires for lunch and breaks.
Shift workers often start at 6:00 or on nights, when HR is not on site. Move the HR items to a weekday overlap or a short video call, and make sure a supervisor on the shift owns the welcome. No-shows on day one are common in hourly hiring; a reminder text the evening before with the time, address, parking and the name of the person meeting them cuts that noticeably. Follow day one with a structured new hire orientation checklist for the classroom portion.
Frequently asked questions
What should a new employee do on the first day?
Meet their manager and buddy, complete required paperwork such as Form I-9, get equipment and logins working, learn what the role is and how success is measured, meet the people they will work with most, and finish one small piece of real work.
What does a good new employee first day agenda look like?
A manager welcome and tour first, then paperwork and IT setup, a role conversation before lunch, lunch with a buddy, introductions and shadowing in the afternoon, and a short end-of-day check-in with the manager.
What should a first week onboarding schedule include?
Role training and shadowing each day, required compliance training, completion of I-9 Section 2 by day three, a first independent task with review, and a manager 1:1 at the end of the week to set 30-day goals.
Should a new hire's first day be a full day?
Usually yes, but keep the afternoon lighter. Some teams end at 3:00 or 4:00 on day one for roles with long training ahead. Shift workers should get a paid first day that matches their normal shift length where possible.
Who should meet a new employee on day one?
The manager, first and in person or on video. Then HR for paperwork, IT for setup, an onboarding buddy, and three to five colleagues the new hire will work with often. Senior leaders can drop in briefly but should not take over the agenda.