Guide
Build an onboarding checklist for new hires
Make sure a new hire's first week feels organised, not chaotic, for both of you.
Prepare accounts and access before day one
Email, shared drives, project management tool, Slack, the POS system, whatever they'll need. Nothing kills first-day momentum like waiting two hours for someone to grant access.
Write a simple first-day agenda
Block out: welcome and intro to the team, tour (physical or a walk through your tools), what the role actually involves day to day, and one small, real task to complete before they leave.
Assign a point person, not just you
Even if you're the owner, pick one teammate as their go-to for 'dumb questions'. New hires often won't interrupt the owner but will happily ask a peer.
Share the SOPs relevant to their role
If you've written SOPs (see the other guide in this playbook), hand over exactly the ones they need for week one. Don't dump the entire library on day one, it's overwhelming.
Set a 30-day check-in on the calendar now
Book it during onboarding, not later. A short, honest conversation at 30 days, what's working, what's confusing, catches problems while they're still easy to fix.
Ask what was confusing, every time
After each new hire's first two weeks, ask them directly what part of onboarding was unclear. Update the checklist. It gets better every single hire if you actually listen.
That’s the whole thing.
Keep going
What to read next
- 01
Systems & Processes
Write your first Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
Turn a task that only lives in your head into something anyone on the team can follow.
- 02
Systems & Processes
Choose tools that won't outgrow you in 6 months
A simple framework for picking software so you're not migrating everything twice a year.
- 03
Systems & Processes
Set up a simple project management system
Get everything out of your head and your DMs, and into one place everyone can see.