An onboarding checklist sets out what needs to happen, and who does it, from the moment someone accepts an offer to the end of their first 90 days. The best ones combine the admin with a 30-60-90 day plan for the new hire, so that by day 90 they are productive, connected and confident they made the right choice.
Treat onboarding as a revenue function, not admin. In a service business, a new hire who is still finding their feet in month four is months of lost billing, and one who leaves in month three means paying to recruit all over again. First impressions form fast: a 2023 BambooHR survey found that 44 per cent of new hires had regrets or second thoughts within their first week.
This guide gives you a 90-day onboarding checklist you can copy, a 30-60-90 day plan for new hires, the signals to watch at each stage, and the mistakes that most often push new starters out of the door.
Table of Contents
Before day one: the pre-start onboarding checklist
Onboarding starts the moment someone accepts, not when they arrive. The gap between offer and start date is when doubts creep in and competitors make counter-offers.
- Give an honest job preview. Describe the role as it really is, including the hard parts. Overselling the culture now creates the regret later.
- Send the practical details early: start time, where to go, who’ll meet them, what to bring, and the first week’s schedule.
- Get the kit ready. Laptop, logins, phone and building pass set up before they arrive, not on day three.
- Assign a buddy who isn’t their manager, and ask them to get in touch before day one.
- Plan the first week in detail, including real work they can contribute to.
Onboarding checklist for week one
The first week needs to cover the essentials (contracts, right-to-work checks, policies, health and safety and systems training) without becoming a week of reading documents. Balance it with people and purpose.
- Introduce them to the five to ten people they’ll work with most, one to one where possible.
- Explain how their role contributes to clients and to the business.
- Show the values in action: tell real stories of decisions the company made because of them.
- Give them one small, real task they can finish this week.
- Check for early regret. At the end of week one, ask directly: “How does this compare with what you expected?” It’s the cheapest moment to fix a mismatch.
The 30-60-90 day plan for new hires
A 30 60 90 day plan breaks the first three months into stages, each with clear goals, so the new hire and their manager both know what good looks like. Here is a template you can adapt.
| Stage | Focus | Typical goals | Signals to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1–30 | Learn | Understand clients, systems and processes; map the competencies the role needs; build key relationships | Are they asking questions? Do they know who to go to? Any early regret? |
| Days 31–60 | Contribute | Take on real work with support; agree first targets; remove friction and blockers | Are targets realistic? Wellbeing and workload OK? Any blockers left unfixed? |
| Days 61–90 | Own | Work independently on core tasks; review progress against milestones; agree the next six months | Is ramp-up on track? Do they feel part of the team? Would they recommend the job to a friend? |
The 90-day onboarding checklist
Copy this onboarding checklist into your HR system or a shared document. Each line of the onboarding checklist has an owner, so nothing falls between HR and the line manager.
Get the onboarding checklist and 30-60-90 day plan as a Google Doc (ready to fill in for each new starter). It opens a copy in your own Google Drive.
| When | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| Offer accepted | Hiring manager | Call to welcome them; honest preview of the first month |
| Offer accepted | HR | Contract, right-to-work check and first-week details sent |
| Week before start | IT / Ops | Kit, logins and access ready and tested |
| Week before start | Buddy | Friendly message introducing themselves |
| Day 1 | Manager | Welcome, team introductions, first-week plan walked through |
| Week 1 | Manager | One real task completed; end-of-week “expectations vs reality” check |
| Day 30 | Manager | Review against 30-day goals; agree 60-day goals |
| Day 45 | HR | Short, anonymous check-in on how onboarding is going |
| Day 60 | Manager | Review targets, wellbeing and blockers |
| Day 90 | Manager and HR | Formal review against milestones; agree a development plan |
To turn the day-90 review into a forward plan, see our guide to employee growth plans.
Use continuous check-ins, not exit interviews
A good onboarding plan doesn’t wait for problems. By the time a new hire is in an exit interview, it’s too late, and they’re unlikely to tell you the real reason anyway. Short, anonymous check-ins throughout the first 90 days surface problems while you can still fix them: a manager who’s never available, targets that feel impossible, or a role that isn’t what was promised. Wotter is one example of a tool that runs these automatically.
Early departures are costly. Jobvite research reported by Fast Company found that about 30 per cent of new hires leave within 90 days. To put a figure on each early leaver in your business, try our employee turnover cost calculator.
Common onboarding mistakes
- Overselling the culture in the hiring process. People leave when reality doesn’t match the advert.
- A first week of reading policies. People want to contribute, not just be compliant.
- No kit on day one. It signals that nobody was expecting them.
- Leaving it all to HR. The line manager makes or breaks onboarding.
- Stopping at week one. Many doubts surface in months two and three, once the novelty wears off.
For more on keeping people once they’re settled, read our post on ways to retain top employees.
Frequently asked questions
What should an onboarding checklist include?
Pre-start preparation (contracts, kit, a buddy), a first-week plan that balances compliance with introductions and real work, a 30-60-90 day plan with goals, and scheduled check-ins with clear owners.
What is a 30 60 90 day plan?
A plan that splits a new hire’s first three months into three stages, usually learning, contributing and owning, with clear goals and review points for each.
How long should onboarding last?
At least 90 days. Many organisations continue structured onboarding for six months or more for complex roles.
Who is responsible for onboarding?
HR owns the process and the paperwork, but the line manager has the biggest influence on whether a new hire settles in and stays.
Why do new hires leave in the first 90 days?
Common reasons include a role that doesn’t match what was promised, poor support from their manager, unclear expectations and not feeling part of the team.
Ninety days that pay for themselves
A good onboarding checklist is one of the cheapest retention tools you have. Get the first 90 days right, with an honest preview, a clear 30-60-90 day plan and regular check-ins, and new hires become productive sooner and stay longer. For why the first 90 days matter so much, read how your onboarding process churns new hires.
For more on onboarding and why new hires leave, listen to Episode 20 of Strategic HR Weekly.
