Create a comprehensive new hire onboarding checklist covering pre-arrival through 90 days with tasks, owners, and timelines for HR managers
You are a senior HR operations specialist who has designed onboarding programs for companies ranging from 10-person startups to Fortune 500 enterprises. You understand that effective onboarding directly impacts retention, time-to-productivity, and employee engagement. I need a comprehensive onboarding checklist for a new hire joining as a [ROLE] in the [DEPARTMENT:select:Engineering,Product,Design,Marketing,Sales,Customer Success,Finance,Operations,Human Resources,Legal,Executive,Other] department. Our company has [COMPANY_SIZE:select:1-50 employees (Startup),51-200 employees (Growth Stage),201-1000 employees (Mid-Market),1000+ employees (Enterprise)] and the formal onboarding period is [ONBOARDING_DURATION:select:30 days,60 days,90 days]. The work arrangement is [WORK_ARRANGEMENT:select:Fully Remote,Hybrid,In-Office]. Additional context or special requirements: [SPECIAL_REQUIREMENTS?] Create a detailed onboarding checklist organized by these phases: Phase 1 - Pre-Arrival (1-2 weeks before start date): Everything that must be ready before the new hire walks in or logs on. Include equipment, accounts, workspace setup, welcome communications, and paperwork. Phase 2 - Day One: The critical first day experience covering orientation, introductions, administrative tasks, and setting the tone for their journey. Phase 3 - Week One: Initial training, team integration, tool setup, first assignments, and establishing working relationships. Phase 4 - First Month: Role-specific training, initial projects, understanding workflows, building relationships across the organization, and first feedback checkpoint. Phase 5 - Through the end of the onboarding period: Deepening expertise, taking on full responsibilities, performance expectations, development conversations, and formal onboarding completion. For each task in the checklist, specify: - The specific action item written as a clear, completable task - Owner (HR, Hiring Manager, IT, Buddy/Mentor, or the New Hire themselves) - Timeline (specific day or week) - Priority (Critical, Important, or Nice-to-Have) Format as a structured checklist using checkboxes. Group tasks by phase with clear headers. Include a summary section at the end with key milestones and success metrics for this role. Tailor the checklist to reflect the company size specified above. Startups should focus on essentials and flexibility while enterprise companies should include compliance, formal processes, and cross-functional coordination. Make this immediately usable. An HR manager or hiring manager should be able to print this checklist and start using it today.
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Get Early AccessThe first 90 days determine whether a new hire thrives or starts looking for their next job. Research consistently shows that structured onboarding improves retention by over 80 percent and accelerates time to productivity by weeks. Yet most companies rely on informal, inconsistent processes that leave new employees confused about expectations and disconnected from their team.
This Onboarding Checklist Generator creates a comprehensive, phase-by-phase plan tailored to the [ROLE] being onboarded, the [DEPARTMENT], and the [WORK_ARRANGEMENT]. From pre-arrival setup through the end of the onboarding period, every task has a clear owner, timeline, and priority level. The result is a printable checklist that HR managers and hiring managers can start using immediately.
Whether you are onboarding a remote engineer at a startup or an in-office executive at an enterprise, the template scales to fit. Pair it with the Employee Handbook Generator to give new hires a reference document on day one, or use the Job Description Template to ensure the role expectations are clear from the start. Open the prompt in the Dock Editor to build your onboarding checklist.
Enter the [ROLE] being onboarded and select the [DEPARTMENT] from options like Engineering, Product, Sales, HR, or Marketing. The checklist tailors tasks to the function.
Choose your [COMPANY_SIZE] from startup to enterprise and select the [ONBOARDING_DURATION] of 30, 60, or 90 days. Startups get lean essentials while enterprises get compliance-heavy checklists.
Select [WORK_ARRANGEMENT] as fully remote, hybrid, or in-office. Remote onboarding includes shipping equipment and virtual introductions. In-office includes workspace setup and building access.
Optionally provide [SPECIAL_REQUIREMENTS] like security clearance, specific certifications, tools access, or visa-related documentation that need to be handled during onboarding.
Review the phased checklist with tasks assigned to HR, the hiring manager, IT, a buddy or mentor, and the new hire. Print it, share it with stakeholders, and track completion.
Standardize onboarding across departments and locations. A consistent checklist ensures nothing falls through the cracks, from equipment setup to compliance training, regardless of who manages the process.
Take ownership of the new hire experience with a structured plan that covers the first day through full ramp-up. Clear task assignments prevent the all-too-common confusion about who handles what.
Build a professional onboarding process without a dedicated HR team. The checklist provides enterprise-level structure scaled down to startup essentials, making every hire feel valued from day one.
Solve the unique challenges of onboarding someone you cannot physically meet. The remote-specific tasks cover virtual introductions, asynchronous communication norms, and building connection across time zones.
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