Employee Onboarding Checklist: What to Include and How to Run It in Microsoft Teams

An employee onboarding checklist gives HR teams a structured process to manage every task a new hire needs to complete, from paperwork and system setup before the start date to check-ins and goal reviews through the first 90 days. This article covers what to include in your onboarding checklist, how HR, IT, and managers each run their part, and how to set up the entire process in Microsoft Teams using Checklist as a Service.

Running onboarding across HR, IT, and hiring managers requires a single source of truth. Without it, equipment requests miss IT, managers skip their first check-ins, and new hires arrive without the tools or context to do their jobs.

What Is an Employee Onboarding Checklist?

An employee onboarding checklist is a structured list of tasks and activities that prepares a new hire to start their role, covering administrative setup, system access, introductions, training sessions, and performance reviews.

Every onboarding checklist serves the same purpose: giving HR, IT, and managers a shared view of what needs to happen and who is responsible for each step.

What to Include in an Employee Onboarding Checklist

A complete employee onboarding checklist covers four stages:

1. Pre-boarding: employment contract, equipment request, system access setup, first-day schedule

2. Day 1: workspace or remote setup, access credentials, welcome meeting, team introductions

3. First 30 days: role orientation, tool training, assigned buddy or mentor, first check-in meeting

4. First 90 days: progress review, performance feedback, updated goals for the next quarter

How HR Teams Use Checklist as a Service for Employee Onboarding

With Checklist as a Service, onboarding runs as a shared workflow in Microsoft Teams rather than a chain of emails and spreadsheets. When a new hire joins, HR submits the onboarding checklist and every responsible party receives their assigned tasks directly inside Teams.

Each team's tasks have separate assignees and due dates, so HR, IT, and manager onboarding workflows run in parallel from day one.

HR Onboarding Checklist

Administrative setup and people management sit on the HR team's side of onboarding. In Checklist as a Service, HR builds a reusable template covering every administrative task, assigns each one to the right team member, and submits it as soon as a hire is confirmed.

Tasks the HR team manages:

• Send and collect the signed employment contract

• Set up payroll and benefits enrollment

• Issue employee ID and system access credentials

• Schedule orientation sessions and the welcome meeting

• Share the company handbook and policies

IT Onboarding Checklist

IT provisioning is one of the most time-sensitive parts of onboarding, and delayed equipment or missing access locks a new hire out before they start. Once HR submits the checklist, the IT team receives their assigned tasks immediately, with due dates set to ensure everything is ready before the start date.

IT tasks covered by the checklist:

• Provision laptop and peripherals

• Set up Microsoft Teams, email, and all required system access

• Configure VPN and security tools

• Install role-specific software

• Run IT orientation and security briefing on day one

Manager Onboarding Checklist

Managers are responsible for integrating new hires into the team and setting clear performance expectations early. Checklist as a Service assigns their tasks the moment HR submits the onboarding checklist, so introductions, role briefings, and 30-day check-ins are locked in before the start date.

In most organizations, manager tasks are the ones most likely to be deferred. Assigning them at the same time as HR and IT tasks, with the same due date visibility, removes that gap.

Manager tasks covered by the checklist:

• Prepare the workspace or remote setup brief

• Conduct role orientation and introduce the team

• Define 30, 60, and 90-day performance goals

• Schedule weekly check-in meetings for the first month

• Run the 30-day feedback and review session

Remote Employee Onboarding Checklist

Remote onboarding requires more structure than in-person onboarding because there is no physical office to orient a new hire. Equipment must arrive before the start date, access must be confirmed ahead of day one, and introductions need to be scheduled rather than happening naturally.

The checklist works exactly the same way for remote hires. HR submits it, every team receives their tasks simultaneously, and progress is visible from the dashboard without chasing updates over email.

Tasks for a remote onboarding checklist:

• Confirm equipment delivery address and ship before the start date

• Set up remote access, VPN, and all communication tools before day one

• Schedule virtual introductions with the team and direct manager

• Assign a buddy for the first 30 days

• Run weekly video check-ins throughout the first 90 days

How to Run Employee Onboarding in Microsoft Teams

Setting up your onboarding process in Checklist as a Service takes three steps. Once the template is configured, HR submits it for every new hire with all tasks, assignees, and due dates pre-filled.

Step 1: Create the checklist

Fill in the checklist details: the requestor, a checklist title (for example, "HR Onboarding of John"), the new hire's start date as the event date, the checklist template, and the calendar type.

Checklist as a Service includes a built-in HR Onboarding template with predefined tasks. Select "HR - Onboarding" from the template dropdown. For the calendar, Standard Calendar uses Monday to Friday working days with no public holidays. You can also configure a custom calendar to match your team's working schedule.

Step 2: Set due dates and assignees for each task

Before submitting, each task shows a relative due date based on the event date. For example, a due date of -5 means the task must be completed 5 working days before the new hire's start date. A due date of -1 means the day before.

The HR Onboarding template includes tasks such as:

• Procure PC and software (-5 days)

• Collect employee documents (-5 days)

• Get employee induction ready (-1 day)

• Register new employee in HR, payroll, and insurance (-1 day)

• Manager announces new joiner to all teams (-1 day)

• Add employee to relevant Microsoft Teams channels (-1 day)

• Prepare PC with software and antivirus (-1 day)

Assign each task to the responsible team member. Tasks can also have a reviewer for oversight.

Step 3: Submit the checklist

Once submitted, all relative due dates convert to actual calendar dates based on the event date.

Tasks 1 and 2 in the example above land on 23 Feb 2023, and tasks 3 through 7 land on 27 Feb 2023. Every assignee can see their tasks, due dates, and status from within Microsoft Teams.

Employee Onboarding Checklist Templates

Checklist as a Service includes a library of 300+ ready-to-use templates you can adapt for different roles, departments, and hiring scenarios. Starting from a template saves time and ensures consistency across every hire.

Below is an example from the built-in HR Onboarding template. You can add or remove tasks, adjust due dates, and assign owners or reviewers to fit your team's workflow.

Start your free trial and run your first employee onboarding checklist inside Microsoft Teams today.

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TeamsWork is a Microsoft Partner Network member, and their expertise lies in developing Productivity Apps that harness the power of the Microsoft Teams platform and its dynamic ecosystem. Their SaaS products, including CRM as a Service, Ticketing as a Service and Checklist as a Service, are highly acclaimed by users. Users love the user-friendly interface, seamless integration with Microsoft Teams, and affordable pricing plans. They take pride in developing innovative software solutions that enhance company productivity while being affordable for any budget.