Onboarding Process and Tools
Below are onboarding best practices, guidelines, resources and tools. If used effectively, they will facilitate your oversight of a consistent and effective experience for your new hires. It is recommended you check with your school/unit HR manager to clarify specific school/unit onboarding practices before using these general tools. These tools can be used to enhance and build on existing tools or used as is, and are editable for you to change as desired to address local practices and details, or to school/unit branding.
Pre-Start
Even before your new hire’s first day, you’ll need to get logistics, scheduling and welcoming items in motion to ensure their first week is well organized and smooth.
- Pre-Start checklist
- Remote onboarding checklist
- Template: Email to send to new hire prior to their arrival
- Template: Email to announce new hire's arrival in team/group/department/school/unit, via your regular communication method
Welcome Center
The Welcome Center is now all virtual. (Note: If your new hire does not participate in the Welcome Center, check with your school/unit human resources manager or group to identify how the actions included in the Welcome Center will be completed.) Review the virtual sessions offered to new hires on the Welcome Center website.
New staff checklist shared in Welcome Center materials
Day 2
Their first day on the job must be well planned, set an accepting, inclusive tone, and start to establish new work relationships that will be important to their—and your—success.
- Template: First week schedule
- Template: Email to announce new hire's arrival in team/group/department/school/unit (if this has not already been completed)
- Top websites for new hires to bookmark
- Acronyms
- Ice breakers for new work group
30 Days
In the first 30 days, establish the foundation for your new hire’s Stanford journey, so they understand their new work environment, organization’s mission and goals, how they will make contributions and understanding of expectations.
60 Days
By 60 days, you’re actively facilitating your new hire’s knowledge, both about their new role and about their workplace; helping them meet others with whom they will work, understand the processes and practices they need to know to do their work, and making progress on established goals and deliverables.
- Ensure all items from the 30-day checklist are completed.
- Check in regularly to assess how their onboarding process is going, what additional information is needed from you, if there are gaps in training that need to be addressed, and what would help them feel more comfortable and/or independent.
- Start having conversations about professional development and learning opportunities to show you are invested in your new hire’s future at Stanford and to reinforce our community’s values around continuous learning.
90 Days
Ask open questions that show you are open to hearing their candid viewpoints of their initial experience, such as:
- What has been your most important learning during your first three months here?
- What do you wish you’d known sooner?
- What can I do now to support your effectiveness and success?
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At this point in time, what would help you the most to feel comfortable?
In addition, check in with your Human Resources Manager to assess if there are any formal 90-day evaluation requirements. They can also provide you guidance if you are experiencing performance concerns.