Developing onboarding plans and checklists

Overview

A strong onboarding process is essential for setting new team members up for success in their roles and ensuring smooth integration with the existing team. A well-structured onboarding program not only boosts team satisfaction but also fosters a positive team culture.

Result

Our Product Ops Assistant can develop comprehensive onboarding plans for your team, ensuring that the integration of new members is seamless for both existing team members and new hires. With an effective onboarding process in place, new team members will feel welcomed, quickly becoming productive in their new roles.

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Process

Understand the current onboarding process

Product Ops Assistant & Product Leader

Meet to evaluate the existing onboarding process, discussing the goals and desired outcomes of an improved onboarding experience. If necessary, the Product Leader may direct the Product Ops Assistant to consult with other key participants to gather additional insights.

Product Ops Assistant

Solicit feedback from the team on what should be included in the onboarding process. If possible, engage with team members who have recently undergone the current onboarding process to gather their feedback and suggestions for improvement.

If the organization already has a general onboarding process in place, particularly from HR, focus on refining the department-specific onboarding process and ensure it aligns smoothly with the overall onboarding framework.

Create a revised onboarding plan

Product Ops Assistant

Based on the goals established with the Product Leader and the feedback gathered from the team, draft a revised onboarding plan. An effective plan should include pre-arrival preparations (such as setting up accounts) and a detailed schedule for the new team member’s first few weeks. Key considerations include:

Role-Specific Onboarding: Tailor the onboarding process to accommodate the specific needs of different roles.
Technology Setup: Include steps to ensure the new hire’s account logins will be ready on their first day, with immediate access to communication platforms (email, chat, calendar).
Meetings and Training: Include a checklist item to add new hires to all relevant recurring meetings. Identify any required one-off meetings or training sessions to be scheduled (e.g., 1:1 with their manager, role overview, meetings with key team members). Ensure those responsible for these sessions will be informed.
First Day Welcome and Schedule: Plan how new team members will be welcomed and by whom (e.g., a welcome email with instructions, a meeting with the team lead or manager, and a day-one schedule outlining key events and tasks).
Mentor or Buddy System: Setup a mentor or buddy system to help new hires integrate into the team and provide support during the onboarding process.‍
Documentation: Gather all essential documents such as company handbooks, vision statements, key resources, an organizational chart, and the product roadmap, that will be shared with new team members.

Create templates for onboarding documentation

Product Ops Assistant

Based on the key elements identified, create template documentation to streamline the preparation process for new team members’ first day. This should include email templates, such as a welcome email, and a comprehensive onboarding guide that new hires can use to navigate the process and independently complete certain tasks.

For a quick start, Miro offers a convenient New Employee Onboarding for Product Teams template and Notion provides an excellent selection of New Hire Onboarding Templates to choose from.

Review and finalize the plan

Product Ops Assistant

Select one or two team members to review the proposed onboarding plan and related documentation. Request their feedback and make any necessary revisions.

Product Ops Assistant & Product Leader

Meet to review the updated onboarding plan and documentation together. Make final adjustments as needed.

Share the plan with the team

‍Product Ops Assistant‍

Distribute the onboarding plan and documentation to the team. Ensure that team members understand their responsibilities within the onboarding process. Incorporate any feedback from the team to refine the plan.

Execute the plan and refine as needed

‍Product Ops Assistant

‍When a new team member starts, prepare personalized onboarding documentation and checklists using the templates. Oversee the execution of the onboarding plan, ensuring all team members are ready to fulfill their roles in the process. After onboarding is complete, request feedback from the new hire and update the plan as needed based on their suggestions.