Create a practical onboarding plan for a new [ROLE] joining [TEAM OR DEPARTMENT] at [COMPANY]. The employee's work location and arrangement are [WORK ARRANGEMENT]. Use these confirmed company policies, tools, required training, benefits guidance, and security rules: [POLICY AND PROCESS NOTES]. The role's first-90-day responsibilities and success measures are: [ROLE EXPECTATIONS]. Build a plan that is fair, realistic, and usable by the new employee, manager, and assigned onboarding partners. Do not invent policies, access permissions, deadlines, compensation terms, or legal requirements. Where information is absent, mark it "confirm with HR/manager." Output a table with columns for timing, objective, activities, owner, evidence of completion, and dependency. Organize it into preboarding, day one, first week, days 8-30, days 31-60, and days 61-90. Include:
1. Required administrative, security, and compliance steps before role-specific learning, with HR or IT as the owner where appropriate. 2. A staged learning path: company context, team operating norms, systems access, role shadowing, supervised work, and increasing independent ownership. 3. A manager check-in cadence with suggested discussion topics, including workload, belonging, blockers, feedback, and role clarity. 4. Measurable milestones tied to the stated role expectations, not vague measures such as "fit in" or "be proactive." 5. A short accommodations and equity note that allows flexible learning methods and avoids assumptions about availability, caregiving, disability, or prior company knowledge. Before finalizing, check for any task assigned before its required access or training. Also check that the plan distinguishes mandatory policy requirements from manager preferences. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [ROLE] | Enter the employee's job title and level if relevant. | Customer Support Specialist, entry level |
| [TEAM OR DEPARTMENT] | Name the team and describe its core function. | Customer Experience; a 14-person team handling email and chat support |
| [COMPANY] | Enter the company name or a neutral description of the organization. | HarborDesk, a B2B scheduling software company |
| [WORK ARRANGEMENT] | State whether the employee is remote, hybrid, onsite, and any known location constraints. | Remote in the United States, working Eastern Time business hours |
| [POLICY AND PROCESS NOTES] | Paste confirmed policies, systems, training requirements, and onboarding procedures. | Complete security awareness training before Zendesk access. HR owns I-9 and benefits enrollment. Support uses Slack, Notion, Zendesk, and Looker. QA review begins after two weeks of shadowing. |
| [ROLE EXPECTATIONS] | List the role's initial responsibilities, deliverables, and reasonable measures of success. | By day 30, resolve simple billing and account questions under supervision. By day 60, handle the standard queue with weekly QA coaching. By day 90, meet the published quality rubric and escalation rules. |
How to use
- Paste only confirmed policy and process information, then identify missing items before sharing the plan.
- Check that system access, required training, and ownership appear before any dependent task.
- Review 30-, 60-, and 90-day milestones with the hiring manager for realism and role relevance.
- Follow up with: "Turn the first-week section into a calendar-ready agenda for a remote employee, preserving all policy owners."
Variations
Manager checklist
Use this when a manager needs a compact execution list.
Create a manager checklist for onboarding a new [ROLE] over [TIME PERIOD]. Use [POLICY NOTES] and [ROLE MILESTONES] as the source of truth. Divide tasks into before start date, day one, week one, and recurring check-ins. For each item, state the owner, deadline, and proof it is complete. Include introductions, access requests, feedback cadence, and workload calibration. Do not invent HR, IT, or legal requirements; mark gaps for confirmation. Check that no task depends on access that has not been granted. Ask up to 3 questions only if required inputs are missing.
Remote onboarding
Use this when the employee will work primarily away from an office.
Design a remote onboarding plan for a [ROLE] in [TIME ZONE OR LOCATION] joining [TEAM]. Base it on [POLICIES AND TOOLS] and [ROLE EXPECTATIONS]. Create a four-week schedule that balances live sessions, recorded learning, shadowing, independent practice, and protected focus time. Specify which meetings are essential, what can be asynchronous, and how the manager will check belonging and blockers without monitoring activity. Output a schedule table plus a manager communication plan. Flag missing security or equipment procedures. Ask up to 3 questions only if required inputs are missing.
Ninety-day review
Use this when preparing an early-tenure progress conversation.
Prepare a fair 90-day onboarding review for [ROLE] using [AGREED MILESTONES], [WORK SAMPLES OR NOTES], and [COMPANY REVIEW GUIDANCE]. Write sections for accomplishments, evidence, areas still developing, support needed, employee perspective, and next-quarter priorities. Separate observed facts from manager interpretation. Avoid rating personality, availability, or assumptions about effort. Output a discussion document and five questions for the employee. Flag conclusions not supported by the work notes. Ask up to 3 questions only if required inputs are missing.
Tips
- Assign one owner to every onboarding item; “the team” creates gaps when access, training, or introductions are delayed.
- Use evidence of completion such as a completed practice task or access confirmation, not attendance alone.
- Keep mandatory compliance steps separate from a manager's preferred working style so new hires know what is actually required.
- Set early milestones around controlled work and feedback before asking for independent output at full volume.
FAQ
What should be included on a new employee's first day?
Prioritize welcome, essential employment steps, equipment and account access, security requirements, team context, and a manageable first task. Avoid scheduling a full day of orientation sessions.
Should every role use the same 90-day plan?
The policy and company-context portions can be consistent, but learning activities and performance milestones should match the role, level, and access needs.
Can AI create HR policy requirements?
No. Use it to organize confirmed requirements and mark gaps for HR, legal, or the manager to resolve.