Every organization’s onboarding process is unique—it should even differ from employee to employee. If you’re building an onboarding process from the ground up, here are the steps you should include: 1. Preboarding Preboarding occurs after the new hire has accepted their offer letter, but before their start date. Some companies combine preboarding tasks with employee orientation. The benefit of conducting preboarding beforehand is that you keep the new hire engaged with the company and excited about their new organization before they even begin. Preboarding tasks can include: A tour of the office (if you work in person) A casual meet-and-greet with their new team (a virtual coffee hour or an in-person lunch) Sending them company information such as the employee handbook, culture manual, benefits information, and org chart Sending them a welcome pack with branded company swag like stationery, a t-shirt or sweater, a stainless steel water bottle, or a coffee mug 2. Employee orientation Employee orientation typically occurs on day one of employment. It’s a formal event where an HR professional leads the new hire (or new hires, if orientation is completed in groups) through various materials and procedures. Typically, the onboarding lead will review the company history and mission with the new hires, as well as mandatory policies they need to review and training they need to complete. During this time, new hires will also complete the necessary new employee paperwork and administrative procedures such as providing payroll information and setting up various accounts and profiles. 3. Team integration Once the new hire is officially set up at the company, you’ll want to integrate them into their new team by facilitating colleague introductions and managing their training. In the first week, the new hire should meet their immediate coworkers via informal 15 to 30-minute coffee chats. After that, they can move on to meeting their extended team members. In the first two weeks, allocate time for the new hire to read through company materials, complete mandatory training, review their team’s recent work and workflow, and familiarize themselves with all the apps, tools, and programs they’ll use. Once they’re settled in and ready to start working, assign them a partner from their immediate team. This colleague will act as a knowledgable guide and mentor while they complete their first few tasks or projects. 4. Ongoing support and development Managers should check in with the new hire via weekly one-on-one meetings for the first month of their employment. Schedule monthly progress meetings to reflect on the previous month and to set goals for the next few weeks. Over the first three months, steadily give the employee more autonomy as their workload ramps up. Eventually, the new hire will fully integrate into the team and need little oversight. However, weekly or bi-weekly check-in meetings are recommended to discuss their career growth and maintain a strong manager-employee connection.