Onboarding Plan Generator

Generate comprehensive onboarding checklists covering pre-start preparation, Day 1 orientation, Week 1 schedule, and 30/60/90-day goals tailored to the role and department.

Workflow

Step 1: Determine Onboarding Scope

Based on the role and employment type, select the appropriate onboarding track:

• Standard (full-time IC): Full onboarding with all phases
• Manager/Director: Standard plus leadership introductions, direct report 1:1s, budget access
• Executive: White-glove onboarding with board introductions, EA assignment, strategic briefings
• Contractor: Streamlined onboarding focused on access, scope, and deliverables
• Intern: Structured program with mentor assignment, project scoping, and learning goals

Collect missing details:

• Manager name and team structure
• Office location or remote setup
• Required tools and system access
• Buddy or onboarding partner assignment

Step 2: Generate Pre-Start Checklist (T-minus 2 weeks to Day 0)

IT and Access (IT/Admin owns):

• Provision laptop and peripherals
• Create email account and calendar
• Set up SSO and password manager
• Grant access to required systems (list by role)
• Ship equipment if remote

HR and Admin (HR owns):

• Send welcome email with Day 1 logistics
• Complete I-9 and tax documentation
• Enroll in benefits (or send enrollment link)
• Add to payroll system
• Create employee profile in HRIS

Manager (Hiring Manager owns):

• Assign onboarding buddy
• Schedule Week 1 meetings and introductions
• Prepare role-specific reading list or documentation
• Set up recurring 1:1 meetings
• Notify the team of the new hire and start date

Step 3: Create Day 1 Plan

Morning:

• Welcome and office/remote setup walkthrough
• Meet hiring manager (30 min): Team overview, expectations, first priorities
• IT setup verification: Confirm all accounts and tools are working
• HR orientation (60 min): Benefits overview, handbook, policies, emergency contacts

Afternoon:

• Team lunch or virtual coffee
• Meet onboarding buddy (30 min): Informal culture introduction
• Self-paced: Complete required compliance training
• Self-paced: Review team documentation, wikis, and project boards
• End-of-day check-in with manager (15 min)

Step 4: Create Week 1 Schedule

Map out a day-by-day schedule:

• Day 2: 1:1s with immediate team members, dev environment or tool setup
• Day 3: Cross-functional introductions, shadow a team meeting or workflow
• Day 4: Deep-dive into current projects, begin first small task or onboarding project
• Day 5: Week 1 retrospective with manager, adjust Week 2 priorities

Step 5: Define 30/60/90-Day Goals

30 Days (Learn):

• Complete all onboarding training and compliance requirements
• Understand team processes, tools, and communication norms
• Build relationships with immediate team and key stakeholders
• Complete first deliverable or onboarding project
• Identify 3 areas of ambiguity and discuss with manager

60 Days (Contribute):

• Own a workstream or project independently
• Participate in team planning and retrospectives
• Provide feedback on onboarding experience
• Begin building cross-functional relationships
• Set personal development goals with manager

90 Days (Own):

• Deliver measurable impact on a team objective
• Operate independently with minimal guidance
• Contribute to process improvements based on fresh-eyes observations
• Complete performance check-in with manager
• Establish long-term goals and development plan

Output Format

## Onboarding Plan: [Name] — [Role]

**Start Date**: [date]
**Manager**: [name]
**Buddy**: [name/TBD]
**Location**: [office/remote]

---

### Pre-Start Checklist (2 weeks before Day 1)

#### IT and Access
- [ ] Laptop provisioned and shipped
- [ ] Email and calendar created
- [ ] SSO and password manager configured
- [ ] System access granted: [list tools]
- [ ] VPN access configured (if remote)

#### HR and Admin
- [ ] Welcome email sent
- [ ] I-9 and tax documents completed
- [ ] Benefits enrollment initiated
- [ ] Payroll setup confirmed
- [ ] HRIS profile created

#### Manager Prep
- [ ] Buddy assigned: [name]
- [ ] Week 1 meetings scheduled
- [ ] Reading list prepared
- [ ] Team notified of new hire
- [ ] 1:1 recurring meeting created

### Day 1 Schedule
| Time       | Activity                        | Owner    |
|-----------|--------------------------------|----------|
| 9:00 AM    | Welcome and setup               | Manager  |
| 9:30 AM    | Manager 1:1                     | Manager  |
| 10:30 AM   | HR orientation                  | HR       |
| 12:00 PM   | Team lunch                      | Buddy    |
| 1:00 PM    | Buddy intro and culture chat    | Buddy    |
| 2:00 PM    | Compliance training (self-paced)| New Hire |
| 3:30 PM    | Documentation review            | New Hire |
| 4:30 PM    | End-of-day check-in             | Manager  |

### Week 1 Overview
[Day-by-day breakdown]

### 30/60/90-Day Goals
[Structured goals by phase]

Examples

User: "Create an onboarding plan for a new Senior Data Engineer starting March 15." Action: Generate full onboarding plan with data-engineering-specific tool access (Snowflake, Airflow, dbt), data team introductions, and technical ramp-up goals.

User: "Onboarding checklist for a contractor joining the design team." Action: Generate streamlined contractor checklist focused on access provisioning, scope definition, and project kickoff. Skip benefits enrollment and long-term goal setting.

User: "30/60/90 plan for a new VP of Marketing." Action: Generate executive-track 30/60/90 with strategic assessment, stakeholder mapping, team evaluation, and first-quarter priorities.

Best Practices

• Send the welcome email at least one week before Day 1 so the new hire arrives feeling expected and prepared.
• Front-load people introductions over process training. Relationships drive successful onboarding more than documentation.
• Assign the onboarding buddy from a different sub-team than the manager to give broader perspective.
• Do not schedule more than 4 hours of meetings on Day 1. New hires need unstructured time to set up and absorb.
• Make the 30-day goal achievable and specific. A quick win builds confidence.
• Check in at the end of Week 1, Day 30, Day 60, and Day 90. Do not wait for the first formal review.
• Customize system access lists by role. Engineering needs GitHub and CI/CD; marketing needs CMS and analytics.
• For remote hires, ship equipment to arrive 2-3 business days before start date to allow for setup issues.
• Include a "fresh eyes feedback" prompt at Day 30. New hires see inefficiencies that tenured employees miss.
• Track onboarding task completion in a shared document so both the new hire and manager can see progress.