Your step-by-step guide to efficient IT onboarding

A man is standing in front of a bulletin board with a red check mark on it.

According to LinkedIn, companies with a well-designed onboarding process experience 50% greater new hire retention. Creating a great onboarding experience is essential to building a culture where people are excited to work. While a great onboarding experience should include opportunities for shadowing, clear role expectations, and fun team events to get to know each other, it should also ensure new hires are trained on how to use their new technology.

But getting new employees set up with their technology isn’t easy. There are several considerations from a security, HR, access, and workplace standpoint. Plus, you want your employees to feel comfortable and confident using the technology as they embark on their new job. You want them to know how to login to their accounts, schedule their days onsite, or report any tech issues. If your company uses a consolidated workplace platform, you’ll want to make sure your new hires know how all the pieces work together.

So we’ve created a handy checklist that you can use to onboard new employees with ease. Follow along and roll out this easy-to-implement process across all your locations.

IT onboarding checklist

Section 1: Understand new employees’ technology needs

Identify their access level

You’ll want to start by first identifying each new employees’ job function. That will determine the level of access they get to your company’s tech stack. For example, are they a full-time employee or a contractor? Are they upper management or a junior employee? Are they on the marketing team or the finance team? You’ll want to grant the right access for their role and level.

Order any hardware that the employee will need

Based on your employee’s job function, they may need different types of technology. For example, employees may need a laptop, iPad, cell phone, keyboard, and more. Plus, if you have a hybrid set-up, your employees will need an at-home monitor, keyboard, and VPN as well. Place an order to make sure you get the right amount of hardware for your employees. And consider offering a stipend so employees can purchase their own at-home accessories.

Understand software needed for their job

Along with needing different kinds of hardware, employees will need specific software depending on their role. A member of the data team might need SQL or Excel downloaded on their computer. A member of the design team might need Photoshop or Adobe. It’ll be helpful to connect with the manager of each new hire to understand what tools they will need. Then, work with each individual during the onboarding session to download those tools with them.

Build a technology profile for each employee

Build a profile for each employee that lists out what devices you’ve issued out and what software you’ve installed on them. This will help you later on when you are offboarding employees. You’ll be able to know exactly which company products you’ve issued out and how many. This can also be useful for employees who need a replacement. You can quickly scan which item they previously had and order another.

Section 2: Set up technology before the first day

Install security applications on company equipment

If you’re reusing existing company equipment, you’ll want to make sure any information from the previous user is completely wiped out. Reset the laptop or iPad back to its original factory settings. Then you’ll want to install security software to ensure privacy and protection. You’ll want to do this on brand new equipment as well. Consider a security software like Okta, Cisco, or Symantec to make sure you’re keeping company information secure.

Get technology ready for orientation

For employees that are attending an in-person orientation, make sure you have their laptops and other equipment ready to go for their first day. You’ll want them to be pre-installed with security software as well as their other requested tools. Work with your HR and IT teams located at each office to make sure the equipment is in order. Also, if you have employees joining your team that are remote or based in a different location, make sure you ship out their equipment well in advance.

Create any necessary accounts

Every employee is going to need a company email address, Slack profile, Zoom account, and more. Make sure you create or help them create their profiles within the major communication channels your company uses. Plus, you’ll want to get them access to their payroll information, benefits, and other employee documents.

Walk-them through how to access company accounts

Once again, depending on the employee’s job function, they might need access to specific company accounts. For example, employees might need to use the company’s social media profiles, data dashboard, project management software, and more. So be sure to work with individuals to figure out their unique needs and help them find the shared company passwords.

Bonus tip:
Use a shared password manager like 1Password to house all company profiles. Then work with employees to make sure they can access 1Password through their own devices.

Section 3: Onboard employees with the support of your team

Conduct a training workshop during orientation/onboarding week

You’ve got your new hires in the front door with laptops in their hands. You’ve done your part on the backend to install security apps and create their profiles. Now it’s time to work together to actually login to the technology. As part of the orientation, set up an hour-long technical workshop where you can help employees enter account details and access their profiles. Employees who have questions or get stuck can get an answer right away.

Educate new hires on security best practices

You’ll want to use this time you have with new hires to also inform them of the security best practices your company follows. Help employees set up secure password management. Help them identify phishing emails. Give them tips on what personal accounts they should or shouldn’t open on company equipment. We’ve got a handy tipsheet with more security best practices for you to follow.

Connect employees with tech support

There’s going to be times when your employees experience a technical issue. So walk your new hires through the process to contact tech support whether that be through a ticketing system, email, or Slack message.

Host regular training sessions

Technology is ever evolving. And there are going to be software updates and new features that you’ll roll out to your employees. So it’s a good idea to host regular training sessions or workshops for folks to ask questions or just learn how to use their tools better.

Section 4: Get employees set up to come to the workplace

Verify their health information

We may not be in the thick of the pandemic anymore, but health verification is still very important for businesses. You’ll want to make sure your new hires can verify their health or vaccination status through your company’s health verification tool. Once your employees pass the screening, they’ll be registered in your company’s database and allowed to start scheduling their days onsite.

Provide them access control

If your company uses an access control tool like Kisi, you’ll want to make sure your new hires set up an account within the tool. Depending on the employment level, your new hires might have different levels of access.

Walk employees through how to book a desk

After orientation, your employees will be ready to start working! And for that, they’ll need a desk that they can easily book for the days they’re coming onsite. Show your new hires how to book a desk via your desk booking tool. Show them any features that might be helpful such as the ability to find where their manager is sitting or book a desk based on amenities.

Sync their calendars with your conference room booking tool

New hires are going to have lots of meetings as they learn the ropes in their first few weeks. Integrate your conference room reservation tool with employees’ calendars and give them a quick walk through of how to book a room. Show them exactly how to search for rooms in their office and choose one based on availability and size. You can even walk around the office and show them how to book a room on the iPads outside each meeting space.

Set up their deliveries profile

In order to receive packages to the workplace, your employees will need to be set up with your mailroom management tool. Don’t forget to point out where the delivery room is on the first-day office tour. Also let your employees know to keep an eye out for a Slack message when their delivery arrives.

Prepare employees to invite guests onsite

Depending on the functionality of your new hires, they may be inviting visitors like clients or job candidates onsite frequently. So make sure they know how to use your visitor management system to send out personalized invites.

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According to our recent At Work workplace trends report, 34% of employees cite slow or outdated technology as a major deal breaker for returning to the workplace. You want to be sure you’re creating the best experience possible with the technology you offer – and that starts on day one by onboarding employees to your workplace tech stack. And when your technology is seamlessly integrated with each other in a workplace platform, it makes the employee experience at work even better.

Want to know how Envoy can help you level up your workplace technology?

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