Guide
Employee onboarding in a small business: the complete checklist
Good onboarding doesn't need an HR department. It needs a list, a named owner and nobody having to guess who to ask.
The problem: the new hire arrives and nobody was ready
On day one there's no laptop, logins are missing, whoever was meant to welcome them is in a meeting, and the new person spends the morning reading old documents. In a small company nobody means it: there's just no process, so every new hire is improvised.
The cost shows up later: weeks before they're productive, the same questions asked of the busiest person, and a feeling that nobody knows where anything is.
The fix is cheap: one written checklist, reused and improved with every hire. Below is a version split into before day one, day one, the first week and the first month, plus a template you can paste into a shared doc today.
How it works with Tessa
- 1
Customise the welcome list
The admin defines the onboarding steps and a welcome message for the company.
- 2
Invite the new hire
When they join, Tessa sends them who's who, key clients and projects, and the wiki processes they can see.
- 3
Connect their tools
Google, Microsoft or Slack in one click, so Tessa starts working for them from day one.
- 4
Ask anything
“How do we do a quote here?” Tessa answers from company memory, with sources.
What you get
- Nothing forgottenThe same list for every new hire, adapted to your company.
- Fewer interruptionsThe usual questions get answered from the wiki's processes.
- Private progressEach person ticks off their own steps; nobody else sees them.
- Context from day oneClients, projects and recent decisions, limited to what that person can see.
Before day one
Half of good onboarding happens before the person arrives:
- Contract signed, social security registration and payroll details sorted (with your payroll provider).
- Equipment ready: laptop, phone if needed, accessories.
- Accounts created: email, Slack or chat, tools for the role.
- An onboarding buddy (not necessarily their manager) with time blocked for the first week.
- A welcome email with time and place or link, who to ask for on arrival and what day one looks like.
- A heads-up to the team: who's joining, what they'll do and when.
Day one
The goal of day one is that they go home knowing where things are and what they'll do tomorrow:
- Welcome and introductions to the team (in person or on video).
- Check every login works.
- Explain how the company works: channels, regular meetings, hours, who to ask for what.
- Mandatory information: health and safety, data protection and internal policies.
- A small, real first task they can finish.
- Lunch or coffee with their onboarding buddy.
The first week
Context and relationships before productivity:
- Short 20–30 minute chats with key people in other areas.
- Main clients, projects and suppliers, with their recent history.
- The processes they'll touch: how a quote, an invoice or a delivery is done.
- Where things live: folders, wiki, templates.
- A ten-minute daily check-in with their buddy to clear up questions.
The first month
Growing autonomy and clear goals:
- Written, shared goals for the first 30, 60 and 90 days.
- A first project or client where they take the lead.
- Check-ins at two and four weeks: what's going well, what's missing, what you'd change in the process.
- Update the checklist with whatever the new hire missed.
A checklist template to copy
Paste it into a shared doc and tick each item with a date and an owner:
- [ ] Contract, registration and payroll details — payroll provider — before day 1
- [ ] Laptop and accounts ready — IT owner — day −2
- [ ] Welcome email sent — onboarding buddy — day −3
- [ ] Team introductions — onboarding buddy — day 1
- [ ] Health and safety and data protection briefing — days 1–3
- [ ] Chats with key areas — week 1
- [ ] 30/60/90-day goals agreed — week 2
- [ ] Onboarding review — week 4
How Tessa automates it
When a new person joins the company space, Tessa sends them a one-off welcome message (in the app, in Slack and as a notification) with who's who by department, key clients and projects, the recent processes and decisions from the wiki they're allowed to see, the tools worth connecting and their welcome checklist.
The admin customises that list and the message. Each person ticks off their own progress, which nobody else sees: it's there to help them, not to monitor them. And because Tessa's wiki writes itself from meetings and channels, the answers to “how do we do this here?” are already written when someone new asks.
What Tessa reads for each person stays private, your data is stored in the EU and nothing goes out without your approval.
Frequently asked questions
What is employee onboarding?
The process of bringing a new person into the company, from preparing before they arrive to the point where they work independently. It covers admin, tools and, above all, context and relationships.
How long should onboarding last?
The first week is the most intense, but it's worth planning for 30, 60 and 90 days. In roles with a lot of client context, real independence often takes more than a month.
What training is mandatory when hiring in Spain?
At minimum, health and safety information and training for the role, and information on how their personal data is processed. Check with your payroll provider or prevention service what applies to you.
Can the manager see the new hire's progress in Tessa?
No. Each person tracks their own progress and nobody else sees it. Tessa follows the work, not the people.
Do I need a wiki to use Tessa's welcome message?
No. Tessa's wiki builds itself from decisions and processes in meetings and channels. Early on the message will include fewer processes, but who's who and the welcome list work from day one.
Keep reading
- FeaturesEvery new hire starts with a plan, not a “just ask if you need anything”Every new hire gets a message from Tessa with who's who, key clients, processes and their welcome checklist, plus someone to ask. Try it free.
- FeaturesYour company wiki, written while you workDecisions, processes and “how we do things here” pulled from meetings and channels, with sources and the right permissions. Try it free today.
- FeaturesAutomations you write the way you'd say themWrite “every Monday, remind clients with overdue invoices” and Tessa does it every week, with your approval for anything leaving the company.
- GuidesHow to automate repetitive tasks without knowing how to codeHow to spot which tasks to automate, write them as “when X happens, do Y” rules and get started without code and without losing control of what gets sent.
- GuidesHow to use AI in your company and stay GDPR compliantHow to use AI tools in your company without breaching GDPR: data processing agreements, data minimisation, EU storage and human oversight, made simple.
What does your team look like?
Same AI for both. Where you start is what changes.
Startups
5 to 30 people
Grow without losing the thread
Tasks from email and Slack, follow-ups, sales and investors, without everything landing on the founders.
Companies
30 to 250 people
What gets decided gets done
Minutes and tasks from every meeting, commitments that get followed up and a pulse per team, without watching anyone.
Get your next new hire off to a good start with Tessa. Start free.
Start freeFree plan for teams of up to 3 people. Anything that leaves the company waits for your approval.