IT onboarding checklist: what needs to be ready on day 1?

The best first day is a boring one. Laptop works, accounts are ready, folders are shared. This checklist covers the typical SMB scenario of 12 systems and 4 roles.

Good onboarding IT is invisible: the new employee experiences no friction. Bad onboarding IT is a pile of helpdesk tickets in week 1. Here is the checklist that works for a typical SMB scenario.

Day -2: preparation

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• HR forwards the access request including: name, role, start date, manager
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• IT / office manager selects the role bundle
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• Laptop is prepared (Windows/Mac image, company enrolment in Intune/Jamf)
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• Email account and licences are created (but not yet active)
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Day -1: accounts activated

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• Activate M365 or Google account at 17:00 the previous day
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• Apply the birthright profile
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• Apply the role-specific profile
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• Add to the Slack/Teams channels relevant to the role
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• Set mandatory MFA registration on first login
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• Send a welcome email with a temporary password and a 1Password invite to their personal email
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Day 1: morning (9:00–12:00)

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• Manager welcomes the new colleague
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• First login + MFA setup
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• Introductory session with IT / office manager (30 min): vault, MFA, password policy, security basics
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• Meet the team
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Day 1: afternoon

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• Access to tool-specific training (LinkedIn Learning, YouTube playlist, internal docs)
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• Reading afternoon: company wiki, security policy
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• First commit in the practice repo (for devs)
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Week 1: follow-up

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• Day 3: check-in with manager and IT. Something not working? Fix it now.
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• Day 5: "do you have everything you need?" — often 1–2 systems turn out to have been missed
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• Day 14: review which access has actually been used. Unused? Revoke it.
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The biggest pitfalls

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• Creating accounts only on day 1. A guaranteed way to make day 1 a stressful one.
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• All managers can choose any role bundle. Leads to access that doesn't match the job.
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• No defined role — filling in ad hoc. Leads to inconsistency and unmanageable access matrices.
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See also: offboarding, onboarding-offboarding parity.