How To Onboard Well: From Day One to Week Two (And Beyond)

Onboarding is one of those things that looks simple on paper.

You hire someone great, you give them a laptop, a few logins, a welcome email, and off they go.

But in reality, onboarding is one of the most important operational systems any business has, because it shapes how someone feels about the team, the work, and the future you are asking them to build with you. I have learned this the hard way over time.

The best onboarding experiences do not happen by accident, and they are rarely “fully automated”. They are intentional, human, and they set a clear pathway so a new starter knows what good looks like.

The temptation to automate (and why it is not the full answer)

It is tempting to reach for the latest technology to “automate” onboarding. A workflow here, an app there, an automated email sequence, a slick portal.

Those tools can absolutely help.

But if we lead with automation before we lead with clarity and care, we can end up creating an onboarding experience that is efficient, but cold. In most roles, a new starter is not just learning systems. They are learning people, how decisions get made, what is valued, and they are trying to work out where they fit.

No software can replace that.

Why onboarding matters more than most teams realise

A good onboarding experience is imperative if you want to form and maintain long term employees. It reduces recruitment cost, the loss of knowledge, it protects momentum, and it helps people do their best work sooner.

There is also a simple truth.

You only get one chance to make a first impression.

The first few days and weeks are when people decide whether they feel safe to ask questions, whether they belong, and whether the job matches the story they were sold. That is an operational responsibility, not just a “nice to have”.

Create a clear and defined pathway for every new starter

The biggest gift you can give someone new is a defined pathway. Not a vague sense of “you will work it out”, but a roadmap.

A clear onboarding journey answers the questions a new starter often will not ask out loud.

Questions like:

• What happens on day one?

• What does success look like in week one?

• Who do I go to for what?

• What should I focus on first?

• How will my progress be supported?

When you can answer those clearly, you remove a lot of the fear of the unknown.

Start early to remove the fear of the unknown

Onboarding starts before someone walks in the door. If the first time a new starter hears what to expect is when they arrive, you have already missed an opportunity.

A simple pre-start message with a clear roadmap can take someone from anxious to confident.

It should cover practical basics like:

• Dress code

• What equipment and tools will be supplied

• What they need to bring on the first day

• Where to go and who to ask for

But it should also set expectations for the entire onboarding journey, not just day one. It helps people mentally prepare, which makes them far more present when they arrive.

Checklists are your best friend (seriously)

If there is one operational habit that consistently improves onboarding, it is checklists. Checklists remove guesswork, they stop important steps being forgotten, make ownership clear, and also reduce the invisible load on one person who otherwise is trying to remember everything.

A few examples of what we typically include in an onboarding checklist:

• How to set up a new desk

• What systems access is required

• What equipment needs to be ordered or prepared

• Who is responsible for each task, and by when

When onboarding is done well, it usually is because the boring parts were handled brilliantly.

Make day one about welcome, not productivity

There is a common misconception that a great first day means a new starter “hits the ground running”. In my experience, the best first day is the one where someone walks away thinking: “I am welcome here, and I know how to get help.”

The first day should be about making a new starter feel welcome and part of the team.

That includes:

• A tour of the office

• Personal introductions to as many team members as possible

• Sharing the local favourite lunch spots

• Reinforcing that how they feel and their mental state is as important as the work they will be doing

People do their best work when they feel safe. Onboarding is your first chance to build that safety.

Give people a snapshot of the company they just joined

New starters do not just join a role, they join a story. They want to understand the history and the “why” behind how things are done. Taking time to give a snapshot of your company helps someone feel part of the history, and part of the future. It also creates context, and context makes everything connect for your new employee faster. Without it, they will hear information, but not know where it fits.

Avoid the information dump by spacing things out

Information dumps are overwhelming. Even if someone is listening, it does not mean the information is being absorbed.A better approach is to space out onboarding over the first couple of weeks. This eliminates the need to repeat yourself, because people have time to practise, ask questions, and connect the dots.

A simple way to think about it is:

• Day 1: Welcome, orientation, people, basics

• Week 1: Role clarity, tools, first small wins

• Week 2: Deeper systems, processes, and independence

The exact shape will vary by role, but the principle stays the same: make it digestible.

Document everything and make it easy to find

If onboarding information lives only in people’s heads, it will always be inconsistent, it also becomes a risk when key people are away. All onboarding information should be documented and easily accessible, that does not mean it has to be perfect, but it does need to be findable and kept current. Good documentation supports two things at once: it helps the new starter, but it also helps the team scale. Take a look at this recent post to learn more about our internal documentation.

The final piece: check-ins, check-ins, and more check-ins

If I had to pick the most overlooked part of onboarding, it would be structured check-ins. The job is not done because a new starter has access to systems, it’s done when someone feels confident, connected, and clear. That only happens with regular check-ins. Check-ins create space for questions, surface issues early, and show the person they matter. They also give leaders a chance to adjust the onboarding plan before problems become frustration.

How we do this at Revium

At Revium, we aim to combine the operational foundations (clear pathways, checklists, documentation) with a genuinely human experience. We are always improving and learning. The best onboarding systems have a continuous feedback loop. We send a short survey to every new employee after their induction, and we actively look for patterns in what worked and what didn’t. That feedback is how we keep improving the experience over time, so the process gets better with every new starter. We are intentional about using systems to support people, not replace them. If there is one takeaway I hope you keep, it is this.

Onboarding is not a task to complete, it is a relationship to build.

Interested in joining the team at Revium? Take a look at our open positions here.