Onboarding checklist for managers
This list is prepared to help managers and supervisors with new employee onboarding and orientation to new workplace and new tasks.
Before employment starts
- Plan onboarding and orientation for new employee together with your unit HR (weekly check-in meetings, one to one meetings with team members, training, program for first two weeks)
- Name an Onboarding Buddy to new employee
- Order the Aalto Kit for new employee
- Make sure computer and work phone will be ordered for new employee
- Inform IT about mailing lists, shared folders & resource mail boxes that the new employee needs to have
During the first day
- Welcome the new employee or assign a group/team member to do this if you are absent.
- Give introduction of unit and department faculty and staff, and work environment (tour of campus / buildings / departments) (This task can be delegated to a colleague)
- Arrange a team gathering – breakfast, lunch, afterwork or coffees for the team with the new employee
During the first 2 weeks
Go through
- The persons role, main responsibilities, tasks, goals, expectations, what success in role looks like
- Stakeholders and how to network with them (team members & their roles, other colleagues and relevant service personnel, buddy)
- Practical induction to tasks “hand-in-hand”
- Occupational safety orientation in a laboratory, workshop or studio and guiding to health check at occupational healthcare if work has exposure to occupational hazards
- How does the unit work: way of working, decision-making practices, meeting practices & internal communication, for example Microsoft Teams and Zoom
- Basics in administrational duties on Finance, Travel, Human Resources (HR), Procurement etc depending on employees role.
- If academic personnel; ensure support in research and teaching related issues
- Career possibilities at Aalto
During months 1 - 2
- Discuss the alignment between their work and their team's, unit's & Aalto's
- Review key issues and tasks with the new employee in discussions together, plan additional orientation if needed. Are duties and processes clear, what is the new employee's overall impression of the job?
- Please ask for and share feedback on their onboarding process so far.
- Make sure that employee will complete the three compulsory online trainings (code of conduct, cybersecurity, data protection and security) within their probation period.
- Direct new employee to staff training / peda courses / leadership training. What training/courses does the new employee feel that he/she needs, what would be useful for the job?
https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/competence-development-index and courses in Workday Learning
During months 3 - 5
- Discuss their strengths and how they could be used more in their work
- Discuss what further development could increase performance in their role
- Ask about their workload, stress and work-life balance
- Ask for their insights on the team's culture and what their relationships are like with their colleagues
At 6 months
Have a My Dialogue discussion at 6 months My Dialogues | Aalto University
- Set concrete workplan and goals for the upcoming year
- Set individual development plan
- Discuss wellbeing in depth
- Assess their performance and determine if they pass their probation