Onboarding Checklist

In the last in our series on on boarding new leaders we look at a practical checklist that can be followed to help make on boarding successful. 

In their book The Total Onboarding Program; George Bradt & Ed Bancroft outline a detailed approach for bringing new employees and recently promoted employees up to speed in much less than the regular time and how to inspire and enable new employees to deliver better results faster on the job. These principles are easily adaptable to new leaders too.

Align: Organizations must agree on the need for a new team member and delineate a clear role.

Acquire: Organizations have the responsibility to identify, recruit, select, and bring in the right people to join the team.

Accommodate: Organizations must give new team members the tools they need to do the work.

Assimilate: Organization must help new team members join with others to work effectively.

Accelerate: Organizations must support new team members and their teams’ efforts to deliver better results faster.


Set out below is a quick checklist of some key points to consider as part of the

onboarding process to get your new leader up and running as soon as possible and avoid the pitfalls identified on page 2 of this guide:




Obvious but often overlooked - Administrative/hygiene factors to address:

 Parking permit

 Company ID

 Paychecks

 Enrollment in benefits programs

 Family relocation concern

 Workplace familiarity – washrooms, restaurant, Health & Safety requirements

 Introductory announcements




Building Relationships

Guide the new leader in building robust relationships with:

 The person to whom the new leader reports

 Key company & union leadership

 Internal stakeholders

 External stakeholders

 Direct reports

 Indirect reports




Understanding Culture

Advise the new leader on:

 Employment sector e.g. Oil Sands, Construction, Servicing

 The company vision, values and strategy

 Company culture (current and aspirational)

 Unit culture

 How the leader’s role integrates with, or challenges, the existing cultures

 Assessing the situation in which the new leader will operate




Achieving Results

Dialogue with the new leader about:

 Organizational goals

 Stakeholder expectations

 Creating integrated, aligned performance goals

 Communicating performance goals with the person to whom new leader reports and direct reports

 Quick wins