IT Onboarding Checklist for New Employees
Consistent IT onboarding is one of the quiet differences between a business that runs well and one that constantly fights small fires. This checklist covers everything a Sudbury business should do when a new employee starts, in the order it should happen, and pairs with our separate offboarding checklist so nothing slips through when someone leaves.
Before their first day
- Create the user account in Microsoft 365 with the correct licence
- Assign to the correct groups for email, SharePoint, and Teams access
- Provision or prepare their device from a standard image
- Enroll the device in your endpoint management platform
- Install security stack (EDR, disk encryption, VPN client)
- Create the mailbox and set up email signature
MFA and password setup
MFA should be required from the first sign-in, not enabled later. Set up the user's MFA method (authenticator app preferred) during a supervised first-login rather than emailing setup instructions and hoping.
Device setup
- Assigned laptop or desktop, dock, monitor(s), keyboard, mouse, headset
- Wi-Fi and VPN pre-configured
- Printer drivers deployed
- Line-of-business software installed
- Screen lock timeout and privacy screen if required
Security software
- Endpoint detection and response deployed and reporting to console
- Disk encryption verified
- Browser hardening (block risky extensions, enforce updates)
- Password manager account created and logged in
File permissions and access
Grant access based on role, not "same as their manager." Copying permissions is how least-privilege dies over time. Add the user to groups that match their role and audit access quarterly.
Teams and SharePoint access
- Add to the correct Teams
- Grant SharePoint site access via groups, not individual permissions
- Pin the sites and channels they'll use daily
- Configure OneDrive sync of key folders
Password manager
Every business password manager should be seeded on day one, before staff start reusing passwords on new services. Give the user their vault, teach them basic vault hygiene, and share only the credentials they actually need.
Acceptable use and training
- Acceptable-use policy signed
- Data-handling policy reviewed
- Security awareness training scheduled within the first week
- How-to-open-a-ticket walkthrough
- Contact information for after-hours issues
Documentation
Record the user's assigned equipment, mailbox, licences, and group memberships in your documentation platform. This is what makes offboarding fast and reliable when the time comes.
Matching offboarding checklist
Every onboarding item has an offboarding counterpart: disable the account, revoke sessions, collect the device, and remove group memberships. See our full IT offboarding checklist for the parallel list.
Frequently asked questions
How long should IT onboarding take per new hire?
With a standardized process, most Sudbury businesses can prepare a new user account and device in under two hours of IT time. Without standardization, the same task can take a full day per hire.
Should MFA be optional for new hires?
No. MFA should be required from the first sign-in for every user, without exception. The days of optional MFA are behind us.
Who owns the checklist — HR or IT?
HR owns the hire; IT owns the technical checklist. The two should be joined by a shared trigger — usually HR creates the request in a common ticketing system when the hire is confirmed.
What about contractors and short-term staff?
Follow the same checklist with a defined end date on the account so it disables automatically. Contractors are the single most common source of forgotten active accounts.
Can this be automated?
Much of it can. Microsoft 365 group-based licensing, Intune, and identity provisioning tools remove most of the manual clicks. A managed IT provider in Sudbury can set this up as part of onboarding.
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Related services, locations, and resources
Related services
- Microsoft 365 Support
Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and licensing.
- Business IT Support
Remote and on-site help desk for day-to-day issues.
- Managed IT Services
Proactive monitoring, patching, and predictable monthly support.
- Cybersecurity Services
Endpoint protection, MFA, email filtering, and M365 hardening.
Related service areas
Related resources
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