We all get nervous for the first day on the job.
Here are a few ideas to help you put together an orientation packet for new hires to help them settle in just a little bit easier.
Before we get there though, what exactly is a new hire packet? It’s simply the information you give every new employee when they come on board. Creating one will help streamline your onboarding process, answering your new hires’ most important questions about what it means to work at your organization.
New hire packet checklist:
1. Letter
A hand-written welcome letter is a nice touch to help your new hire feel welcome. If you need some inspiration, check out our employee announcement templates.
2. Employee handbook
No hiring packet would be complete without an employee handbook. Use your handbook to introduce your employee to processes, practices, and behaviors that are expected at your company. If you don’t have one already, check out our employee handbook template to get one started.
3. Employee information form
The first of the many new employee forms to include in your new hire packet forms is the employee information form. This form can be as simple or complex as you’d like to make it. Outside of standard information, this is a great opportunity to gather any intel that can be used by other departments in your organization, such as obtaining their favorite type of candy or t-shirt size for the culture team.
4. Financial forms (tax, direct deposit)
This is probably the area that both new hires and employers want to get settled the most. Gathering the new hire’s information, direct deposit information, and required signatures in new hire packet forms will get you moving in the right direction as soon as possible.
5. Compensation and benefits information
Beyond getting a direct deposit set up, learning about company benefits might be the second most important topic on new hires’ minds. While it’s important to convey this information on a new employee’s first day, it might be equally important to ensure that benefits information is easily accessible at any point. After all, there are many life events that qualify for re-enrollment.
6. Emergency contact information form
If something severe were to happen to your new hire, it’s critical to make their emergency contacts aware. Be sure to include this contact form in the process so that if the unimaginable does happen, you’ve got an action plan in place—before you need it.
7. Company directory
The most important part of any company culture is the people. Be sure to both introduce your new hire to people they will be working with and provide a directory of people with contact information. For larger companies, it’s typically only necessary to share a departmental list, while smaller companies may want to include their entire company.
8. Required uniforms or technology
If your new employees will be required to use company-provided uniforms, be sure to either have enough sizes on hand to accommodate any new hires, or simply include gathering clothing size information earlier in the hiring process so that you can have their specified size available on day one.
These new hire packet samples can be used to put together your very own new hire packet template to help onboard new employees better.
Speaking of onboarding…
While you’re at it, why don’t you check out our new employee checklist template? It’s a helpful tool to make sure you’re not forgetting an important step of the process. You can also learn more about how companies like yours are using Lessonly to onboard new employees here.
