01 the business
Accounting firm
90 staff, 25 new hires a year
Onboarding depends on who remembers what. Laptops arrive late and logins are missing on day one. New starters spend their first week asking where things are.
02 before
The problem
Onboarding in a small company depends on who remembers what. Laptops arrive late, logins are missing on day one, and new starters spend their first week asking where things are instead of learning the job.
- Day-one setup is incomplete.
- Each manager onboards differently.
- Nobody checks in after the first week.
03 the build
What the AI does
- Step 1: Starts when an offer is marked as signed in BambooHR, Deel or your applicant tracker.
- Step 2: Builds a role-specific plan for the first weeks from your templates, covering setup, training, intros and early goals.
- Step 3: Creates tasks for IT, the manager and payroll, such as accounts in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, equipment and paperwork.
- Step 4: Books intro meetings and training sessions in calendars and posts a welcome note in the team's Slack or Teams channel.
- Step 5: Checks in with the new hire and the manager at set points and reports anything that is overdue.
paused: waiting for a person to approve
How it was put together
- Started a plan when an offer was marked signed in the HR system.
- Built a role-specific plan for the first weeks from templates.
- Created tasks for IT, the manager and payroll.
- Booked intros and training and checked in with the new hire and manager at set points.
04 human in the loop
Where a person stays in charge
The hiring manager reviews and edits the plan before it is shared with the new hire. Access requests to sensitive systems are approved by IT or the system owner before accounts are created.
- The hiring manager reviews the plan before the new hire sees it.
- Access to sensitive systems needs IT or the system owner's approval.
- Personal data stays in the HR system.
05 rollout
From kickoff to live in 3 weeks
- Week 1Write templates for the three most common roles.
- Week 2Run for the next two hires.
- Week 3Use for all hires and add more role templates.
06 after
What changes
New starters arrive to a working laptop, the right logins and a clear plan. Managers stop rebuilding onboarding from memory each time they hire.
Assume 25 hires a year and 8 hours of coordination per hire, falling to 2 hours.
25 × 6 hours saved = 150 hours a year, plus fewer lost first days.
What to measure
- Day-one readiness: laptop, accounts and plan in place.
- Overdue onboarding tasks.
- New hire satisfaction at 30 days.
- Early leavers in the first 90 days.
07 evidence
What the research says
Only 12% of employees strongly agree their organisation does a great job of onboarding new employees.
Gallup, Why the onboarding experience is key for retention (opens in a new tab) · 2018
In a survey of 31,000 people in 31 markets, 75% of knowledge workers said they use AI at work, and 78% of AI users bring their own AI tools.
08 lessons
Mistakes to avoid
- One template for every role.
- Forgetting the manager. Their tasks matter most.
- Stopping at day one. Check in at 30 and 90 days.
09 questions
Common questions
- Why does onboarding matter so much?
- Gallup found only 12% of employees strongly agree their organisation does a great job of onboarding.
- Does it set up accounts too?
- It creates the tasks; account creation can be automated with the joiner and leaver workflow.