Preboarding is everything a company does for a new employee between signing the contract and their first day at work: welcoming them, sharing information, taking care of formalities and preparing the workstation. Well-run preboarding means the first day at work is not chaos for either the new hire or the team. It is the first stage of the whole onboarding process, which we cover in more detail in the article What Is Onboarding?.
Below you will find a practical plan: what to send before the start, what to put in the welcome pack, a ready-made welcome letter, a sample schedule for the first day and a list of mistakes best avoided.
What is preboarding and why do it
The period between accepting the offer and the first day can be long – with a notice period at the previous employer it is often several weeks, even three months. During that time the candidate may still receive another offer, start doubting their decision or simply not know what to expect.
Preboarding has three goals:
- Keep them engaged – the new hire should feel that the company is waiting for them, not that it forgot about them after the contract was signed.
- Remove uncertainty – where to go, at what time, who to ask for, what to wear, what to bring.
- Lighten the first day – formalities, documents and some of the materials can be handled earlier, leaving time for people and work on the first day.
Preboarding does not mean working before the contract starts. It is about information and preparation, not about assigning tasks nobody is paying for yet.
What to do before the first day at work – preboarding checklist
The simplest approach is to divide preboarding into stages over time. A sample layout for a typical office role:
Right after signing the contract
- Send a welcome letter from the manager or HR (you will find a template below).
- Name one contact person the new hire can write to with any question.
- Provide the list of documents needed for employment and the deadline for submitting them.
Two to three weeks before the start
- Order equipment: laptop, phone, accessories, access card.
- Request account setup: email, messaging app, line-of-business systems.
- Appoint a buddy – a team member who will help with day-to-day matters during the first weeks.
- Block time in calendars for meetings on the first day and in the first week.
One week before the start
- Send materials about the company and the department: structure, a short description of the team, the most important rules.
- Send the first-day schedule with times and names.
- Offer a short online meeting with the manager or buddy – 15–20 minutes is enough to break the ice.
- Remind them of practical details: address, entrance, parking, time, dress code.
The day before the start
- Check that the equipment works and the accounts are active.
- Prepare the desk and the welcome pack.
- Tell the team who is joining tomorrow and in what role.
If you hire regularly, it pays to turn this list into a template you reuse for subsequent hires. We describe a detailed plan for the following weeks in the article Employee Onboarding Step by Step: The Onboarding Plan.
Welcome letter for a new employee – sample template
A welcome letter is the simplest and cheapest element of preboarding. It should be short, personal and specific: who is writing, when and where you start, what will happen, who to turn to. It is better if it is signed by the direct manager rather than “the HR team”.
A sample email you can adapt:
Subject: Welcome to the team, [First name]! A few things before your first day
Hi [First name],
I am really pleased that you are joining the [department name] team as [job title] on [date]. The whole team already knows and is looking forward to meeting you.
We start your first day at [time] at [address / floor / room]. At reception, ask for me or for [buddy's name] – your buddy, who will help you with everyday matters during the first weeks.
Attached you will find the plan for your first day and a list of documents worth bringing. You do not need to prepare anything on the work side – there will be time for everything.
If you have any questions before you start, feel free to write to me or to [HR contact name, email, phone].
See you on [day of the week]!
[Name], [job title]
It is also good practice to have the buddy send a short message a few days before the start – less formal, with information on where the team goes for lunch or what a typical day looks like.
Employee welcome pack – what to include
A welcome pack (or welcome kit) is a set of items and information a new hire receives on the first day or just before it. It does not have to be expensive. What matters more is that it is thoughtful and useful.
Physical version
- A card with a handwritten welcome from the manager or the team.
- A notebook and pen – ideally branded, but that is not the main point.
- A mug, water bottle or tote bag – things someone will actually use.
- A cheat sheet: key contacts, internal extension numbers, the guest Wi-Fi password, an office map.
- A small treat: coffee, tea, a snack.
- Industry-related items – work clothing with the employee's name in a manufacturing company, something designed by the team in a creative agency.
Digital version
- A short video or presentation about the company, its history and values.
- An org chart with photos of the people the new hire will work with.
- A glossary of company abbreviations and internal names.
- A list of useful links: intranet, leave system, policies.
- A first-week plan with goals to achieve.
Welcome pack for remote work
A remote employee will not see a desk with a flower on it, so a parcel sent by courier a few days before the start makes an even bigger impression. Ideas:
- Equipment delivered and configured before the first day, with first-login instructions.
- A headset with a microphone, a mouse pad, a webcam – if the job involves frequent video calls.
- A voucher for a delivered lunch on the first day, “eaten” together with the team on a video call.
- A card signed by the team – it can be prepared digitally and printed.
Preboarding without sending emails by hand. In the OnBoardMe onboarding platform you can set up a welcome message, materials about the company and department, a schedule, a document checklist and short online meetings before the first day – once, as a template for subsequent roles.
First day at work – hour-by-hour plan
A new employee's first day should have a clear schedule, but it must not be overloaded. Nobody will remember fifteen presentations. The goal is that after eight hours the new hire knows the people, the place and the plan for the coming days – not all the company's procedures.
A sample plan for an office role (times to be adjusted):
| Time | What happens | Who is responsible |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00–9:30 | Welcome, coffee, handing over the welcome pack, a short overview of the day's plan | Manager |
| 9:30–10:30 | HR formalities, signing documents, initial OHS induction training | HR, OHS specialist |
| 10:30–11:15 | Collecting equipment, first login, checking access | IT |
| 11:15–12:00 | Office tour, introductions to the team and neighboring departments | Buddy |
| 12:00–13:00 | Team lunch | Buddy, team |
| 13:00–14:00 | Conversation with the manager: role, expectations, goals for the first month | Manager |
| 14:00–15:30 | Introduction to the tools and a first simple task | Buddy |
| 15:30–16:30 | Time to go through the materials independently | Employee |
| 16:30–17:00 | Short recap of the day, questions, plan for tomorrow | Manager |
In manufacturing or on a construction site the proportions will be different: more time goes on on-site instruction and collecting clothing and protective equipment, and less on office tools. For a salesperson working in the field, the first day often ends with a joint visit to a client with an experienced colleague.
Initial OHS induction training on the first day
An employee must complete initial health and safety (OHS) induction training before being allowed to work, so it is a mandatory item right from the start. It consists of general instruction and workstation-specific instruction tailored to the particular job. Many companies run the general part as e-learning, but make sure the training is documented and that the workstation instruction – especially for manual work – is delivered by a suitably qualified person or the manager. It is worth consulting the details with the OHS specialist in your company.
Remote onboarding – the first day remotely
A remote first day requires an even better plan, because there are no spontaneous conversations over coffee. A few rules that work:
- Equipment arrives early – ideally two to three days before the start, with an IT contact in case of problems.
- First call with the manager in the morning – camera on, the plan for the day talked through out loud.
- Short blocks with breaks between them – an hour of video calls is more tiring than an hour of face-to-face conversation.
- Virtual coffee with the team – 20–30 minutes with no agenda, just to get to know each other.
- A buddy available on the messaging app – the new hire must know who they can ask a “silly question” without scheduling a meeting.
- End-of-day recap – a short conversation: what was clear, what wasn't, what's next.
In remote work it is especially useful to have one place where the new hire has everything: contacts, documents, training and a task list. Instead of a dozen links scattered across emails, they get a single dashboard.
What to avoid on the first day
- No equipment or access – a new hire sitting half a day without a computer is the most common and most discouraging mistake.
- An absent manager – if possible, do not schedule the start on a day when the boss is on leave or traveling.
- Information overload – several hours of presentations on procedures are a waste of time, because nobody will remember them anyway.
- Leaving them to fend for themselves – “have a look around the system” with no plan and no contact person.
- An uninformed team – colleagues asking “and who are you?” does not build the feeling that someone was expected.
- Lunch alone – a small thing that is remembered for a long time.
The first days have a real impact on whether someone stays with the company. You can read more about why employees leave in the first months in the article Employee Retention and Turnover.
What to prepare as a new employee
If you are the one starting a new job, a few things will make your start easier:
- Documents your employer asks for: ID, references or employment certificates from previous jobs, diplomas and certificates, bank account number, tax and social security details, a current medical certificate from pre-employment checks.
- Check the commute the day before and allow some extra time.
- Jot down the names of the people you meet – there are usually quite a few on the first day.
- Prepare a few questions: how the review after the probation period works, what the priorities are for the first month, who you will work with most often.
- Do not be afraid to ask – in the first weeks nobody expects you to know everything.
How OnBoardMe supports preboarding
You can do the steps described above by hand, but when you make several hires a month, it is easy to miss something. OnBoardMe turns preboarding into a repeatable process:
- Welcome message – your own or one from a ready-made library, sent automatically once an employee is added.
- Company and team materials – available in a personalized portal with your company's logo and branding.
- Schedule – daily or weekly onboarding path templates, reused for each new role.
- Document checklist – together with forms that can be signed digitally.
- Short online meetings before day one – with the manager or buddy, integrated with calendars and email.
- Tasks for the whole onboarding team – the employee, buddy, manager and mentor, with automatic notifications about the next steps.
- E-learning courses and quizzes – for example on health and safety (OHS), GDPR or company procedures, with a progress report.
Companies from many different industries use OnBoardMe. The Campter compensation law firm onboards its claims handling and sales staff this way: "we have up-to-date results of their training, everything online." A staffing agency runs GDPR, OHS and elderly care training in the system, and a construction company runs OHS training, site rules and company structure.
Summary
Preboarding and a well-planned first day at work take little effort compared with the cost of recruitment. All it takes is a welcome letter, a prepared workstation, a thoughtful welcome pack and a day schedule with time for people, not just procedures. If you want this process to work the same way for every hire, take a look at the OnBoardMe onboarding platform – from the welcome before day one to a report on the entire onboarding.
Frequently asked questions
What is preboarding in simple terms?
Preboarding is the stage between signing the contract and the first day at work. The company welcomes the new person, gives them information about the place, the team and the schedule, takes care of the formalities and prepares the workstation. As a result, the first day is calmer and more productive.
How much does an employee welcome pack cost?
There is no single figure – a welcome pack may consist of a greeting card, a notebook and a mug, or it may include equipment and company clothing. Usefulness and a personal touch matter more than price. A digital version, i.e. materials about the company and a plan for the first days, costs practically nothing.
Who should send the welcome letter to a new employee?
Ideally the direct manager, because that is the person the new hire will work with every day. HR can prepare a template and add information about documents. A good complement is a short, less formal message from the buddy.
Does health and safety training have to take place on the first day?
Initial health and safety (OHS) induction training must be completed before the employee is allowed to work, so in practice it takes place right at the start, usually on the first day. It covers general and workstation-specific instruction. It is worth agreeing the organizational details with your OHS specialist.
How do you organize a first day of remote work?
Send the equipment a few days earlier, start the day with a video call with the manager and plan short blocks of meetings with breaks. Schedule a virtual coffee with the team and make sure a buddy is available on the messaging app. At the end of the day, hold a short recap.
How long should preboarding last?
Preboarding lasts as long as the time from signing the contract to the first day – from a few days to a few months. With a longer period, it is worth getting in touch with the new person from time to time, e.g. with materials about the company or an invitation to a short online meeting, to keep the connection.