New Employee Onboarding Guide Template

Welcome Aboard · Employee Onboarding

Your First
30 Days
at Acme

Everything you need to hit the ground running — your team, your tools, your first week, and the culture that makes this place worth working at.

Start Date Your Start Date

Your Manager Manager Name

Your Role Your Job Title

Department Team Name

Welcome

We're Really Glad
You're Here

Welcome to the team. We mean that genuinely — building a great team is the hardest thing a company does, and you were picked because we believe you're exceptional at what you do and someone we'll actually enjoy working with every day.

This guide exists so your first days feel oriented, not overwhelming. We've tried to capture the things that take most people weeks to figure out: who to go to for what, how we actually work (versus how the org chart says we work), and the cultural context that makes our norms make sense.

A Note Before You Start

Don't try to absorb everything in this document on day one. Read the Day 1 section, skim the rest, and come back to specific sections as they become relevant. The goal is that you feel like you belong here from your very first hour — not that you've memorized a handbook.

Your manager, [Manager Name], will be your primary point of contact during your first 30 days. You'll have weekly 1:1s scheduled and an open line for any question, no matter how basic it feels. There are no stupid questions in week one — ask everything.

The People team is here too. Reach out to [HR Contact] for anything related to payroll, benefits, time off, or anything that feels sensitive and shouldn't go through your manager first.

Day One

Your Day 1
Checklist

This is what the first day looks like. Some of it happens in your first hour; the rest fills out through the day. Nothing here is high-stakes — it's mostly setup and introductions. The goal is that you leave today feeling like you know where things are.

Complete your IT setup — laptop, email, and Slack are the first priority.

IT will have sent you setup instructions. If anything's stuck, message [IT contact] directly in Slack.

Join the #introductions channel and post a quick hello — one paragraph about yourself and what you're joining to work on.

This is how everyone on the team first "meets" new hires. Keep it casual — who you are, where you're from, something interesting.

1:1 with your manager — context on the team, current priorities, and your first week plan.

Should already be on your calendar. If not, ping [manager name] to schedule.

Set up access to core tools — Notion, GitHub, Figma, Linear (see the Tools section).

Some require an invite; others you can join with your company email. Request invites from your manager today.

Complete benefits enrollment — you have 30 days from start date to enroll in health, dental, and vision.

Log into the benefits portal (link in your onboarding email) and make your selections. Don't leave this to the last minute.

Read the company handbook — available in Notion under "Company / Policies".

Focus on time-off, expense, and communication norms. The legal stuff is there too; skim it now, ask later if anything's unclear.

Meet your onboarding buddy — a peer assigned to help you get oriented without the manager dynamic.

They'll reach out to you. Their job is to answer the questions you don't want to ask your manager.

Block "orientation time" on your calendar for the rest of the week — at least 2 hours per day.

You should not have wall-to-wall meetings in week one. Reading, exploring, and asking questions is your actual job right now.

Week One

Your First Week
at a Glance

Here's how the first five days typically look for someone joining your team. Meetings will vary — treat this as a rough template, not a rigid schedule. Your manager may adjust this based on what's happening that week.

Monday

Setup Day

• IT setup and access provisioning
• 1:1 with your manager (60 min)
• Intro Slack message
• Benefits enrollment start

Tuesday

Meet the Team

• 30-min calls with each team member
• Attend team standup (observe)
• Read current sprint / project context
• Explore Notion workspace

Wednesday

Deep Dive

• Product walkthrough with team
• Review past sprint retrospectives
• Set up dev / design environment
• Lunch with onboarding buddy

Thursday

First Contribution

• Pick up a starter task (low stakes)
• Ask questions before you get stuck
• Cross-functional intro (1-2 peers)
• Check in with manager on questions

Friday

Reflect & Rest

• Week-one retro with manager
• Document questions / gaps
• Set goals for week two
• Optional: team social / lunch

30-Day Goal

Target

• Ship one meaningful contribution
• Know who does what on the team
• Understand the current top priority
• Feel like you belong here

The Team

Meet the
People

Here's who you'll be working closest with. Titles are a rough guide — in practice, roles overlap and most people pitch in wherever it's most useful. When in doubt about who to go to, ask your manager or your buddy.

S

Sarah Chen

Founder & CEO

Leads company strategy and investor relations. Best way to interact: join her weekly all-hands Q&A. Don't be shy — she prefers directness.

M

Marcus Hill

Head of Product

Owns the roadmap and works across design and engineering daily. Your go-to for product context and prioritisation questions. In Linear for everything.

P

Priya Nair

Lead Designer

Runs design system, user research, and all product surfaces. Figma is her home. If you want feedback on anything visual, she's the one to ping.

J

Jordan Kim

People & Operations

Your contact for HR, benefits, payroll, office supplies, and anything logistical. Very approachable — the kind of person who actually fixes things.

R

Rafael Torres

Senior Engineer

Tech lead on the core product. Lives in GitHub. Great to pair with for codebase context in your first two weeks — very patient with new-hire questions.

Tools & Access

What We Use
and Why

We try to keep the tool stack lean. Everything on this list has a clear owner and is actively used — we audit and remove tools that aren't pulling their weight. Request access to anything marked "Setup" from your manager or IT on Day 1.

Tool	What It's For	Access
Slack Day-to-day communication, async updates, quick questions	Primary async channel. Default to public channels unless something is genuinely private. Threads keep channels readable.	Setup Day 1
Notion Company wiki, meeting notes, OKRs, onboarding docs	The single source of truth for how we work. If it's not in Notion, it doesn't officially exist. Add your notes here too.	Setup Day 1
Linear Project and task tracking, sprint planning, roadmap	Where all work lives. Every task has an owner, due date, and priority. Nothing is "in my head" — it's in Linear.	Setup Day 1
GitHub Code repository, pull requests, deployments	Main engineering home. PR reviews are how we share context and catch issues. All deploys run through CI/CD from main.	Request from IT
Figma Design files, component library, prototypes, handoffs	Source of truth for all product design. Engineers reference Figma specs directly. Priya owns access and the design system.	Request from Priya
1Password Shared credentials and secure notes	Never share passwords in Slack or email. If you need access to a shared account, it's in 1Password. Jordan sets this up.	Setup Day 1

Culture & Values

How We
Actually Work

These aren't the values we hung on a wall and forgot. They're the things that come up in retrospectives, in how we give feedback, and in what gets celebrated. They've earned their place because they describe something real about how this team operates at its best.

Write it down

Decisions, context, and reasoning get written down — not because we don't trust memory, but because the next person shouldn't have to ask.

Default to direct

We say what we mean. Feedback is specific, given promptly, and aimed at the work — not the person. Passive politeness wastes everyone's time.

Ship small, learn fast

Perfect is the enemy of useful. We'd rather ship something imperfect to real users and iterate than spend three weeks polishing something in private.

Ownership, not approval

If something is in your remit, run it. You don't need sign-off to do your job. Come to others for input, not permission.

Async by default

Meetings are for decisions that need discussion. Most updates, reviews, and questions happen in Slack or Notion — on your own schedule.

Rest is part of the work

We don't glorify overwork. Time off is expected, not earned. Taking care of yourself is part of operating at a high level over the long run.

Quick Answers

Common
Questions

What are the working hours?

We're async-first with core overlap hours of 10 AM – 3 PM in your local timezone. Outside that, work when you're most effective. Let your manager know if you're keeping unusual hours so they can plan around you.

How does time off work?

We have an unlimited PTO policy. In practice, most people take 3–4 weeks per year. Give at least two weeks notice for time away of a week or more, and just coordinate with your manager on shorter breaks. There's no approval bureaucracy — just communicate.

When do I get paid?

Bi-weekly via direct deposit, on alternating Fridays. Your first paycheck may be delayed by a pay period depending on your start date — Jordan in People can give you the exact timing.

How do I expense something?

Use your company card for anything pre-approved in our expense policy (software, home office supplies, conferences, team meals). Submit receipts in Ramp within 5 days of purchase. For anything over $200, check with your manager first.

Who do I go to if I have a problem with someone on the team?

Your manager first, if it's appropriate. Jordan in People for anything sensitive, HR-related, or if your manager is involved. We take interpersonal issues seriously and handle them with discretion.

What does a good first 30 days look like?

You've shipped at least one contribution (no matter how small), you know who does what, you understand what the current top priority is, and you feel comfortable asking questions without worrying whether they're too basic. That's it.

We're Glad You're Here

Now Go

Make Something Great

This guide is a starting point, not a complete picture. The best way to learn how this team works is to be on it — to ship things, get feedback, make the occasional mistake, and figure out the texture of the work over time.

We're genuinely excited about what you'll contribute. Welcome to the team.

Your Manager

Manager Name

People Team

Jordan Kim

All-Hands

Fridays, 4 PM