Pre-boarding Checklist: What to Do Between Offer and First Day

Pre-boarding is the work you do between the signed offer and the first day: finish the paperwork and any pre-employment checks, order equipment and accounts, keep in regular contact, introduce the new person to the team, and send a clear plan for day one. Done well, it keeps the person engaged through their notice period and makes the first morning calm instead of chaotic. Requirements for paperwork and right-to-work checks vary by country, so confirm the local rules.

Why this gap matters

The weeks between acceptance and start are a quiet and risky period. The candidate may be serving notice, receiving counteroffers from their current employer, or having second thoughts. Hearing nothing from you leaves them to imagine the worst. Regular, useful contact tells them they made the right choice and gives you early warning if something is wrong.

Complete the paperwork and collect personal details safely

Complete the paperwork and conditions. Confirm every condition in the offer is met or in progress: signed contract, references, any background checks the role needs, and proof of right to work where that applies. These requirements differ by country and by role, so check what is lawful and required where the person will work. Chase outstanding items early and tell the new hire what you need from them and by when. Do not let the start date arrive with a missing check that blocks them from working. Collect personal and payroll details safely. You will need contact details, bank details, tax information and emergency contacts. Ask for them through a secure route, not by plain email, and ask only for what you need. Explain what you do with the data and how long you keep it. Rules on handling personal data differ by country. Keep a single list of what is outstanding and who owns each item, such as the contract, the checks, the equipment and the access, and review it weekly. It should be visible to the recruiter, the hiring manager and anyone in charge of IT or people operations, so that tasks do not fall between teams. Where the person will work in a country different from yours, ask early about visas, work permits, tax registration and any notice period or restriction in their current contract. These can take weeks or months and vary widely by country, so check the local requirements and, where needed, use an adviser. Do not promise a start date that depends on approval you do not control. A short welcome message that lists exactly what you need, in order of urgency, with dates and a named contact, saves many follow-ups. Mark clearly which items are legal requirements and which are company preferences, so that the new hire knows what cannot be skipped.

Order equipment and set up access

Arrange a laptop or workstation, accounts, email, building access, software licences and any tools the role needs, with enough lead time for delivery and security setup. For remote hires, send equipment early enough to arrive before day one, and ask someone to test it. Nothing sours a first day like waiting for a login. If the new hire will travel or work from home, confirm the address and delivery time, and ask whether they need any adjustments to the workspace or equipment. Ask early, in a neutral way, whether they need anything to work comfortably, and treat any answer as confidential. Rules on workplace adjustments differ by country.

Keep in regular contact and introduce them to the team

Keep in regular contact. Schedule a few touchpoints. A welcome note from the manager the day after acceptance, a call or message a week before, and a short check-in near the start date are enough. Share something useful each time, such as a team update or a note on the first project. Ask how notice period is going. If the person's current employer makes a counteroffer, you will know sooner. Introduce them to the team. Tell the team who is joining and share a short bio with the new person's agreement. Ask a future colleague to reach out and offer to answer questions. Assign a buddy for the first weeks. People who know someone before they start feel less anxious on the first day.

Send a clear plan for day one and week one

Tell them where to go or how to log in, what time to arrive, who will meet them, what to bring, and what the first day includes. Share an outline of the first week: meetings, introductions and early tasks. If a longer plan exists for the first ninety days, mention that it is coming. A little clarity beats a long document.

Close the loop with other candidates and plan for things going wrong

Tell the other candidates and close the loop. Once the offer is signed, let finalists know the role is filled, using the approach you would want to receive yourself. Update the job's status so that sourcing and advertising stop. Keep the strong runners-up warm if they agreed. Plan for things going wrong. Sometimes a person withdraws or a check fails. Decide in advance who to contact among the other finalists and how long you will hold their details, within the retention limits where you hire. Note the reason for the change so the process can learn from it.

Common mistakes to avoid

The typical failures are simple. Going silent after the signature is the biggest one. Asking for the same documents several times because teams do not share information frustrates a new hire before they start. Leaving equipment to the last week often means a laptop arrives late. Sending a very long welcome pack that nobody reads is less useful than three short, clear messages. Announcing the hire widely before they have told their current employer can create trouble for them. Forgetting the manager, who needs to prepare their own time, the first projects and a buddy for the first weeks, is also common. A brief checklist for the manager, shared a week before the start, closes most of these gaps.

In Rezumz

In Rezumz, once an offer is accepted you can use the background checks tracker to follow each check, such as references, employment, education or police verification, from not started to done or failed, with notes and a link to each report. Notifications tell the right people when a check is done or fails. Rezumz covers hiring up to the offer and checks. It does not run onboarding, order equipment or manage the first ninety days.