Build a Phase-by-Phase Employee Onboarding Checklist
Use this prompt at the start of a new chat session to generate a role-specific, phase-by-phase onboarding checklist for a new hire. Fill in the bracketed fields with details about your specific role, business type, tools, and 30-day goals before sending.
The Prompt
You are helping a small business owner onboard a new [JOB TITLE] at a [BUSINESS TYPE — e.g., 10-person bookkeeping firm, independent retail shop, two-person marketing agency]. The new hire will use: [LIST TOOLS — e.g., QuickBooks Online, Slack, Google Drive, Asana]. They will work closely with: [NAME OR ROLE — e.g., the owner, one other bookkeeper, two client-facing account managers]. Within 30 days, they need to handle these three things independently: [LIST THREE CORE TASKS — e.g., 1. Reconcile client accounts in QuickBooks without supervision. 2. Handle routine client email questions. 3. Submit weekly status reports in Asana]. Build a role-specific onboarding checklist broken into these phases: Before Day 1, Day 1, Days 2–5 (Week 1), End-of-Week-1 Check-in, and Days 8–30. For each phase, include tasks for both the owner AND the new hire. Flag any tasks that are commonly forgotten in small business onboarding: introducing the hire to key vendors or clients, explaining unwritten cultural norms, and scheduling a formal 30-day review. Format as a checklist with checkboxes.
From the guide
How to use AI to prepare a simple onboarding checklist for a new employee so their first week doesn't fall apart when you're busy →Related Prompts
Add a Vendor or Client Introduction Task to Onboarding
Use this as a follow-up prompt when the AI has omitted the vendor or client introduction step, which is commonly left out of AI-generated onboarding checklists because large-company training data handles it differently.
Rewrite a Corporate Onboarding Checklist for Small Business
Use this as a follow-up prompt if the generated checklist feels too generic or reads like a large-company HR template, to push the AI toward simpler, more actionable language suited to a small business.
Restructure a Flat Onboarding List Into Five Phases
Use this as a correction prompt in the same conversation if the AI returns a flat list instead of the five-phase structure (Before Day 1, Day 1, Days 2–5, End-of-Week-1 Check-in, Days 8–30).
Find Documentation Gaps Before a New Hire Starts
Use this as a follow-up prompt in the same conversation to identify gaps in your existing documentation before the new hire's first day, so you can prepare materials they'll need rather than fielding repeated questions.