IT Checklist
Role of IT
What IT Actually Owns (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)
IT is the silent powerhouse behind every smooth onboarding. From Day 1 access to long-term security, they’re the ones who make the tech just work—and keep your systems safe while doing it. Loop them in early, and new hires hit the ground running with the right tools, access, and equipment setup.
Loop them in late? You get access issues, missing laptops, frustrated hires, and security gaps you’ll end up disrupting your new hire to fix. For IT, onboarding is where defense begins—it’s their chance to lock in controls that protect against breaches and prevent future headaches. Before access and equipment are handed over, it’s their last clean window to make changes without causing disruption.
Great IT onboarding isn’t just “tech stuff.” It’s business continuity, employee experience, and risk management—all rolled into one.
Most of IT’s work happens behind the scenes—but great onboarding brings them front and centre on Day 1 to ensure your new hire is fully set up and ready to go.
IT Onboarding Checklist
This checklist helps your IT team deliver a secure, professional, and friction-free start for every new hire—whether you're onboarding one person or twenty. It's designed for high-growth companies that need to get tech right without a full enterprise setup. Want to start incorporating enterprise level technology? Let’s chat.
Pre-Boarding: Setup Before Day 1
Provision accounts and access: Set up email and key platforms like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, and project tools in advance. Apply least privilege access—only what’s needed for the role. Want to optimize it? Map out role-based needs and use groups to assign access with a couple clicks.
Prep devices: Install software, VPN, antivirus, and encryption. Test all hardware—don’t let the new hire be your quality assurance tester. If you want this streamlined, we can help you build custom images, or set up Autopilot/Apple Business Manager, which takes out most of this work and ensures compliance.
Assign 3rd party licenses: Whether it’s Adobe, Salesforce, GitHub, or other cloud tools, make sure everything is provisioned ahead of time. Want to level up? Use SSO with role-based access to ensure nothing gets missed—and your new hire has exactly what they need from the start.
Ship or set up equipment: Ensure laptops, peripherals, and any access cards arrive before Day 1. At OptiDeploy, we bundle set up instructions, HR documents, and support contacts into every delivery—so remote hires aren’t left waiting or wondering what’s next.
Enforce security: Require multi-factor authentication and strong password policies to be set up at first login. Devices should be enrolled in MDM so your company’s security settings are applied automatically—no gaps, no guesswork. Don’t have this set up yet? OptiDeploy can help.
Update Asset Tracker: Track who has what—from laptops to licenses.
Coordinate with HR: Ensure start date, name spelling, and role match what’s in the HR system.
Day One IT Walkthrough
Confirm system access: Ensure your new hire can log into all key tools—Wi-Fi, VPN, cloud apps, and more—without a hitch. If anything’s missing, document it so the process improves next time.
Walk through tech basics: Help new hires set up their email signature, understand file storage practices, and get comfortable with core communication tools like Slack, Teams, or Zoom. Level this up by capturing questions and adding them to an FAQ.
Explain IT support: Show them how to submit a ticket, request help, or get urgent support. Share an FAQ or onboarding cheat sheet if possible.
Cover IT policies: Briefly reinforce acceptable use, phishing alerts, password policy, and company security protocols.
Verify compliance: Check antivirus, encryption, backups, and monitoring tools are active and linked to the device.
Ongoing Support (First Week)
Schedule a 1-week check-in: Catch issues before they become blockers. Confirm access to anything missed, like shared drives or special apps - document it so the process improves next time.
Monitor device health remotely: Ensure devices stay compliant and patched without chasing users down.
Document everything: Track device serial numbers, assigned software, and account permissions in your asset management system—so you’re ready when it’s time to offboard.
Continual Improvement
The best IT onboarding isn’t built once—it’s built to evolve. Whether you’re starting from a basic checklist or scaling toward enterprise-grade automation, there are dozens of ways to improve—from identity management to device compliance. We’ve helped fast-growing startups and multinational organizations alike build onboarding systems that are secure, efficient, and ready to scale. No matter your tools, team size, or complexity—we can help you take the next step.
Thinking about automation? Read this first.
Many automation platforms advertise a simple monthly fee, but the real cost is often hidden in setup time, internal resources, and lack of process. Rolling out provisioning platforms or identity tools can be expensive—and that’s before you factor in your team’s time. Without a clear onboarding process and roadmap, these tools won’t deliver the value they promise.
While these tools are essential as you grow, the key is knowing when and where to invest. You don’t need to implement everything at once—and trying to can waste time, money, and energy. Instead, assess your current process, identify the biggest gaps or inefficiencies, and prioritize the tools that will give you the highest return—whether that’s in cost savings, time, or reduced chaos. We can help you build that roadmap, so your next investment is the right one.
Collaborate with HR: Work with HR to stay ahead of new hires and exits. If your system doesn’t notify IT when a new hire is starting or someone leaves, fix that now.
Document all provisioning steps: Keep a master record of your account and license setup process. This helps with consistency, speeds up future onboarding, and is a lifesaver during audits or offboarding.
Create Role Based Access: Build access templates by role to avoid reinventing the wheel every time.
Automate where possible: Use SSO, identity platforms, and automated provisioning to save time and reduce mistakes.
Create a living FAQ: Collect the common IT questions new hires ask during onboarding and compile them into a searchable FAQ or onboarding guide. It saves your team time and helps new hires feel confident and self-sufficient.
Run post-onboarding tech surveys: Capture feedback from new hires on their IT experience. It’ll highlight what you missed—and what you nailed.
Use an asset management system: Track who has what—from laptops to licenses. When it’s time to offboard, you’ll know exactly what needs to be returned or revoked, without guesswork. It also helps with budgeting and forcasting.
Windows Autopilot: Ship Windows devices straight from your procurement vendor to employees with zero-touch setup. When they log in, their machine configures itself based on your policies. Now you can skip the prep device in the checklist!
Apple Business Manager (ABM): Integrate ABM with your MDM to automate device enrollment, enforce security policies, and manage apps. Even better—when you purchase through your Apple Business Store, new devices are automatically added to your ABM, so your new hire receives a laptop that’s pre-enrolled, secured, and ready to go. Now you can skip the prep device in the checklist!
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