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New employee's first day: an IT onboarding checklist

An ordered IT checklist for a new hire: Microsoft 365 account, MFA, laptop preparation, file access and a short security briefing.

3 min

A new employee's first day is often spent waiting for passwords and looking for the printer. If IT is prepared a couple of days in advance, the person can start working straight away and security is right from the beginning. The checklist below is ordered the way it makes sense to work through it.

1. Before day one: accounts

  1. Microsoft 365 user account. Microsoft 365 admin center → Users → Active users → Add a user. Follow the company naming convention (e.g. firstname.lastname) and assign the correct licence.
  2. Mailbox is created automatically with the licence. Add aliases and a signature if needed.
  3. Groups and shared mailboxes. Add the employee to the right Microsoft 365 groups, distribution lists and shared mailboxes (for example the info or invoices mailbox).
  4. Teams – add them to the relevant teams and channels.
  5. Other systems: accounting, CRM, web shop, access card, VPN account if needed.

2. Preparing the laptop

  1. Install all Windows and driver updates.
  2. Turn on BitLocker disk encryption and store the recovery key in Microsoft 365 / Entra ID, not on a sticky note.
  3. Check that antivirus (for example Microsoft Defender) is active and up to date.
  4. Install the standard apps: Microsoft 365 apps, browser, PDF reader, ID card software and your line-of-business programs.
  5. Add the printer and print a test page.
  6. The user does not need administrator rights for daily work – give them a standard account.

If your devices are managed in Intune, Windows Autopilot and the right policies do most of this automatically.

3. On the first morning: sign-in and MFA

  1. Hand over the temporary password in person or through a separate channel, not in the same e-mail as the username.
  2. Have the employee change the password immediately.
  3. Set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) – the Microsoft Authenticator app on the phone is the most convenient. Add a second method too, so a lost phone does not lock the person out.
  4. Sign in to Outlook, Teams and OneDrive and check that mail flows in both directions.

4. Files and passwords

  • SharePoint and OneDrive. Show where the team files live and sync the needed libraries to File Explorer. Personal work documents belong in OneDrive, not on the desktop.
  • Password manager. If the company uses one (e.g. Bitwarden, 1Password, Keeper), create the account and share only the entries the employee actually needs.

5. Security briefing, hardware and contacts

A fifteen-minute talk on day one saves a lot of trouble later:

  • how to recognise a phishing e-mail and a fake invoice;
  • IT or management will never ask for a password or MFA code;
  • if an unexpected MFA prompt appears, tap "Deny" and tell IT;
  • lock the computer (Windows + L) when leaving the desk;
  • where to report a suspicious message or a lost device.
  • Record the hardware issued: laptop serial number, monitor, dock, phone, headset. You will need the same list when the employee leaves.
  • Tell the employee who to contact with IT issues: phone, support portal or the responsible colleague.

When to call a professional

If you hire often or setting up each computer takes half a day, it is worth automating the process (Intune, Autopilot, group-based permissions). ITABIKS prepares accounts and computers so the new employee can start on the first morning – see our IT support service.

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