Day One Shouldn’t Mean Day Lost
A new employee’s first day sets the tone for their entire experience at your company. Nothing kills momentum faster than spending that first day waiting for IT – no laptop, no email, no access to the tools they need to do their job.
At Seashore IT, employee onboarding is one of our most-used services. Here’s the checklist we follow to make sure every new hire is productive from the moment they sit down.
Before Day One (1-2 Weeks Prior)
Hardware
- ☐ Laptop/desktop ordered or allocated (Windows, Mac, or Linux per role requirements)
- ☐ Device configured with company security policies via JumpCloud
- ☐ Endpoint protection (Malwarebytes) installed and enrolled
- ☐ Backup agent (CrashPlan) configured
- ☐ Monitoring agent (Syncro) deployed
- ☐ VPN client installed if needed for remote access
- ☐ Peripherals ready (monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset)
- ☐ Mobile device enrolled in MDM if company-issued
Accounts & Access
- ☐ Email account created (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace)
- ☐ User added to appropriate security groups and distribution lists
- ☐ Access provisioned for line-of-business applications
- ☐ File sharing access configured (SharePoint, Google Drive, etc.)
- ☐ VoIP phone extension assigned and configured
- ☐ MFA enrolled and ready to activate on first login
- ☐ Temporary password set with forced change on first login
Physical Setup
- ☐ Workstation set up at their desk (if in-office)
- ☐ Network port or WiFi credentials ready
- ☐ Printer access configured
- ☐ Badge/key access provisioned (coordinate with facilities)
Day One
- ☐ Walk through first login and MFA setup
- ☐ Verify all applications are accessible
- ☐ Confirm email is sending/receiving
- ☐ Test VoIP phone
- ☐ Verify VPN connectivity (if remote/hybrid)
- ☐ Provide helpdesk contact information and how to get support
- ☐ Security awareness orientation (acceptable use, phishing awareness, password policy)
First Week
- ☐ Confirm all systems are working as expected
- ☐ Complete security awareness training
- ☐ Sign acceptable use policy and security acknowledgments
- ☐ Address any access issues or additional tool requests
- ☐ Verify backup is running successfully
The Offboarding Side (Equally Important)
When someone leaves, secure offboarding is critical – especially in industries handling sensitive data (legal, healthcare, defense). Our offboarding process:
- ☐ Disable all accounts immediately upon departure
- ☐ Revoke access to all applications and systems
- ☐ Transfer ownership of files and documents to manager
- ☐ Forward email to designated recipient (time-limited)
- ☐ Remote wipe company data from personal devices (if BYOD)
- ☐ Collect and wipe company-owned hardware
- ☐ Remove from security groups and distribution lists
- ☐ Revoke VPN and remote access
- ☐ Deactivate badge/physical access
- ☐ Document completion for compliance records
Why This Matters for Compliance
If you’re pursuing SOC 2, CMMC, HIPAA, or ISO 27001, documented onboarding and offboarding procedures are required controls. Auditors want to see that access is provisioned based on role and revoked promptly upon departure. Our process generates the documentation you need automatically.
Let Us Handle It
For our managed IT clients, onboarding and offboarding is included. You tell us “new hire starting Monday” and we handle everything on this list. The employee shows up, sits down, and gets to work. That’s how it should be.
If your current onboarding process involves the new hire waiting around while someone figures out their laptop, let’s fix that.