New Hire Onboarding: 12 Tasks to Automate on Day One

A new hire's first day sets the tone for their entire tenure. When it goes well, they feel welcomed, equipped, and excited. When it goes poorly, they spend their first week chasing IT for login credentials, asking three different people where to find the employee handbook, and wondering if they made the right career decision. The difference almost always comes down to whether your onboarding process is automated or held together by someone's memory.

Here are 12 onboarding tasks that should happen automatically when a new hire is entered into your HR system. Each one removes a manual step, reduces dependency on individual people, and ensures every new employee gets the same professional experience regardless of who their manager is or how busy HR is that week.

Twelve automated tasks distributed across the pre-start period and day one

Pre-Day One Automations (Tasks 1-5)

The best onboarding starts before the employee's first day. These automations trigger the moment a new hire record is created in your HR system.

1. Account Provisioning. Automatically create the new hire's email account, set up their credentials for core applications like Slack, the project management tool, and the company intranet, and assign appropriate security groups based on their role and department. This eliminates the classic "we are still waiting on IT" problem. Build this with Make.com connecting your HRIS to your identity provider and application admin APIs.

2. Pre-Start Welcome Email. Three days before the start date, automatically send a welcome email from the hiring manager with first-day logistics: where to go, what to bring, dress code, parking instructions, and a personal note. Include links to any pre-reading or paperwork that can be completed in advance.

3. Equipment Request and Setup. Based on the role type, automatically generate an equipment request ticket: laptop specifications, monitor requirements, phone setup, and any specialized hardware. Route this to IT with the start date so everything is configured and waiting when the new hire arrives.

4. Manager and Buddy Notification. Notify the hiring manager and assigned onboarding buddy that their new team member starts in three days. Include a checklist of what the manager needs to prepare: workspace setup, first-week meetings, initial project assignments, and introduction meeting scheduling.

5. Document Collection Workflow. Send an automated packet requesting tax forms, direct deposit information, emergency contacts, and signed employment agreements. Use a digital signature platform and automatic reminders to collect everything before day one so the new hire is not filling out paperwork at their desk instead of meeting their team.

Day One Morning Automations (Tasks 6-9)

6. Communication Platform Setup. On the morning of day one, automatically add the new hire to the appropriate Slack or Teams channels based on their department and role. Post an introduction message in the team channel with their name, role, and a brief bio pulled from their application data.

7. Calendar Event Population. Automatically add first-week meetings to the new hire's calendar: orientation sessions, 1:1 with their manager, team lunch, HR benefits overview, and any department-specific onboarding meetings. This ensures they open their calendar on day one and see a structured week instead of an empty void.

8. Training Course Enrollment. Based on role and department, automatically enroll the new hire in required training modules: company policies, security awareness, tool-specific training, and compliance courses. Set due dates and send reminders so training completion is tracked without manual follow-up.

9. Team Introduction Email. Send an automated email to the department introducing the new hire with their photo, background, role, and fun facts. This ensures the team knows who to expect and can prepare a warm welcome. For remote teams, schedule an automatic virtual coffee chat with 3-4 team members across the first week.

Day One Afternoon Automations (Tasks 10-12)

10. Payroll System Setup. Once tax forms and direct deposit information are collected from the document workflow, automatically create the employee record in your payroll system with the correct pay rate, schedule, tax withholdings, and deductions. This integration between HR and accounting systems prevents the common problem of first paychecks being delayed or incorrect.

11. Benefits Enrollment Initiation. Automatically send benefits enrollment information at 2 PM on day one, after the new hire has had time to settle in but before the day is over. Include plan options, enrollment deadlines, and a link to schedule a 1:1 with the benefits coordinator if they have questions. Set automated reminders at 7, 14, and 25 days if enrollment is not completed.

12. Day-One Check-In Survey. At 4 PM, automatically send a brief pulse survey asking three questions: Did you receive all the tools and access you need? Is there anything unclear about your first week's schedule? How would you rate your onboarding experience so far? Route any negative responses immediately to the hiring manager and HR for same-day resolution.

Automated onboarding delivers faster access, fewer missed steps, and dramatically higher satisfaction scores

You only get one chance at a first impression. When onboarding is automated, that first impression is always polished, complete, and on time, regardless of how many other things are competing for your HR team's attention.

Beyond Day One

Day one is just the beginning. Extend your automation to cover the first 90 days with scheduled check-ins at 7, 30, 60, and 90 days. Automate training deadline reminders, probation period reviews, and the transition from onboarding to ongoing performance management. This connects naturally with your broader lifecycle automation strategy, since the same principles that apply to customer onboarding apply to employee onboarding.

Start with the five pre-day automations since they eliminate the most manual work and have the biggest impact on the new hire's first impression. Once those are running reliably, add the day-one automations one at a time using Zapier or Make.com to connect your HR platform to your other business tools.