onboarding checklist

An onboarding checklist stops working the moment completing the list becomes the goal rather than the point of it.

It happens quietly. A manager under pressure ticks the safety induction because they mentioned the fire exits in passing. Somebody marks policies as issued because the email went out. The record now says the process was followed, and the record is what anyone will rely on.

Three things reduce it. Items written as an outcome rather than an action, so it reads that the person can describe the emergency procedure rather than that induction was delivered. Evidence attached where it exists, such as a completion record rather than a tick. And a sample check, where someone asks a handful of new starters what they actually remember.

The sample check is uncomfortable and it is the one that tells you the truth.

Safe Work Australia covers induction duties. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s onboarding management system and learning management system.