A new starter IT checklist makes sure a new employee can work safely from the first morning: an account, a device, multi-factor authentication, the right access and someone to call. For a Fleet business, nearly all of it can be done in the week before they arrive.
Most businesses do this from memory. The manager asks for a laptop, someone creates an email address, and the rest gets fixed as it goes wrong. A written list takes ten minutes to make and saves the new starter a frustrating first day.
What should a new starter IT checklist include?
Eight things, done a few days before the start date: an account, a device, multi-factor authentication, the right access, a home for their files, the software they need, a named person to call, and a note of what you gave them.
- Create the account in advance. Name, email address and licence, ready before they arrive. Never lend them someone else’s login to get them started.
- Prepare the device. Updates installed, disk encryption on, security software running. A laptop that spends the first hour updating wastes the morning.
- Set up multi-factor authentication. That is a second check, such as a prompt on a phone, on top of the password. Do it with the new starter present so they know what a genuine prompt looks like. The NCSC explains the types of MFA and which resist phishing best (NCSC, Multi-factor authentication for your corporate online services, 26 September 2024).
- Give the access the job needs and no more. Shared mailboxes, folders, the finance system, the line-of-business software. Adding access later is easy. Finding out who still has too much is not.
- Tell them where files live. Shared folders or OneDrive, not the desktop. Work saved on one laptop is work you lose with that laptop.
- Install what they need. The software for the role, and nothing they have to ask permission to remove later.
- Name who to call. One phone number or email address, written on the welcome note, and what to do if that person is away.
- Write down what they were given. Device, serial number, accounts, access. You will want this list again on their last day.
Who should have access to what?
Start from the role, not the person. Ask what the job needs to open on day one, write it down, and treat everything else as a request the manager approves.
Copying a colleague’s access is the common shortcut. It quietly hands the new starter everything that colleague has collected over the years, including things they should never see.
Administrator rights deserve a separate decision. A new starter should not be an administrator on their laptop or in Microsoft 365 unless the job genuinely needs it. Most jobs do not.
If the new starter works from home some days, add one step. Test their sign-in from outside the office before day one, so the first sign of a problem is not a call at 9am from a kitchen table.
What should happen in the first week?
Check in on day one and again on day five. Ask what they cannot open and what has confused them. Those problems are quick to fix now, and they turn into bad habits, like sharing a password, if you leave them.
Tell them on day one how to report a suspicious email and who to ask before changing anyone’s bank details. A new name on the staff list can attract a fake message from “the managing director” asking for a favour. Our post on the fake bank-details email shows what that looks like.
Then review the access you gave. After a week, the new starter knows what they actually use. Remove the rest.
How does this work for a business in Fleet?
Fleet is in Hampshire, about seven miles from our office in Camberley, Surrey, along the M3 (INDIGO IT, IT support in Fleet page). INDIGO IT, a managed IT support and cyber security provider in Camberley, Surrey, has supported local businesses for more than 20 years. Setting up new starters and removing leavers’ access are part of the managed IT support we provide.
Starters and leavers are two halves of the same job. If you want the other half, our leaver checklist covers what to do before someone’s last day.
If you would rather not run this list yourself, talk to Matt about IT support in Fleet. If you want to start smaller, copy the eight points above into a shared document and use it for your next hire.
Frequently asked questions
What is a new starter IT checklist?
A written list of the IT tasks to finish before and during a new employee’s first week: account, device, multi-factor authentication, access, file storage and a named contact. It means the person can work safely from day one and nothing is forgotten.
How far ahead should I set up a new starter’s IT?
Three to five working days before the start date is a sensible target. That leaves time to order a device if you need one, install updates and test that the person can sign in.
Should a new starter have administrator rights?
Not unless the job needs them. Administrator accounts are the ones attackers want most, so give standard access by default and add more only when someone asks and the manager agrees.
Who sets up IT for new starters in Fleet?
Many Fleet businesses ask whoever manages their IT. INDIGO IT, a managed IT support and cyber security provider in Camberley, Surrey, includes setting up new starters and removing leavers’ access in its managed IT support for businesses in Fleet and across Hampshire.
