Onboarding & handoffs / GUIDE + WORKSHEET
Employee onboarding with clear access ownership
Create an employee access checklist with role-based requests, named approvers, verification, and a linked offboarding path.
THE STARTING POINT
Map the new person's actual work to the access they need, assign approvers and provisioning owners, and verify that the access works. Keep a record of what was granted and why. The onboarding checklist should also make later role changes and access removal possible.
Start from a role and its tasks
List the workflows the person must perform in their first days and distinguish required access from optional tools. Avoid copying every permission from a long-serving employee whose responsibilities have changed. Identify the manager who confirms the role and the system owner who approves access. Document temporary permissions with an expiry or review point.
Make provisioning and verification separate
An invitation sent is not proof that the employee can complete the intended task. Ask for a simple verification: reach the correct workspace, see appropriate records, and perform the permitted action. Use the organization's approved account and authentication practices. Keep passwords and recovery codes out of onboarding spreadsheets and shared task comments.
Link access to the person's lifecycle
Record which systems were provisioned, the account identity, and the responsible owner. When the employee changes roles or leaves, this inventory becomes the starting point for review and removal. Include ownership transfer for shared work and automations so removing an account does not unexpectedly stop a business process. Review the checklist when roles or tools change.
WORKED EXAMPLE / ILLUSTRATIVE
A fictional operations coordinator
The coordinator needs job visibility and scheduling rights, but not unrestricted billing administration. The checklist captures that distinction and verifies the actual scheduling task after access is granted.
| System | Need | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| Job board | View and schedule assigned work | Schedule a test job |
| Billing | Read relevant invoice status | View without administrative rights |
| Shared files | Access current project folder | Open the correct folder only |
MAKE IT USEFUL
Employee access checklist
Record account references, never secret values.
Your notes stay in this page and are not sent to Smithers. Download or copy them before leaving; refreshing clears them.
Before you put it to work
- Approve permissions for the actual role.
- Verify usable access.
- Keep secrets out of the checklist.
- Plan for role changes and removal.
This is a general operations template. Use your organization's security requirements and the system's actual permission model when implementing it.
IF THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR
Your tools. Your particular mess.
The worksheet is yours to use. If the difficult part is making it work with the systems you already have, that's the kind of thing we help with.