Onboarding flow template

The first month at a new company shapes how productive, engaged, and retained a team member will be. Most onboarding programs front-load information on Day 1 and then hope for the best. A structured onboarding flow in Dailybot replaces hope with regular check-ins that surface problems early, ensure the new hire feels supported, and give managers visibility into onboarding health without hovering.

Template structure

This template uses four check-in phases, each triggered at a specific point in the onboarding timeline. You can set these up as separate scheduled check-ins or as a single workflow with date-based triggers.

Day 1 check-in

Timing: End of the first day

Purpose: Verify that the basics are in place and the new hire is not stuck on logistics.

Questions

1. Setup status: “Were you able to access all the tools you need? (email, chat, code repos, calendar)” — Yes / Partially / No
2. First impression: “How was your first day overall?” — Scale 1-5
3. Open questions: “Do you have any questions that nobody has answered yet?”
4. Buddy/manager contact: “Have you connected with your onboarding buddy or manager today?” — Yes / Not yet

Conditional logic

If setup status is “No” or “Partially,” route a notification to the onboarding coordinator or IT team with the response details. Access problems on Day 1 compound fast—a developer without repo access loses an entire day.

Week 1 check-in

Timing: End of the first week (Day 5)

Purpose: Assess whether the new hire is past setup and into productive work.

Questions

1. Productivity: “Have you been able to start contributing to real work? (first PR, first task, first meeting contribution)” — Yes / Getting there / Not yet
2. Blockers: “Is anything slowing you down that could be fixed?” — Free text
3. Team integration: “Have you had 1:1 conversations with at least two teammates?” — Yes / Not yet
4. Information gaps: “Is there anything about the team, codebase, or process that you wish had been explained earlier?”
5. Satisfaction: “How would you rate your first week?” — Scale 1-5

Conditional logic

If satisfaction is 2 or below, or if blockers mention access or tooling issues, notify the manager immediately. Week 1 problems are fixable; Week 4 problems are cultural.

Week 2 check-in

Timing: End of the second week (Day 10)

Purpose: Check deeper integration—is the new hire understanding how the team works, not just what tools to use?

Questions

1. Workflow clarity: “Do you understand how work gets assigned, reviewed, and shipped on this team?” — Yes / Mostly / No
2. Communication norms: “Do you feel comfortable asking questions in team channels?” — Yes / Somewhat / Not yet
3. Pace: “How does the pace of work feel?” — Too slow / About right / Too fast / Overwhelmed
4. One thing to improve: “If you could change one thing about the onboarding experience, what would it be?”
5. Confidence: “How confident are you in your ability to contribute independently?” — Scale 1-5

Conditional logic

If pace is “Overwhelmed” or confidence is 2 or below, flag the response for the manager. At the two-week mark, the new hire should be gaining confidence, not losing it.

Month 1 check-in

Timing: End of the first month (Day 30)

Purpose: Final onboarding assessment—is the new hire integrated, productive, and satisfied?

Questions

1. Productivity assessment: “How productive do you feel compared to where you expected to be at this point?” — Behind / On track / Ahead
2. Team belonging: “Do you feel like a part of the team?” — Scale 1-5
3. Manager relationship: “Have you had regular 1:1s with your manager?” — Yes / Inconsistent / No
4. Unresolved issues: “Is there anything from your onboarding that is still unresolved?”
5. Overall satisfaction: “How would you rate your onboarding experience?” — Scale 1-5
6. Recommendation: “Would you recommend this team’s onboarding to a friend?” — Yes / Maybe / No

Conditional logic

If overall satisfaction is 2 or below, or if “recommendation” is “No,” escalate to the manager and HR partner. At one month, low satisfaction is a retention risk that requires a direct conversation.

Setup instructions

Creating the check-ins

Set up four separate check-ins in Dailybot, each targeted at the new team member. Use the scheduling feature to trigger each at the appropriate date relative to their start date. If your onboarding process involves multiple new hires at different times, use a workflow that calculates the trigger date from a start date input.

Routing responses

Route all responses to the onboarding manager and the new hire’s direct manager. Keep responses private between the new hire and managers—publishing them to a team channel risks discouraging honest answers about pace, satisfaction, or team dynamics.

Escalation setup

Configure notifications for the conditional triggers described above. The escalation should go to someone who can act—not a generic HR inbox. Name a specific person (onboarding buddy, manager, or ops lead) for each escalation type.

Adapting for agent onboarding

The same phased structure works for onboarding coding agents to a new codebase. Replace subjective questions with objective checks:

• Day 1: “Can the agent access the repo, run tests, and submit a report?”
• Week 1: “Has the agent completed a first task successfully?”
• Week 2: “Is the agent operating within expected error rates?”
• Month 1: “Is the agent integrated into team workflows and producing consistent output?”

This parallel structure keeps human and agent onboarding visible in the same system, giving ops leads a unified view of team readiness.