An onboarding email template is a shape for the welcome email, not the words, because the words have to be the manager's. The shape has four parts: a greeting that says why the hire was chosen and what the first weeks are about; the practical lines, start date and time, place or link, what to bring, who meets them; the attachments, the contract and the handbook, with the date to return them signed; and a line about what arrives next. The onboarding checklist on this site carries the email as its first line, free and without an account.
The greeting
Two or three sentences written for this person: what in the interview decided it, what the team is looking forward to, what the first month will be about. A greeting that could be sent to anyone is read as sent to everyone, and the hire notices.
The practical lines
Start date and time, the address or the video link, who meets them at the door or on the call, what to bring, what has been ordered for them and which accounts will be ready. Each line answers a question the hire would otherwise ask on the morning or get wrong.
The attachments
The contract and the handbook for signature, with the date to return them, and the tax and payroll forms. The employee contract tool and the employee handbook template on this site print the first two; the forms are the IRS's and the state's.
What comes next
A line saying the day-one schedule will arrive two days before, so the hire knows the silence in between is normal. HeadcountDesk Pro sends the sequence on the schedule and keeps the signed attachments against the hire. From the vendors' own pricing pages, cited below: Homebase lists its Essentials plan at $30 per location per month billed monthly or $24 billed annually, with unlimited employees, and a Basic plan at $0 for one location with up to 10 employees; BambooHR starts at $10 per employee per month for Core and $17 for Pro; Deputy's Core plan is $6.50 per user per month. HeadcountDesk Pro is $24 per month per location.
Questions people ask about onboarding email template
Should the template be reused?
The shape, every time; the greeting, never.
Who sends the welcome email?
The manager the hire reports to, in their own name.
Is the checklist free?
Yes, without an account.