Onboarding email templates are five shapes, one per email in the sequence, and each shape has a fixed part and a part written fresh. The welcome, with the contract and the handbook. The two-days-before email with the practical lines. The day-one schedule with the team by name. The first-week check-in with its two questions. The thirty-day review invitation with the template. The onboarding checklist on this site carries the five as lines with dates, free and without an account; the tools print the documents they attach.
The welcome and the two-days-before
Fixed: the attachments, the return date, the practical lines. Fresh: the greeting, in the manager's words, about this person. The employee contract tool and the employee handbook template on this site print the attachments.
Day one and the first week
Fixed: the schedule's shape, the check-in's two questions, what is unclear and what do you need. Fresh: the names, the first task, the answer to whatever the two-days-before email prompted. The two answers from the check-in become the next hire's checklist lines, which is how the sequence improves.
The thirty-day review
Fixed: the invitation and the review template attached with the self-assessment section to complete. Fresh: the date, and a line about what the manager has seen so far. The template on this site prints the review.
The sequence as a record
Each sent on its date with the checklist line ticked, the signed documents kept. HeadcountDesk Pro sends the sequence and keeps the record; the checklist on this site prints it. 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 templates
Can the sequence be automated?
The sending, yes; the fresh lines are the manager's each time.
Who should the emails come from?
The manager, in their own name; a system address is read as one.
Is the checklist free?
Yes, without an account.