A new hire shows up on Monday morning. Their laptop isn’t ready. Nobody set up their email. They don’t have access to the shared drive. They spend half their first day sitting around while someone scrambles to get their accounts created.

Meanwhile, that last employee who left three months ago? Their Microsoft 365 account is still active, their VPN credentials still work, and they still have access to your CRM. Nobody thought to revoke anything.

Both problems come from the same root cause: no standardized IT onboarding and offboarding process.

The Pre-Start Checklist (Before Day 1)

Everything on this list should be completed before the employee walks through the door:

Create accounts. Microsoft 365 (email, Teams, SharePoint), line-of-business applications, VPN access, phone system — whatever they’ll need. Use a consistent naming convention (first.last@company.com) and assign them to the correct security groups based on their role.

Provision their device. Laptop or desktop should be imaged with your standard configuration: operating system, business applications, security tools (EDR, encryption), and enrolled in your device management solution (Intune, for example). When they open the lid, it should be ready to work.

Set up their workspace. Monitor, keyboard, mouse, dock, phone — whatever your standard setup includes. If they’re remote, ship their equipment to arrive before their start date.

Prepare their access. Determine which shared drives, applications, and systems they need based on their role. Apply the principle of least privilege — start with the minimum access required and add more as needed.

Set up their phone extension. If you use a VoIP phone system, configure their extension, voicemail, and call routing before they arrive.

Day 1: Security and Orientation

The first day should include these IT-specific items alongside their regular orientation:

MFA enrollment. Walk them through setting up their authenticator app and registering backup methods. Don’t send them an email later and hope they do it — sit with them and complete it together.

Password manager setup. If your company uses a password manager, enroll them and show them how to use it. Generate unique passwords for each of their accounts.

Security awareness briefing. A 15-minute overview: how to spot phishing emails, who to contact if they see something suspicious, what the acceptable use policy covers, and why the security tools on their laptop matter. Keep it practical, not a compliance lecture.

Acceptable use policy signature. Have them read and sign your AUP, which covers appropriate use of company devices, data handling expectations, and consequences of policy violations.

Basic tool orientation. Walk them through Teams, SharePoint, the VPN (if applicable), and any industry-specific software they’ll use daily. Most new hires won’t remember everything, but a hands-on first session beats a PDF guide.

The Offboarding Side (Equally Critical)

When an employee leaves — whether they resign or are terminated — their access needs to be revoked immediately. Not “when IT gets around to it.” Not “after their last day.” Immediately.

Your offboarding checklist should include:

• Disable their Microsoft 365 account (converts to shared mailbox if needed for transition)
• Revoke VPN and remote access credentials
• Remove from all security groups and shared resources
• Change shared passwords they had access to (yes, all of them)
• Collect company devices — laptop, phone, keys, badges
• Remote wipe company data from personal devices (if using BYOD)
• Transfer ownership of their files, projects, and contacts to their replacement or manager
• Remove from email distribution lists and external service accounts

Automate What You Can

If you’re growing and hiring regularly, manual onboarding doesn’t scale. Microsoft 365 and Azure AD support automated provisioning — when HR adds a new hire to your HR system, accounts can be created, groups assigned, and welcome emails sent automatically. Tools like Power Automate can trigger additional workflows: ordering equipment, creating Planner tasks for the IT team, and sending checklists to the new hire’s manager.

Streamline Your Onboarding

At Brivy IT, we build standardized onboarding and offboarding processes for Utah businesses. From role-based provisioning templates to automated workflows, we make sure every new hire is productive on day one and every departure is handled securely. Reach out for a consultation — we’ll help you build a process that scales with your team.