New-hire onboarding materials need to do two things: explain the company and the role, and collect the information required to complete the hiring process. A presentation alone does not complete the paperwork, while a form alone does not give the new hire enough context.
This guide explains how to create onboarding materials and what to include in an employee onboarding form.
An employee onboarding form collects the information and acknowledgments a new hire must provide before or during their first week. It commonly covers personal details, emergency contacts, employment information, equipment requests, company policies, and signatures.
When the process is not well organized, a new employee may need to contact their manager several times for a signature link, enter the same address in different PDFs, and wait for HR to confirm that the documents were received.
A poor onboarding process can have significant consequences. According to Gallup, only 12% of employees strongly agreed that their organization did a great job onboarding new employees.
Forms can become a source of delay when separate documents are added over time without a consistent process.
This guide is about designing it properly.
On this page
- Purpose of an employee onboarding form
- How to create onboarding materials
- Employee onboarding forms, templates, and worksheets
- What to include: field-by-field
- Role-specific variations
- How to build an employee onboarding form with PlatoForms
- Before you publish: a checklist
- Employee onboarding form FAQ
Purpose of an employee onboarding form
An employee onboarding form has three main purposes.
Purpose 1: Collect the required information accurately. Putting names, addresses, emergency contacts, and other details in one form reduces the need to enter the same information in several documents.
Purpose 2: Start the next steps. Once the form is submitted, HR, IT, the manager, or another responsible person may need to be notified. Depending on the tools you use, you can set up email notifications or integrations with other services.
Purpose 3: Keep a submission record. For handbooks, NDAs, data policies, and other documents that require acknowledgment or a signature, keep a clear record of who submitted them and when.
Designing these three jobs together turns a basic form into a practical onboarding process.
| Stage | What the new hire does | What the team receives |
|---|---|---|
| Before day one | Reviews the onboarding materials and completes the form | HR receives the required personal and employment details |
| Equipment setup | Selects the equipment or access they need | IT receives a notification when configured |
| Agreements | Reviews and signs the required documents | HR keeps the submission and signature record |
| After submission | Receives confirmation and next steps | PlatoForms can generate a completed PDF |
How to create onboarding materials
Onboarding materials do not need to be one long document. Organize the information so new hires can find what they need at the right time.
- Introduce the company and team — Summarize the business, team structure, and main contacts.
- Explain the first day and first week — Include arrival details, start time, training, and scheduled meetings.
- Describe how work gets done — List the main tools, communication channels, and approval process.
- Share the policies that require review — Cover workplace rules, information security, and required acknowledgments.
- Provide an onboarding form — Collect personal details, emergency contacts, equipment requests, and other required information.
- State the deadline and next steps — Explain what must be submitted, when it is due, and what happens afterward.
Separating explanatory materials from the form keeps the content easier to read and the submissions easier to manage.
Start with a list of the materials you need
Before writing, list every item a new hire must read, use, confirm, or submit. A practical onboarding materials pack may include a welcome note, an organization chart, a first-day schedule, a team contact list, a policy pack, and the forms the employee must complete.
Separate the list into two groups:
- Materials to read: company and team introductions, schedules, policies, tool instructions, and contact details.
- Forms to submit: personal information, emergency contacts, equipment requests, acknowledgments, and signatures.
This prevents important actions from getting buried inside presentation slides or a long handbook.
Create a short orientation document
Keep the company introduction focused on what a new hire needs during the first week. A short slide deck or one- to two-page document can cover the company’s purpose, the employee’s team, the tools they will use, and who to contact for HR, IT, and role-specific questions. Link to longer policies instead of copying them into the orientation document.
Add a first-day and first-week schedule
Make the schedule easy to scan. Include arrival or login instructions, training sessions, manager and team meetings, equipment setup, and any deadlines for submitting documents.
| When | Example information to include |
|---|---|
| Before day one | Login instructions, required forms, and the main HR contact |
| First day | Start time, orientation, equipment setup, and team introductions |
| First week | Training, manager check-ins, required reading, and submission deadlines |
List the documents employees must review or submit
The exact employment documents depend on the employee’s location, role, and your organization’s requirements. Common examples include a handbook acknowledgment, non-disclosure agreement, acceptable-use policy, payroll or tax documents, and benefits forms. Avoid using one country’s tax or payroll list as a universal checklist; have your HR or legal team confirm the required documents for each location.
Combine collection tasks into one onboarding worksheet
An onboarding worksheet gives the new hire one place to provide details and confirm required actions. It can collect contact information, equipment needs, acknowledgments, and signatures, while the separate orientation materials explain the company and the process. In other words, the form is the collection layer of the onboarding materials pack.
After separating the materials people read from the information they submit, create the collection form and connect each question to a real HR, IT, or manager action.
Employee onboarding forms, templates, and worksheets
These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they describe different starting points.
Employee onboarding form
Use an onboarding form when you need to collect information or acknowledgments from a new hire. The form can be configured to notify the appropriate teams and, when needed, populate a completed PDF for your records.
Employee onboarding template
Use a template when you want a ready-made question and layout structure that you can customize. Browse the employee onboarding form templates to choose a starting point, then remove fields that do not apply and add your own policies or instructions.
Employee onboarding worksheet
Use a worksheet when the process should feel like one concise sheet rather than a long packet. It can combine essential employee details, first-week needs, and confirmations in a single collection flow. If you already have that sheet as a PDF, make the existing PDF fillable online instead of rebuilding its layout.
| If you need to… | Start here |
|---|---|
| Collect new-hire details in a ready-made form | Choose an onboarding form template |
| Turn an existing HR PDF into an online fillable document | Upload and make the PDF fillable |
| Track tasks for HR, IT, the manager, and the employee | Use the separate new employee onboarding checklist guide |
What to include: field-by-field
The sections below cover a complete onboarding form. Not every organization needs all of them—use conditional logic to show or hide sections based on role type, employment status, or location.
Tax, payroll, benefits, and signature requirements vary by country and jurisdiction. Treat the fields below as a general structure and confirm the final requirements with your HR and legal teams.
Personal information
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Full legal name | Ask employees to enter it as it appears on official records when required |
| Preferred name | Separate from legal name; used for email, Slack, badges |
| Date of birth | Collect only when needed for benefits enrollment or another required post-hire process |
| Home address | Set up address autocomplete to reduce typing errors |
| Personal email | For pre-start communication before work email is set up |
| Phone number | Mobile preferred; used for IT account setup and emergencies |
| Emergency contact name + relationship + phone | Collect one if your organization requires an emergency contact |
Employment details
These fields are often pre-filled by HR and presented to the employee for confirmation, rather than left blank for them to complete.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Job title | Pre-fill from offer letter |
| Department | Triggers routing to the right department head |
| Start date | Used to time IT provisioning and access requests |
| Employment type | Full-time / part-time / contractor — determines which other sections appear |
| Work location | Office / remote / hybrid — determines equipment needs |
| Manager name | For notification routing |
Tax and payroll
These fields handle sensitive financial data. Make sure the form is served over HTTPS and that submission data is encrypted at rest. See the PlatoForms Trust Center for details about security, privacy, and compliance.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tax identification number | SSN in the US; varies by country |
| Filing status | For US payroll withholding; based on the employee’s W-4 |
| Bank name | For direct deposit setup |
| Account number + routing number | Limit who can view submissions, and avoid including these values in notification emails |
| Payment method preference | Direct deposit vs. check — if your payroll system offers options |
For US employees, use the current Form W-4 or a compliant electronic W-4 workflow rather than treating individual fields in this section as a substitute for the official form.
Equipment and access requests
This section is often routed directly to IT, separate from the HR submission.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Laptop preference | Mac / Windows — if applicable |
| Required software | Dropdown with common tools; open text for others |
| Building access needed? | Yes/No; if yes, which locations |
| Remote work equipment needed? | Monitor, keyboard, headset, etc. |
Benefits enrollment
Show this section only to employees who are eligible for the benefits offered by your organization. You can use conditional logic based on employment type or another eligibility field.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Health insurance plan selection | Dropdown with available plans |
| Dependents to add? | Yes/No; if yes, collect names and dates of birth |
| Dental / vision enrollment | Yes/No per plan |
| Retirement plan contribution | 401(k) in the US, or the applicable pension plan; percentage or flat amount |
| Beneficiary name + relationship | For life insurance and retirement accounts |
Agreements and acknowledgments
When acknowledgments rely on printing, scanning, and email, keeping signed records organized can require extra manual work.
Use an e-signature field when a document requires a signature. Whether a checkbox is enough for a simple acknowledgment depends on the document, its purpose, and the applicable requirements.
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Employee handbook acknowledgment | “I have received and read the employee handbook” |
| Non-disclosure agreement | If required for the role |
| Code of conduct | Ethical guidelines and conflicts of interest |
| Data protection and acceptable use policy | Especially important for roles handling customer data |
| Background-check authorization | Requirements vary by jurisdiction and by the type of check. In the US, third-party employment background checks may require a clear standalone disclosure and written authorization under the FCRA. Have your HR or legal team approve the workflow. |
Role-specific variations
A single onboarding form with conditional logic can support different roles without separate forms. Use a dropdown at the top—“I am joining as: Full-time employee / Part-time employee / Contractor / Intern”—and show only the relevant sections.
| Role type | Sections to show / hide |
|---|---|
| Full-time employee | All relevant sections, including eligible benefits and retirement plans |
| Part-time employee | Show benefits and retirement sections only when the employee is eligible |
| Contractor / freelancer | Skip employee benefits and retirement plans; for US workers classified as independent contractors, direct them to the applicable W-9 or approved tax-document workflow |
| Intern | Include personal details, emergency contacts, equipment needs, and acknowledgments, plus any applicable payroll, tax, and benefits requirements |
| Remote employee | Show remote equipment needs; include building access only when office visits are expected |
How to build an employee onboarding form with PlatoForms
Choose your starting point
Most organizations already have a PDF, an online form, or another onboarding document. Compare the available form types, then choose the starting point that matches your current materials.
If you have an existing PDF — Upload it to PlatoForms and use AI field recognition to detect input fields. Review the results and make any required corrections, then add conditional logic, signature fields, and notification settings.
If you need a new onboarding document — Start with the New Employee HR Onboarding Checklist PDF, or use PDF Document Creator to create a new document. Review the content, then export it as a PDF or convert it into an online form.
If you currently use Google Forms — Import your existing form to move its questions, sections, and supported field types. You can then add signature fields, more detailed display logic, notification settings, and PDF output for your onboarding process.
See the full walkthrough: How to Import Google Forms to PlatoForms.
Conditional sections by role
The Logic panel handles showing and hiding sections based on employment type, location, or any other field. One form can adapt to each employee’s situation. For example, when a US contractor selects their role type, the benefits section can disappear and a W-9 upload field can appear. The new hire sees only the relevant questions.
E-signatures with an optional signature certificate
The Signature field and optional Signature Certificate let new hires sign acknowledgments from a phone, tablet, or computer. When the Signature Certificate is enabled for an invitation, PlatoForms creates a certificate containing a timestamp, the signer’s IP address and email address, and a SHA-256 checksum of the submitted PDF.
Routing to multiple departments
Payroll and IT usually need different information. With logic-based email notifications, you can notify the appropriate person based on an answer. For example, an equipment request can notify IT while the manager receives a submission notice. For sensitive information, carefully control the recipients and the data included in each email.
Generating onboarding documents from the submission
After a new hire submits the form, HR may need an offer confirmation letter, a welcome packet, or an equipment order form that contains the submitted information. PDF Templates let you create a PDF layout with static text and dynamic variables such as employee name, role, start date, and department. PlatoForms generates the PDF when the form is submitted. Find this feature at Form Editor → More (⋯) → PDF Template.
Sending the form before day one
New hires typically receive their onboarding form by email before their start date. Use Form Notifications to send a branded confirmation immediately on submission, and share the form link directly in your offer acceptance email. For multiple hires, you can send pre-filled invitations from a CSV with details such as name, role, and start date already completed.
Multi-language support
If your organization hires internationally, PlatoForms supports multi-language forms and AI-assisted translation. You can generate field labels and instructions in another language, review the translation, and manage the language versions in one form.
Mobile-first completion
New hires may open the onboarding form on a phone. For supported Web PDF Forms, Custom Web Forms, and Workflows, a Conversational layout presents one question at a time, making a long form easier to follow on a smaller screen.
Try this layout: Conversational Employee Onboarding Checklist
Before you publish: a checklist
Content
- Legal name field is clearly distinguished from preferred name
- Access to submissions containing SSNs or banking details is limited to the people who need it
- Sensitive values are excluded from notification emails unless required
- Employment type dropdown triggers the right conditional sections
- Any required background-check disclosure and authorization follow the applicable format, timing, and consent requirements
- Each acknowledgment or agreement uses an appropriate input or signature method
Routing
- Payroll has appropriately restricted access to the required tax and banking information
- IT receives equipment request fields
- Manager receives a submission notification
- New hire receives an automatic confirmation with next steps
Usability
- The form has been tested on a mobile device
- A new hire with no context can complete it without needing to call HR
- Required fields are limited to what is needed before day one
- Completion time has been tested with a representative new hire
Employee onboarding form FAQ
What should an employee onboarding form include?
An employee onboarding form commonly includes personal details, emergency contacts, employment information, equipment requests, policy acknowledgments, and any required signatures. Tax, payroll, and benefits fields depend on the employee’s location and your organization’s requirements.
How do I create an employee onboarding form?
List the information needed before the employee starts, group related questions into sections, add conditional logic for different roles, and test the form on desktop and mobile. You can build a new form or convert existing HR PDFs into online forms.
What is the difference between an onboarding form and an onboarding checklist?
An onboarding form collects information from the new hire. An onboarding checklist tracks tasks for the employee, HR, IT, and the manager. Many organizations use both: the form gathers information, while the checklist keeps the process on schedule.
Can new hires sign onboarding documents online?
Yes. When a document requires a signature, an online onboarding form can include an e-signature field. Confirm that the signature method is appropriate for the document and the laws that apply to your organization.
Can an onboarding form generate a completed PDF?
Yes. PlatoForms can use submitted answers to produce a completed PDF. This is useful when HR needs a consistent document for its records or when an existing PDF layout must be preserved.
Keep your onboarding form current
An onboarding form may be a new hire’s first interaction with your internal systems. A clear, organized, and mobile-friendly form gives the new hire a simple way to complete the required tasks. Requiring employees to scan and email PDFs adds extra steps and may delay the process.
The technology is not the hardest part. The form must also be updated when benefit plans, compliance requirements, or available IT equipment change. Regular reviews prevent the onboarding form from gradually becoming outdated.
After the first few weeks, ask new hires for feedback to find unclear instructions, missing resources, and other gaps in the onboarding process.
Ready to build your onboarding process? Start with the New Employee Onboarding Checklist and customize it for your team.
