Use the SharePoint New employee onboarding template

First, follow instructions on how to add a site template to a new or existing SharePoint site.

Explore pre-populated site content, web parts, and pages and decide what site customizations will be necessary to align with your organization's brand, voice, and overall business objective. 

Pre-populated site, list, and news post template content:

• Home page - Provides a landing place for viewers to engage in departmental news, events, conversation and learn more about leadership and vision.

• Getting Started - Highlights information that will help new employees know where to start in the orientation process. Customize this page by editing the Text, Embed, and List web parts.

• Onboarding Checklist - Features a list to help new employees prioritize onboarding tasks. Customize this page by personalizing the new employee onboarding list template.

• Who We Are - Highlights information on organizational structure and other foundational department information. Customize this page by editing Text, Quick Links, People, and Bing Maps web parts.

• Our leadership - Introduction to departmental leadership profiles. Customize this page by editing Text and Image web parts.

• Our priorities - Displays organizational values and priorities at a department level. Customize this page by editing Text and People web parts.

• Help and Support - Provide answers to frequently asked questions and helpful links to commonly referenced resources. Customize this page by editing Quick Links and and Text web parts.

• New employee introduction news post template - Use this ready-made template to easily publish new employee introductions. Customize this page template by editing Text and Image web parts.

Once you've added the New employee onboarding site template, it's time to customize it and make it your own. 

Make new employees feel welcome - Use the Text, Image, and Button web parts to display your welcome message. Help new employees learn about the organization - Use the Hero web part to add new employee resources. Help new employees navigate to helpful resources - Use the Quick Links web part to help surface onboarding resources. Introduce new employees to team members - Use the News web part to showcase new team members within the organization. Highlight the organizational goals and disciplines - Use the Image web part to feature different aspects of your organization. Introduce new employees to leadership - Use the People web part to feature the organization's core managers.

Customize your site's look, site navigation, web parts, and content to fit the needs of your viewers and of the organization. When making customizations, ensure the site is in edit mode by selecting Edit in the top right of the site. As you work, Save as a draft, or Republish changes to make edits visible to viewers.

1. Edit the Image, Text, and Button web parts

1. Begin by editing and formatting the text in-line.

2. Then select the button and choose Edit properties () to rename the button Label and Link.

3. Then, select the image and upload a new image.

Learn more about the Image, Text, and Button web parts

2. Edit the Hero web part to make new employees feel welcome

1. Begin by selecting the Hero web part and choose Edit properties ().

2. Then, choose the Layer and Tile options that best suit the organization’s needs.

Learn more about the Hero web part. 

3. Edit the Quick links web part to help new employees navigate resources

1. Navigate to the Quick Links web part and select the link, and then Edit properties ().

2. Edit the link, title, icon, and description if needed.

3. To add a link, select + Add links.

See different types of layouts and editing options for the Quick Links web part.

4. Edit the News web part to introduce new employees to team members

1. Begin by selecting the News web part and choose Edit properties ().

2. Then, select the news Source.

3. Select the Layout, Viewing options, and Filter that best displays the members of the organization’s team.

4. In the Organize section, determine the order in which the news should be displayed.

Learn more about the News web part. 

Use a ready-made news post template for new employee introductions

1. To view the news post templates, navigate to Settings and then select Site content, and then Site pages.

2. Select the Templates folder to view the introduction news post template.

3. To use the template in a new news post, start by selecting New in the top left corner of the home page, then select News post.

4. Then, select the template you'd like to use, and then start writing your news post.

Learn more about creating and using page templates.

5. Edit the Image web part to highlight your organization's goals and disciplines 

1. Begin by selecting the Image web part and choose Edit properties ().

2. Then, select Change, select an image source, and then select Insert.

3. Add a web address to the image in the Link section to direct viewers to another page.

4. Change the overlaying text of the web part by typing over the text that already exists.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each image.

Learn more about the Image web part. 

6. Edit the People web part to introduce new employees to leadership

1. Start by deleting the image of the People web part.

2. Find the Toolbox () on the right. Select See all web parts, then select or drag-and-drop People from the list of web parts.

3. Select Editproperties () on the People web part.

4. Enter the name of a person or group then select Save.

Learn more about the People web part.

Customize the following pages and lists within the site:

• Getting Started - Customize this page by editing the Text, Embed, and List web parts. Consider using the YouTube or Stream web parts to embed a video as well.

• Onboarding Checklist - Customize this page by personalizing the new employee onboarding list template.

• Who We Are - Customize this page by editing Text, Quick Links, People, and Bing Maps web parts.

• Our leadership - Customize this page by editing Text and Image web parts.

• Our priorities - Customize this page by editing Text and People web parts.

• Help and Support - Customize this page by editing Quick Links and and Text web parts.

Customize the look and site navigation

Before you share your site with others, put the finishing touches on your site by ensuring users can find the site, navigate through links and pages easily, and quickly access content on the site.

• Edit document libraries by updating the folder names and uploading resources.

• Edit and customize site navigation.

• Chang the look of your site by customizing the theme, logo, header layouts, and the look of your site.

• Add or remove pages to this site or the site navigation to accommodate existing content.

• Choose to associate this site with a hub site within your organization, or add this site to an existing hub site navigation if needed.

Share your site with others after you've customized your site, reviewed for accuracy, and published the final draft. 

1. Select Share site from the right hand corner.

2. Get help managing your site by adding site owners and members who will have permission to edit site content.

3. In the Share site pane, enter the names of people you want to share the site with. You can choose Everyone (except external users) if you would like everyone in your organization to have access to the site. The default permission level is Read only.

   

4. Enter an optional message to send with the email notification that will be sent when the site is shared, or clear the Send email checkbox if you don't want to send an email.

5. Select Share.

After you create and launch your site, the next important phase is maintaining site content. Ensure you have a plan to keep content and web parts up to date. 

Site maintenance best practices:

• Plan for site maintenance - Establish a schedule to review the site content as often as needed to ensure content is still accurate and relevant.

• Regularly post news - Distribute the latest announcements, information, and status across the organization.  Learn how to add a News post on a team site or communication site, and show others who will be posting announcements how they can use SharePoint news.

• Check links and web parts - Keep links and web parts updated to ensure you are leveraging the full value of your site.

• Use analytics to improve engagement - View site usage by using the built-in usage data report to get information on popular content, site visits, and more.

• Periodically review your site settings - Once you've created a site in SharePoint, you can make changes to the settings, site information, and permissions for the site.