A new hire onboarding workflow helps teams prepare the resources a new employee needs before their first day. But when requests, approvals, records, and assignments are managed through scattered messages and spreadsheets, the process can quickly break down.
In this article, we’ll explore how AssetLoom onboarding kits help teams standardize and automate new hire preparation.
1. New Hire Onboarding Workflow
What Is A New Hire Onboarding Workflow?
A new hire onboarding workflow is the process of preparing resources for new employees before their first day, so they can start work smoothly. In ITAM, this refers to the journey from the initial request to the handover of IT assets, accessories, licenses, and other resources.
For example, when a new employee joins the company, the operations team may need to prepare and assign a laptop, headset, and software access before their first day.
A Typical Workflow In Most Workplaces
In many workplaces, the process begins like:
- A manager/ leader sends a request through email, Teams, Slack, or chat. The message may include the employee’s name, start date, role, and the equipment they need.
- The IT operations team checks to see which ones are available and whether the requested device can be assigned.
- If approval is required, the request may be confirmed in a separate email thread, chat message, or meeting discussion.
- Once approved, the team selects a suitable laptop or device and prepares it for the new hire.
- After the handover, the asset assignment is manually updated in a spreadsheet or asset record.
2. Why The New Hire Onboarding Process Is Broken
Onboarding should be simple, but the current preparation flow depends too much on scattered communication and manual tracking. As a result, the workflow can easily break down when the requests scale.
Scattered Requests
New-hire requests may come from email, Slack, or direct messages, making them easy to miss. One request can be sent through chat, another may be via email, while approval may happen in a separate conversation.
As more requests come in, the onboarding workflow becomes difficult to prioritize and track. Teams may know that a new hire needs equipment, but they may not have a clear view of who requested it, whether it has been approved, or what still needs to be prepared.
Outdated Records
Many teams still manage asset stock in spreadsheets, where updates depend on manual input from different people. Over time, these records can become outdated and fail to reflect the latest asset status.
This creates a gap between what the record shows and what the operations team can actually use. A laptop may still be marked as available even though it has already been reserved for another new hire. Then, teams often spend extra time double-checking device availability before every onboarding request.
The process becomes even more complicated when onboarding packages include more than just core assets. A new hire may also need accessories and software licenses to start working properly. However, these items are often tracked separately from the main asset record. As a result, the workload for operations teams increases as the company scales.
Limited Automation
In a manual workflow, every step depends on someone remembering to take action, follow up, and update the right record. The operations team may need to check inventory, confirm approval, reserve resources, update spreadsheets, and record the final handover manually.
Over time, these repeated tasks can quickly create delays and inconsistencies. The impact becomes even clearer when teams may struggle to answer basic questions such as:
- Who approved the request?
- Which laptop was assigned?
- When was it handed over?
- What accessories were included?
- Which software licenses were allocated?
3. What Can Be Enhanced For A Better Employee Onboarding Flow
So, what should a better employee onboarding flow look like?
A better onboarding flow starts with giving operations one clear place to manage the full process. Instead of separate sheets, teams should be able to see requests, available stock, and resource status in one centralized platform.
The onboarding package should also be managed as a complete setup, not just individual resource assignment. When the onboarding bundle is prepared together, teams can reduce repeated assignments and delays on the new hire’s first day.
Automation can further improve the process by removing repetitive manual tracking. For example, teams can reserve available resources, update status after assignment, and keep a clear record of the handover automatically.
4. AssetLoom Onboarding Kits
This is where AssetLoom onboarding kits can help. Teams can create predefined kits that group assets, accessories, consumables, and software licenses together, then assign the full setup to a new employee in a structured workflow.
Let’s explore how to set up the onboarding kits in AssetLoom:
Step 1: Add Resources to AssetLoom
First, you need to add all resources that may be included in a new hire onboarding package. This includes core assets such as laptops, tablets, or mobile phones, as well as accessories, consumables, and software licenses.
For teams that already manage inventory in spreadsheets, AssetLoom allows bulk import from CSV files. This makes it easier to migrate existing asset records into AssetLoom without recreating everything manually.
Once imported, teams can view each resource with details such as available quantity, current status, location, and ownership information. This creates a clear inventory foundation before onboarding kits are created.
Instead of checking spreadsheets to guess what might be available, you can see which resources are ready to be assigned.
Step 2: Create Predefined Kits
Next, you can create predefined onboarding kits for different roles, departments, or work setups. Each kit is created by adding existing assets, accessories, software licenses, and consumables into one reusable package.
For example, a New Hire Onboarding Kit may include a laptop, keyboard, mouse, Jira licenses, and some office stationery. You can also define the quantity of each item in the kit, so every new employee receives a consistent setup.
This helps you avoid preparing each item one by one for every new hire. Instead, you can simply select the right onboarding kit to check the availability of items and assign it to the new employees on their first day.
Step 3: Set Up Auto Checkout For Onboarding Kit
By default, you can check out a predefined kit to any user whenever you want. This is useful when you want to manually assign a specific kit to an employee on demand.
AssetLoom can also automate this process. By selecting a predefined kit as an onboarding kit, the resources inside the kit can be automatically assigned to a new member when they join the site.
Because the resources for new hires are already standardized in the onboarding kit, you no longer need to go back and forth with requesters to confirm every item. You only need to double-check available stock, and AssetLoom can handle the checkout process automatically.
Learn more: Automation in ITAM
Step 4: Invite New Onboarding Member
The final step is to invite the new employee to AssetLoom. Once the member joins the site, AssetLoom can automatically assign the onboarding kit that was selected in the previous step.
All resources included in the kit, such as assets, accessories, licenses, and consumables, are connected to the new member’s profile. This gives you a clear view of what has been assigned and when they are assigned to the employees.
Read more: How Predefined Kits in ITAM Software Improve Efficiency?
Final Thoughts
New hire onboarding is more than assigning a single laptop. It requires clear requests, accurate stock records, complete resource packages, and reliable handover tracking.
With AssetLoom onboarding kits, teams can standardize what each new hire receives, automate checkout, and keep every resource under control.
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