Pre-Boarding Employees: Definition, Importance, Best Practices
Gregg Davis9 min read
Most onboarding delays happen because everything is not yet ready until the employee’s first day. Think of laptops that haven't been delivered, accounts that haven’t been created, and IT scrambling to respond to urgent tickets and escalations.
The lack of preparation doesn’t just slow things down. It also leaves new hires feeling confused and overwhelmed before they even start their new jobs.
This is where employee pre-boarding comes in. It's the process of handling onboarding tasks in advance, so new hires can hit the ground running from day one.
In this guide, we will discuss the definition and importance of the preboarding period. We'll also share the best practices for preboarding below.
What is Employee Pre-Boarding?
Employee pre-boarding is the process of preparing company systems, tools, and access before a new hire’s first day.
While HR handles paperwork and introductions to the company culture, IT is responsible for everything technical behind the scenes. These include configuring laptops, creating accounts, providing access to tools, and applying security policies to ensure a seamless transition for new employees.
Employee preboarding is different from the onboarding process, which covers the entire employee’s journey from day one until the first few weeks. The preboarding process happens before new team members join your company.
It focuses on readiness and not orientation or training. The goal is to avoid missing logins, delays, and last-minute scrambling on day one. This improves the new hire experience while allowing IT to spend more time on strategic activities rather than administrative tasks.
The Importance of Pre-Boarding Employees
After learning more about the preboarding process, it's time to focus on its importance. Below are the reasons why it is a crucial period for new employees:
Reduce First-Day Friction for New Hires
One of the biggest frustrations for new hires is walking in on day one and finding that nothing is ready.
If they don't have a laptop, email access, system permissions, or even employee handbooks, they may feel confused and undervalued. This leads to emergency tickets and puts immense pressure on IT teams to fix things quickly.
Fortunately, a well-planned preboarding program reduces first-day friction for incoming employees. It gives IT the chance to procure the necessary devices, set up accounts, confirm access levels, and resolve potential issues before they affect the new hire experience.
Meanwhile, hiring managers can send a welcome package in advance, which includes the employment contract, tax forms, dress code instructions, and company handbooks. This package can make new hires feel excited and ready for their new jobs while reducing first-day jitters.
Accelerate IT Provisioning
Every new employee needs hardware, software, credentials, training materials, and security clearance. When all of this is done at the last minute, it leads to delays and mistakes.
An effective preboarding process gives your IT team a head start. You can build device profiles, automate user provisioning, assign permissions by role, and ship hardware early. This speeds up onboarding while standardizing workflows across departments.
Increase Employee Engagement
If a new hire spends their first day troubleshooting login issues or waiting for a laptop, they can't start their jobs properly. This affects their morale and engagement with future colleagues.
IT plays a key role in how connected and prepared new hires feel. Creating a smooth preboarding experience helps new hires feel like they’re part of the team from the start.
This matters because engaged employees are more likely to stay, perform better, and speak positively about your company. It can reduce new hire turnover and guarantee long-term success.
Enhance Cybersecurity Compliance from Day One
Security often gets pushed to the background during IT onboarding, but forgetting it is risky for your business. Sensitive company data might get exposed due to misconfigured or incorrect access rights.
Fortunately, employee preboarding gives IT teams a chance to enforce access control and apply endpoint protection before a new hire's joining date. This can protect confidential data and help you meet onboarding cybersecurity compliance.
An effective preboarding program can also verify that only the right people have access to sensitive company systems.
Ensure a Positive First Impression
When new employees start their first week with properly configured devices and clear training sessions, they feel welcomed and valued.
A well-executed preboarding plan helps foster relationships with new hires before they even start. It can also create a positive first impression, which makes new employees more likely to stay for the long term.
7 Best Practices for Employee Pre-Boarding
Now that you understand why pre-boarding matters, it's time to focus on how to do it right. Below are the best practices you can implement for smoother employee transitions:
1. Coordinate Early with HR and Hiring Managers
The employee pre-boarding process often starts with HR teams. However, IT departments shouldn’t wait until the last minute to get involved. Reach out as soon as the hiring process is finished and the new hire has signed a contract.
Confirm start dates, roles, department needs, and any special access or computer device required. This early coordination gives you time to prepare systems and set expectations. You can prevent surprises and improve the preboarding experience for everyone involved.
2. Procure and Assign Equipment in Advance
Don’t wait until the week of onboarding to request laptops or subscribe to SaaS software licenses. Order and assign devices as soon as possible, especially for remote or hybrid roles.
This gives you time to install the required software, configure security tools, and apply the necessary updates.
Include this task in your preboarding checklist so nothing gets missed. If shipping is required, take note of the delivery time.
3. Provision Accounts and Access Before Day One
New employees need access to tools, networks, and data from the start. If that access isn’t ready, productivity drops. Use role-based templates to automate account management and provisioning.
Make sure to prepare everything in advance, such as email accounts, communication tools, VPN access, and other required apps. Then, double-check user permissions to avoid access errors.
By having systems ready before day one, you can avoid rushed setups, delays, and security risks. This also frees up your support team to handle other tasks.
4. Use Automation
Manually provisioning every device or user account wastes time and introduces security risks. You should automate repeatable tasks with access management platforms or onboarding software for new employees.
These automated platforms help you manage users, assign software, and apply security policies across devices and departments. They also keep logs, so you can track completion and spot gaps in real time.
5. Establish Clear Communication Channels
The tech setup is only part of employee preboarding. New hires also need to know who to contact and what to expect.
Send welcome emails from IT that include contact info, self-help links, and any required setup instructions. This shows that your team is approachable and ready to help.
Clear communication channels help new hires feel welcomed, even before they start. They also cut down on confusion and support requests.
6. Provide Self-Service IT Resources
Create a shared knowledge base or internal site where new hires can find answers to common questions, such as how to connect to a VPN or how to reset a password.
These self-service resources reduce onboarding tickets and help new employees feel independent from the start. They can also keep new hires engaged while reducing your team’s workload.
7. Test All Systems and Access Prior to the Start Date
On the day before a new employee starts, double-check everything. Can they log in? Is the VPN working? Are permissions applied correctly? These small issues can snowball if they’re not caught early.
Build a standard test routine into your preboarding process and assign someone to verify the setup.
When systems work as expected, you make a good first impression and avoid delays. A final check also gives you time to fix last-minute issues without stress.
Key Metrics to Measure the Success of Employee Pre-Boarding
Once best practices are in place, the next step is to measure their impact and make improvements where needed. Here are the key metrics to monitor:
Time to Productivity
Track how long it takes new hires to become fully productive. This includes access to systems, working devices, and completion of IT-related tasks.
Shorter timelines usually indicate a smoother preboarding process.
IT teams can use this metric to evaluate setup efficiency and identify weak points in access provisioning or device configuration.
Number of IT Helpdesk Tickets
Monitor ticket volume from new hires during their first week.
A high number of issues suggests that the preboarding phase may have gaps, either in setup or communication. On the other hand, fewer onboarding tickets often mean your team and the new hire are on the same page.
Analyze the types of tickets submitted to find patterns. Then, use that data to refine your preboarding checklist or automation workflows.
Training Completion Rates
If your IT team provides any required security or systems training, track how many new hires complete it during the onboarding process.
High completion rates show that your instructions are clear and that employees are following through. This also helps reduce security risks and saves time during employee onboarding.
New Hire Satisfaction
Gather feedback on the pre-boarding process through short surveys or informal interviews. Ask how easy it was to access systems, whether the instructions were clear, and if the experience felt smooth.
This direct input helps your IT team understand how your work is perceived. It’s also a chance to make improvements that affect long-term satisfaction.
Employee Retention Rates
While many factors affect retention, early technical support plays a role. Poor IT experiences during onboarding can lead to frustration and early exits.
Closely track retention rates over time and see if improvements to your preboarding process lead to fewer early departures. This metric gives your IT team a broader view of how early support influences long-term outcomes.
Automate Pre-Boarding and Onboarding Workflows with ezOnboard
ezOnboard offers an automated onboarding software solution for fast-growing companies. It seamlessly integrates your HR systems with Microsoft Active Directory and Entra ID.
Once connected, IT teams can predetermine access rules and create AD accounts based on employee data entered into the HR software. This ensures correct access from day one and accelerates the new hire's time to productivity.
With ezOnboard, IT teams can focus on strategic projects rather than repetitive and manual tasks. It saves valuable time and improves organizational security.
Request a demo today or check out this ROI calculator to see how much money ezOnboard can save you.
FAQs About Pre-Boarding Employees
What does pre-boarding mean in a job?
Pre-boarding refers to the steps taken between a job offer and an employee’s first day. For IT teams, this means preparing devices, creating accounts, and setting up access before the hire starts. It gives new employees a smoother, more organized start.
Does pre-onboarding mean I got the job?
Yes. If you're in the pre-boarding phase, you've already accepted a job offer. From an IT perspective, this is the time to start setting up your equipment, logins, and security access so everything is ready for your first day at work.
What is the pre-boarding process in HR?
The HR pre-boarding process involves sending documents, collecting paperwork, sharing company information, and assigning an onboarding buddy. IT departments work alongside HR teams during this phase by handling the technical setup. Together, they create a smooth experience that prepares the employee both administratively and technically before day one.
Who is considered pre-boarding?
Anyone who has accepted a job offer but hasn’t started working yet is in the pre-boarding phase. These upcoming hires need computer devices, tools, and system access prepared before they arrive so they can start work immediately.