The hiring process can be quite overwhelming at times: reviewing applications and resumes, scheduling and sitting in on multiple interviews and then making that final selection of the best candidate for the position.

Once you've made your selection, a whole new process begins which includes its own long list of items that need to be completed. The list can include all, or many of, the items listed below:

• Employment offer letter to your preferred candidate for the position. This should provide a description, or at least the title, of the position being offered, the wage and benefits being offered, the type of position (salaried full time, hourly part time, temporary full time, etc.) and a desired start date for the position.
• Rejection letters for the other applicants.
• Scheduling an orientation with the new employee.
• Preparing a welcome or new orientation packet for the employee which may include the following:
  • Welcome letter
  • Employee handboo
  • W-4 Form
  • I-9 Form
  • Direct Deposit authorization form
  • Emergency contact form
  • Benefit enrollment forms
  • Safety manual
• Filing a new hire report with your state, if required.
• Setting up the new employee file and recording the new information.
• Providing the payroll staff or vendor with the employee information.
• Setting reminders for future dates: benefit application submission, first performance review, etc.

It can be very helpful to create a new hire checklist of all these items, just to make sure that none of them are overlooked in the process. Many small businesses are now using human resource software to help streamline this process and provide a database of employee information that is much easier to access than the standard paper filing system.

With HR software, the person handling the hiring process can automate much of the process and have many of the standard hiring forms print out to create the orientation packet. Many of the HR software packages also provide templates for form letters such as the offer letter and the rejection letters that need to go out.

After the new hire checklist is complete, all the information collected can be entered into the database and made easily accessible to those who need it and securely protected from those who do not need, or should not have, access to that sensitive information. Most HR software also provides reminders for those all important dates that may be weeks or months in the future.

Having HR software to assist you in creating and then following through on a new hire checklist can be like having a top notch human resource assistant working alongside you, keeping everything moving smoothly.