TL;DR — Most teams plan one onboarding video and stop there. A full onboarding sequence actually has five or six moments worth a short clip, spread from offer acceptance through the first ninety days. This checklist lists each one, who should record it, and roughly when.
- A single welcome video is only one of several moments worth a short clip.
- Timing matters as much as content — most of these lose value if sent too late.
- Assign an owner for each item up front; "someone will sort it" is how these slip.
The checklist
- Offer-acceptance message — hiring manager, sent within a day or two of the offer being signed. See Pre-boarding Video Ideas.
- What-to-expect clip — HR or office manager, covering first-day logistics, sent roughly halfway through the pre-boarding gap.
- Team welcome reel — four to ten teammates, sent three to five working days before the start date. See How to Build a Team Welcome Reel New Joiners Remember.
- First-day welcome in person or live, if relevant — not a recorded clip, but worth noting on the checklist so nobody assumes the video replaces it.
- 30-day check-in — manager, a short private video request with two or three questions. See Onboarding Check-in Questions.
- 60-day check-in — manager, same format, different questions.
- 90-day check-in — manager, closing out the formal onboarding window.
Assigning ownership
Each item needs one named owner, not "the team" generally. A simple pattern that works: the hiring manager owns the offer-acceptance message, the welcome reel and all three check-ins; HR or an office manager owns the what-to-expect clip. Two owners, clearly assigned, beats a longer list where responsibility is diffuse.
What happens if a step gets skipped
None of these items are strictly required for onboarding to function — a new hire will still start, still get access to their tools, still have a first day. The cost of skipping one is invisible rather than immediate: a slightly flatter start, a new hire who takes a little longer to feel oriented. That makes it easy to deprioritise under time pressure, which is exactly why a checklist with named owners and dates helps more here than it would for a step with an obvious, visible consequence.
How to do this in Whoosh
Set up one campaign per checklist item with its own deadline, so each is a small, discrete task rather than one open-ended "onboarding video" project that never gets finished. Assign the owner directly and you'll get a notification as each deadline approaches.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
Do we need to do every item on this checklist?
No — the welcome reel and at least one check-in cover most of the benefit; treat the rest as additions once the core pieces are routine.
Who should own this checklist overall?
Whoever owns onboarding process generally, usually HR or a people operations role, even if individual items are recorded by managers.
How far in advance should we plan this for a given new hire?
As soon as the offer is accepted — the first item on the checklist is due within a day or two of that point.