New Hire Checklist & Onboarding Guide

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted nearly every business in some way, shape or form. Some businesses were forced to fully or partially suspend while others were forced to pivot and restructure their standard methods of operation. For many businesses this put a complete halt to the hiring process, but as our economy begins to recover, you may be ready to bring on new staff. 

There are many things to consider when you hire new employees. It’s critical to find the right match for the position, the team, and your company, but once you’ve selected the right candidate, what comes next? Which forms and tasks should be completed? What information or documentation should you acquire? Keep reading for a list of requirements and optional items to consider.

Required Forms & Documents

Requirements may vary from company to company based on policies and benefits, but the following items are required in nearly all circumstances.

Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification: You must verify that each new employee is legally eligible to work in the United States.

Employee Name & Social Security Number (SSN): You are required to obtain each new employee’s name and Social Security number. You are not required to view a copy of the social security card, but it’s a good practice to ask employees to show their cards for verification purposes. As an added safeguard to ensure accuracy, the SSA provides a service for employers to verify their employee’s names and Social Security numbers for wage reporting purposes. The SSN Verification Service is optional, but taking the extra time to verify the information up front could save you time and money correcting potential errors later on.

Employee’s Withholding: To know how much income tax to withhold from employees' wages, you should have a Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, on file for each employee. If state and/or local withholding tax applies, employees may need to fill out a separate tax withholding form for the applicable state or local tax jurisdictions. Ask all new employees to give you the signed Form W-4(s) when they start work. Make the form(s) effective with the first wage payment.

Last year the IRS issued a redesigned Form W-4.

New Hire Reporting: Federal law requires employers to collect and report these seven data elements:

• Employee’s name
• Employee's address
• Social Security number
• Date of hire (the date the employee first performs services for pay)
• Employer’s name
• Employer's address
• Federal Employer Identification number (FEIN)

Some states require additional data, check your state’s reporting requirements.

The information is maintained in the National Directory of New Hires, which child support agencies use to locate a parent who owes child support and issue an income withholding order.

myPay Solutions handles new hire reporting for our payroll clients. Please enter all the required data for each employee to ensure accuracy in our reporting.

Optional Items to Consider

• Direct Deposit Enrollment Form & Bank Documentation
• Benefits Information and Enrollment Forms
• Background Check Form
• Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreements
• Emergency Contact Information

Reminders and Tips

You can begin the onboarding process well before the new employee’s first day of work. Start gathering the required forms (tax documents, contracts, enrollment forms etc.) as well as any additional optional items you’d like to provide to the employee (employee handbook, welcome packet), and make sure the employee is aware of the information and items they’ll be required to provide during orientation. Setup the employee’s workspace and make sure all the necessary equipment and office supplies required for the job are ready. Gather login credentials and make sure access to the building and work applications is granted.

How myPay Solutions Can Help

We understand the onboarding process can be intimidating, and we have solutions to make the process easier for both you and your employees. Workforce Management Suite can help digitize and automate employee onboarding, with online forms, customizable checklists and workflows. Mammoth HR can provide a dedicated HR Advisor to ensure you're completing all the right forms and fulfilling all the requirements necessary for compliance. Please contact your payroll specialist for additional details.