Success from the start: A practical guide to onboarding new hires

Introduction

Onboarding in the trucking industry comes with its own set of challenges. High turnover, safety-sensitive roles, and the need for consistent compliance mean that simply getting someone in the door isn’t enough. The way a company introduces and trains every new hire will ultimately shape how long that person will stay and how well they will perform.

This guide is designed to help trucking company owners, managers, and HR professionals onboard new team members more effectively. It’s about moving away from paperwork toward building a thriving workforce — which starts the moment you make an offer. Whether you’re onboarding drivers, dispatchers, or support staff, the steps we cover will help you create a smoother process and a stronger first impression.

At its core, good onboarding is about preparation, clarity, and consistency. Setting expectations, ensuring proper training, and making new hires feel welcomed and supported will not only reduce early turnover but also build the foundation for a reliable and skilled team.

Purpose of this guide

This guide is designed to support trucking employers of all sizes — including small fleet operations where managers take on HR responsibilities alongside their operational roles. The practices in this guide are scalable; you can apply them informally or formalize them as your processes become more established.

In this guide you will find:

• An outline of what to include in an onboarding program — from the first day until the end of the probationary period
• Practical onboarding steps that can be implemented with or without a formal HR department
• Ideas to make orientation more engaging and memorable

Making a great first impression

A new hire’s first days and weeks can quickly shape their impression of your company. A positive initial experience demonstrates they made the right choice, while a poor start can lead to early turnover. Onboarding isn’t just about quick introductions and completing paperwork. It’s your opportunity to set expectations that create a foundation for long-term success.

Benefits of effective onboarding

Effective onboarding provides value for both the employee and the company.

Some key benefits:

• Strengthens safety, wellness, and compliance adherence: Setting safety, wellness practices, and compliance expectations immediately helps reduce risks and ensures compliance with regulations. This is especially important in safety-sensitive roles.
• Improves trust: Open communication and transparency from the first day build confidence in leadership and create a foundation for long-term loyalty.
• Provides clarity on job expectations: Defining job responsibilities, expectations, and desired outcomes upfront reduces confusion and sets employees up for success.
• Reduces early turnover and hiring costs: A positive start minimizes early resignations and the costly cycle of repeat recruitment efforts.
• Addresses training gaps quickly: Identifying training gaps early allows you to address them before they become performance issues.
• Elevates employee confidence and engagement: When people feel prepared and supported from the start, they’re more motivated and committed, and likely to contribute fully.
• Increases speed to productivity: Equipping new hires with the tools, training, and knowledge they need helps them contribute in a valuable way more quickly.
• Enhances your employer brand: An effective onboarding process can strengthen your reputation and make it easier to attract future top talent in a competitive industry.

What onboarding includes: orientation and on-the-job training

Effective onboarding is more than a one-day event or two-hour meeting. It’s the thoughtful combination of orientation and job-specific training.

ONBOARDING = ORIENTATION + JOB-SPECIFIC TRAINING

Orientation: Introduces new hires to the company. Effective orientation makes sure that everyone who joins your team has a consistent experience. Elements of orientation often include:

• Company values and other culture considerations
• Organizational structure
• Company policies and processes
• Business models

Job-specific training: Equips new employees with the knowledge and hands-on training they need to perform their work safely and effectively. Job-specific training is customized by the role, but should also be customized based on the level of experience of the new hire. Elements of job-specific training often include:

• Classroom training
• Job shadowing
• Safety instruction
• Operational training and process review
• Supervised practice

When both elements of the onboarding process are delivered well, employees will understand the culture and expectations of the company, and they’ll feel confident doing their job.

Preboarding

Preboarding is everything that happens between a job offer being accepted and the new hire’s first day. By taking care of the details in advance can reduce first-day stress, create a sense of excitement, and show the new hire that the company is invested in their success. The focus should be on getting both the existing team and the new employee ready for a successful start. For small fleets, preboarding may be simple, but even a few intentional steps can make a big difference in setting the tone.

Strong onboarding team

Onboarding is more effective when it’s shared. Involving different people from multiple departments helps demonstrate how the business works as a whole and ensures the new hire has support company-wide.

In smaller operations, one person may cover several roles. That’s okay. The goal is clarity, who is greeting the new hire, who is training them, and who they go to with questions.

TIPS:

• Include HR, safety, dispatch, and maintenance staff so the new hire knows who’s who
• Assign clear responsibilities (greeting, training, check-ins)
• Brief the onboarding team on what’s expected before the new hire starts to ensure consistency

Preparation for managers

• Review onboarding materials (if available): Ensure existing policies, safety information, or training materials are up-to-date. Remember to review policies, safety information, relevant training etc. so that you can inform your new hire upon arrival. For support with onboarding an employee with specific accommodation requirements, explore the Government of Canada’s resources, including the Document Compliance Checklist.
• Ready the workspace: Ensure your new hire has all the equipment they need to get started. In circumstances where workplace accommodations are required, recognize that you may need to make equipment adjustments (e.g., type of desk chair) or additional accommodations.
• Plan a clear agenda for day 1: Ensure you balance orientation, introductions, and training so the first day and week feel structured but not overwhelming. Share the schedule in advance so the new hire knows what to expect.

Nothing undermines a first day faster than managers scrambling for equipment or being disorganized, or new hires being ignored. Preparing in advance to make sure the first day feels like something special sets the tone for learning and engagement.

Preboarding sets the tone for everything that follows. These early actions can help reduce first-day anxiety, build trust from the start, and lay the foundation for a smoother orientation and training process. Thoughtful preboarding can make the official first day feel less like a beginning and more like what’s next.

Prepare your team

Getting the team ready before a new hire arrives ensures a smooth transition and helps build a welcoming culture. When employees know what to expect and how they can support the new person, the onboarding experience feels coordinated instead of rushed and disorganized. This is important to everyone involved.

• Provide details: Let the team know who’s joining, what their role will be, and when they’ll start.
• Involve the team: Decide who will greet the new hire, lead training, or serve as a mentor. Engage other departments so the onboarding experience is company-wide.
• Share expectations: Explain how the new role connects with existing responsibilities so the team understands the value of the addition.
• Encourage connection: Ask team members to introduce themselves and check in during the first few days.

Tip: Have colleagues prepare a short bio with a photo to help new hires make connections.

Create excitement

Preboarding is a chance to build momentum and confirm to the person joining that they’ve made the right choice. A few thoughtful gestures can go a long way in creating excitement before the first day.

• Make them feel welcome: A personalized email, welcome card, or short note from senior management shows that every team member matters. This could also be a quick “looking forward to seeing you” message from the manager or a welcome video from the team.
• Settle nerves: Share a first-day schedule, parking details, arrival contact, local spots to buy coffee and lunch, and other details that can help the individual feel prepared.
• Connect them to the company: Reinforce the company’s mission, culture, or recent wins to help demonstrate they’re joining a great company. Describe the culture and pace of work and how information is shared. Highlight the key points from your company’s accessibility efforts. This can be done through a simple email, text message, or automated tool, whatever fits your operation to ease administrative burdens. You may also want to send them some company swag in advance of their first day — or give it to them when they arrive.

First-day checklist

The first day sets the tone for a new employee’s experience and success within the organization. This checklist outlines key steps and considerations to ensure a smooth and positive first day.

• Make it personal: Ensure someone is scheduled to greet the new hire on arrival. Make sure they schedule time to get to know each other before jumping into onboarding tasks.
• Introduce them: Introduce the new employee to their team and key colleagues and contacts.If the employee has disclosed the need for accommodation, remember confidentiality.

Note: most team members do not need to know accommodation details; introduce your new employee just like you would anyone else. Consider assigning a mentor or buddy to the new employee so they have someone to approach if they have questions.

• Workplace and workspace tour: A workplace tour helps new hires become familiar with their surroundings and understand how the workplace operates. It’s an opportunity to highlight key areas and accessible features, introduce essential safety information, and provide a sense of comfort and belonging. A well-planned tour ensures employees know where to find resources and who to turn to for support.For someone who may have disclosed a disability, highlight any tasks or areas where their disclosed disability and requested accommodation are especially applicable. Be observant and considerate of any accommodation needed on the tour.
• Have tools and equipment ready: Plan accordingly so that required uniforms, devices, access cards, and logins are ready to be distributed.
• Organize paperwork: Plan the first day so paperwork requirements are minimized. Abandoning someone in an office for their first hour to read and sign documents doesn’t leave them excited.
• Review workplace culture and norms: Every workplace has its own way of doing things, from how people communicate and collaborate, to how meetings, breaks, and social interactions typically work. Taking time to explain these unwritten rules helps new employees understand what’s expected and how to fit in comfortably. Be open about things like communication preferences, team routines, and any department-specific practices. Clear guidance helps everyone get settled more quickly and supports an inclusive environment where all employees can thrive — especially those who benefit from structure or clear expectations.
• Training: Training may or may not happen on the first day. However, it is good practice to talk about what’s to come: what training will the employee need, or is an assessment required to determine their training needs? Consider asking employees how they learn best and provide, where possible, learning options. Written instructions, visual aids, shadowing opportunities, demonstrations, or a mix of learning options may help an employee get up to speed faster.
• Review policies and practices: All employees benefit from a clear understanding of workplace policies and practices. Take time to review key information such as attendance, communication protocols, health and safety procedures, and workplace conduct. Highlight benefits that promote inclusion and flexibility, such as employee assistance programs, health and wellness supports, or options for workplace accommodations when needed. Emphasizing that these resources are available to everyone helps ensure employees — whether or not they have a disability — feel supported, valued, and informed about how to access the tools they need to succeed.
• Drafting an individual accommodation plan (IAP): If the employee requests an accommodation, work together to create an IAP. This will help identify the specific equipment, schedule adjustments, or modified procedures required. Remember to request only details that are relevant to creating the plan. Avoid questions about home life, how the disability was acquired, and other personal questions not relevant to the job requirements.

New hire journey — 90-day plan

Onboarding doesn’t end on the first day. It is often said that the first 90 days are critical in shaping how a new hire feels about their role, their team, and the company. A structured journey helps employees move from learning to being able to fully contribute and perform in the job. It may be helpful to think of this process in stages, starting with the first day and ending at the first quarter, as per the chart below.

	First day	First week	First month	First quarter
Objective	Put your new employee at ease and give them a warm welcome.	Help the new hire feel part of the team and begin building cultural and operational understanding.	Build competence and set expectations through structured training.	Transition from learning to fully contributing and integrating into the organization.
Key activities	Follow the first-day checklist to ensure a warm welcome and familiarization with the workplace, workstation, policies, and procedures.	Schedule team lunches, job shadowing, or meet-and-greet sessions.   Deliver compliance training (e.g., policies, reporting processes, regulatory requirements).   Introduce job-specific training at a manageable pace.   Assign a buddy or mentor for daily check-ins.	Continue job-specific training with hands-on practice.   Hold weekly one-on-one check-ins with the manager to answer questions and provide feedback.   Review performance goals and clarify role responsibilities.   Encourage participation in team projects or discussions.	Conduct a 60-day check-in call with HR (or the manager where HR is not available) to assess the onboarding experience and address challenges.   Book a 90-day discussion with the manager to talk about progress and identify gaps.   Increase expectations around skills and performance.   Update/extend the training plan if gaps are identified, as required.

Remember, the early days are critical for an employee to learn, but also for the employer to adjust as needed. In the days and weeks to come, don’t forget to ask your new employee if there are any areas that you (the company, manager, or trainer) could adjust to help them better thrive in their role.

Additional onboarding considerations and support

Onboarding new drivers

New drivers (those with less than two years’ experience) often require additional training and support unique to the profession. Companies often offer driver finishing or occupational-level training that allows individuals to acquire the competencies, knowledge, and skills drivers need to be road-ready.

For support with your company’s occupational-level training, driver evaluation, and more, go to THRC’s collection of resources at Commercial transport truck operator – Trucking HR Canada.

Implementing a buddy program

A buddy can help a new hire navigate the organization with ease. For example, they can support the learning the company’s unique language or comply with unwritten norms that long-term team members often forget exist. Most importantly, it gives the new hire a trusted point of contact to ask anything. Buddy programs don’t need to be formal. In small fleets, it might simply mean pairing a new hire with an experienced, approachable team member for the first few weeks.

TIPS:

• Select respected, approachable employees (drivers, dispatchers, or admin staff) who can model company culture
• Provide guidance around expectations for the buddy role (e.g., check in weekly, explain jargon, or point them in the direction of help)
• Encourage the buddy to reach out to the new hire before their first day to reduce nerves and build confidence

Safety in onboarding

Safety is a shared responsibility. Creating a safe and inclusive workplace starts on the first day and is part of everyone’s success is supported, ensuring all employees understand how to work safely and feel confident asking for what they need.

If an employee discloses a safety concern, ask them if it might also pose a barrier to their work performance and offer the option of developing an accommodation plan. Otherwise, make a note in their file about the safety challenges they shared. In collaboration with them, take any action that is needed to support the safety of the employee and their colleagues.

Recognition and milestones

Acknowledging early wins can help new hires feel valued and seen. Recognition doesn’t need to be expensive: small, genuine gestures can go a long way.

TIPS:

• Celebrate key milestones like completing safety training, finishing a first solo run, or hitting the 30-day mark
• Recognize early wins in team meetings or newsletters, or give a quick shoutout on the radio or dispatch channel
• Personalize recognition with small, genuine gestures like a thank-you note or a coffee card
• Ask for feedback during check-ins and show how their suggestions are put into action

Welcoming culture

A positive company culture is the foundation for a genuinely inclusive and welcoming employment experience. New hires need to feel supported beyond the first day, setting the stage for successful employment. Remind employees about your diversity, equity, and inclusion work and how they can get involved. In smaller organizations, culture is often shaped by everyday interactions, how people communicate, solve problems and support one another.