Six new starters on a Monday in March
The season is starting and you have taken on six people: two returning from last year, three new, one a friend of a crew leader who can start tomorrow. Each one needs right to work documents checked, bank and tax details for payroll, emergency contacts, a driving licence check if they will tow the trailer, an induction on the kit they will use, PPE issued, and a place on a crew.
The office manager has a paper checklist per person. By week three nobody is sure whether the new lad was inducted on the brushcutter, his licence was never checked, and his P45 is still in his car.
Why the spring intake goes wrong
Landscaping hires are seasonal and concentrated. The same office people who handle the enquiry rush also handle starters. The steps are known but not tracked, and pressure to get people out on site means steps are skipped with the intention of catching up later.
- Documents arrive in dribs and drabs on paper or by text.
- Checklists are paper and not visible to supervisors.
- Inductions on each machine are not recorded per person.
- Driving and towing entitlement is assumed rather than checked.
- Returning staff are onboarded again from scratch, or not at all.
What checks you must make, and what training each task needs, are set by law and your own safety adviser. We do not advise on those. The flow makes sure the steps you set are done and recorded.
What a messy intake costs
A missed right to work check or a missing licence check can be a serious problem. Staff using kit they were never inducted on is a risk. Payroll errors in someone's first weeks start the relationship badly. And the office spends the busiest weeks of the year chasing paperwork.
The onboarding flow we build
- When an offer is accepted, the starter gets a link on their phone to upload documents and enter details: identity and right to work documents, bank and tax details, emergency contact, driving licence details if relevant.
- The office reviews each item and marks it checked, and the flow follows your process for right to work and licence checks rather than inventing one.
- A checklist per person, built from their role, lists inductions: which machines, which tasks, site rules. Supervisors sign each one off on their phone.
- Kit and PPE issued are recorded against the person, which helps when they leave.
- Payroll details go to your payroll software once complete, so nothing is keyed twice.
- Returning staff are asked only to confirm or update details, and re-inductions are listed where your rules require them.
| Step | Who | Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Documents and details | Starter, on their phone | Uploads with dates |
| Right to work and licence checks | Office, following your process | Who checked, when |
| Machine and site inductions | Supervisor | Signed off per item |
| Kit and PPE | Yard or supervisor | Items issued |
| Payroll set-up | Automatic when complete | Sent to payroll |
A spring intake that holds together
Starters arrive with their paperwork done. Supervisors see who is inducted on what, and nobody is put on a machine they have not been shown. Payroll is right from the first week. And when a crew member leaves in October, you know what kit they have.
Signs your intake needs fixing
- Starter paperwork is still missing weeks after they begin.
- You are not sure who has been inducted on which machine.
- Licence checks are done when someone remembers.
- Payroll errors happen in starters' first weeks.
- Kit issued to leavers is not recovered.