Monday starts before Monday.
A new starter should not have to discover which handoff everyone else missed.
Find the missing handoff
The laptop is ordered, but no one has confirmed where it should arrive. The welcome meeting is booked, but the manager does not know who is arranging access. Each team has completed something. The new colleague still has an incomplete first day.
Plan around the person arriving rather than the separate systems involved. What must be ready before they start? What can happen during the first week? Who will notice if a dependency is missing?
Give each task a real finish
“Equipment sorted” is difficult to verify. “Laptop ordered for delivery to the Stockholm office” is a clearer state, but it still does not mean the laptop has arrived. Keep the next check visible.
The same distinction matters for accounts and introductions. An access request can be submitted while approval is pending. A buddy invitation can be sent while the person has not yet agreed. These are useful progress states, not failures to hide.
Share what the owner needs
IT needs the details required to prepare access and equipment. A buddy needs enough information to welcome the new colleague. Neither needs every document held by HR.
Privacy by design means making these boundaries part of the workflow from the beginning. Decide what each task owner needs to see and avoid copying a complete personnel record into every handoff.
Make changes ordinary
Start dates move. Equipment becomes unavailable. A manager takes leave. Give the plan a way to respond without asking someone to reconstruct the whole conversation.
When a date changes, review the tasks that depend on it, keep completed work visible and tell the relevant owners what needs attention. After the first week, ask which handoff caused uncertainty. Improve that handoff before adding another checklist. Good coordination is visible in the experience of the person arriving.