Checklist for On-boarding and Off-boarding for Small Newsrooms

I included a similar checklist in chapter two of this guide, but here's a more specific checklist for those smaller newsrooms. Again, everything on this list doesn't need to be included, but these are suggestions of what is helpful in other newsrooms.

Checklist of things to do/have for on-boarding process

• [ ] Explanation of who is in the newsroom, what they do, a little bit about them, where they are based if they are remote. Include pictures of people so you can easily identify them. You may also add a note near key people for the position
• [ ] Expectations for the job (what the previous person did and/or what the newsroom expects the person to work on. Examples include annual projects, attending certain meetings)
• [ ] Order of how stories and/or pitches get filed and how they go through the editing process (ex: points of contact, timeline for stories)
• [ ] How to use the CMS and other software in the newsroom (there would be documents with screenshots explaining what different buttons in the CMS or software are)
• [ ] List of logins for social media, version control, servers and how to activate certain accounts (ex: PGP, set up email)
• [ ] For graphics/news apps folks: how to set up development environment, list of common tools used
• [ ] Meetings with team members or people folks might work with to learn about their roles on the team or in the newsroom
• [ ] Spend some time on the company website looking through what the company does
• [ ] Pair program or sit with another reporter (shadow a few desks, over a few days)
• [ ] Write down questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions!
• [ ] Include a glossary of common terms used in the newsroom or on the job in a document (for example if there is a list of acronyms for organizations that reporters on this beat usually contact or sources will often refer to)
• [ ] Have a mentor on the team or in the newsroom (ideally this person would walk you through what the previous person worked on and be there for any questions)
• [ ] Read through documentation written by the previous person in the job. Notes can include questions the person had when they started and answers, source information, contact list (could be in a Word doc, Github repo, markdown file)
• [ ] Timeline of ongoing topics on the beat (for example: a calendar of notable events on the beat or data releases)
• [ ] General notes/documentation on security in the newsroom (PGP, VPN, file sharing)
• [ ] Read through common contacts (ideally this would include times when they are good to contact, if they prefer email vs. phone, etc.)
• [ ] Read over any social media guidelines & policies
• [ ] Read over any ethics policies the newsroom has

Checklist of things to do/have for off-boarding process

• [ ] Writeup documentation about unfinished projects, questions, known issues, and projects worked on
• [ ] Have someone or a few people on the team or in the newsroom read through these documentation and ask questions if there are any
• [ ] Removal from social media accounts, Github, servers and any other accounts that are shared
• [ ] Disable CMS access
• [ ] Handoff of Google docs/shared documents
• [ ] Address FOIs or record requests that are ongoing and need to be followed up on. A spreadsheet tracking this information will be helpful to send to reporters/editors on the team and include in final documentation before leavings
• [ ] Rolodex: Update contact lists and notes on any sources that the next person should know about
• [ ] Exit interview with the newsroom or people you often work with: overview of the job (can be like office hours where people can stop by and ask questions about the position/stories)

You can fork this checklist on Github and make your own.