As of 13 August 2026, AI can write a staff onboarding SOP.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open a blank document and gather the current onboarding notes, staff handbook, role description, training materials, system access list and relevant workplace policies.
   2. Fill the prompt fields with the business's actual process, including who owns each task, when it happens, what evidence is kept and where the new starter goes for help.
   3. Paste the completed prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask it to produce the SOP without adding facts that are not in the supplied material.
   4. Copy the draft into the document used for staff procedures and replace every [TO CONFIRM] marker with an agreed answer or remove the item if it does not apply.
   5. Walk through every step with the manager who normally onboards staff, comparing the draft against the real systems, access permissions, equipment, training and records used by the business.
   6. Check employment, health and safety, data protection and sector-specific points against current GOV.UK guidance or with an appropriate adviser, then obtain the owner or manager's approval before issuing the SOP to staff.

   Prompt

   Write a staff onboarding standard operating procedure for a UK small business.
   
   Business: [business name and type]
   Role being onboarded: [job title]
   Who the role reports to: [manager or owner]
   First day and first week arrangements: [details]
   Tasks the new starter must complete: [list]
   Systems, equipment and accounts they need: [list]
   People they must meet: [names or job titles]
   Policies and procedures they must read or follow: [list]
   Training and competency checks: [details]
   Health and safety instructions: [details]
   Data protection, confidentiality and access rules: [details]
   Probation or review arrangements: [details]
   Escalation contacts and common problems: [details]
   Existing notes or documents: [paste them here]
   
   Produce a practical SOP that a manager can follow and a new starter can understand. Use plain UK English. Organise it into purpose, scope, responsibilities, pre-start preparation, first day, first week, ongoing checks, records to keep, escalation routes and sign-off. Include a table with each step, owner, timing, required evidence and completion status. Use only the facts supplied above. Do not invent policies, legal requirements, training, timings, contacts or system names. Mark missing information as [TO CONFIRM]. Separate factual process instructions from items that may need checking against current UK employment, health and safety, data protection or sector rules. Do not give legal advice. End with a short list of questions the business owner must answer before issuing the SOP.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.