Plans · People
Build a new-hire onboarding program
6 weeks · 4 phases · 23 tasks · 3 milestones · 4 risks
For a growing team where onboarding is whatever the hiring manager remembers to do. The weeks run from asking recent hires what went wrong through building the checklists and materials to piloting the program with real new starters. Adapt the role checklists to your teams and keep the whole thing short enough that managers actually use it.
Makes it a program in your harbor, dated from today.
Milestones
- Week 2Current state understood
- Week 4Materials ready
- Week 6Program piloted and handed over
The plan, phase by phase
1. Understand today
Weeks 1 to 2. Learn what onboarding looks like now and where it fails.
- Week 1Interview five people hired in the last yearAsk what they wish they'd had in week one and when they first felt useful.
- Week 1Talk to hiring managers about their partAsk what they do now, what takes the most time, and what they'd skip if they could.
- Week 1List every step from signed offer to first day
- Week 2Agree goals for the program with leadershipFor example, new hires know their goals in week one and ship something small in their first month.
2. Before day one
Week 2. Make sure new hires arrive to a working laptop and a plan.
- Week 2Write the pre-start checklist for people and ITAccounts, equipment, payroll forms, and who sends the welcome email.
- Week 2Draft the welcome email with first-day details
- Week 2Agree the equipment lead time with IT
- Week 2Set up a pre-start check-in call with the managerA short call the week before the start date answers nerves and logistics.
3. First weeks
Weeks 3 to 4. Give new hires a clear path through their first 90 days.
- Week 3Write the first-day scheduleLeave room to set up and meet the team. Day one is not for heavy training.
- Week 3Create a 30-60-90 day plan templateThe manager fills it in before the start date with real goals for that role.
- Week 3Write the company overview and how-we-work guideMission, how decisions get made, who to ask about what, and the tools people use daily.
- Week 3Set up a buddy programA buddy outside the reporting line who answers small questions. Give buddies a one-page guide.
- Week 4Build role checklists for each team
- Week 4Schedule recurring intro sessions with each department
- Week 4Write the manager's onboarding guide
- Week 4Add a first-week starter task for each roleSomething small and real they can finish, so they learn the workflow end to end.
- Week 4Schedule check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days
4. Pilot and improve
Weeks 5 to 6. Run the program with real starters and adjust it.
- Week 5Brief managers and buddies on the program
- Week 5Run the program with the next new hires
- Week 6Collect feedback at the end of week one and week fourA short form is enough. Ask what was missing and what was a waste of time.
- Week 6Revise the materials from the feedback
- Week 6Hand ownership to a named person
- Week 6Track time to first contribution for each new hire
What usually goes wrong
Managers don't use it
A program that adds work for busy managers gets skipped after the first hire.
What helps: Build it with two or three managers, keep their part to a short checklist, and have the owner check in before each start date.
Likelihood 4 of 5 · impact 4 of 5
Equipment and accounts aren't ready on day one
A new hire without a laptop or logins loses days and a first impression.
What helps: Trigger the IT checklist when the offer is signed and confirm readiness two days before the start.
Likelihood 3 of 5 · impact 3 of 5
Too much content too soon
Long reading lists in week one get skimmed and forgotten.
What helps: Put only what's needed in week one in front of new hires and spread the rest across the 90 days.
Likelihood 3 of 5 · impact 2 of 5
Materials go stale
Tools and teams change, and outdated guides confuse new hires.
What helps: Name an owner and review the materials every quarter, using the new-hire feedback as the prompt.
Likelihood 4 of 5 · impact 2 of 5
Using it
Copy what fits and cut what doesn’t: no real project matches a template. In Harbor the plan becomes a program with these milestones, one project holding every task with its due date, and these risks in the register, all yours until you hand them out. The first phase starts in To do and the rest wait in the backlog.
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