Onboarding and the first 90 days

The first three months establish expectations, working relationships and operating habits. A structured onboarding plan reduces uncertainty and gives both the employee and manager objective evidence of progress.

Confirm the workspace and equipment with your partner. Create named system accounts with appropriate permissions, schedule the first week, prepare training materials and tell the local team who is joining and why.

Send a welcome note containing the schedule, manager details and practical instructions. Assign a buddy who understands the work and has time set aside to help.

Explain what the business does, who its customers are, how it creates value and where the new role fits. Introduce the people the employee will work with and provide guided tours of the relevant systems.

Set clear expectations for communication, meetings, questions, escalation and the first 30, 60 and 90 days. Context helps people make better decisions when a procedure does not cover the situation.

Use a simple progression: observe the work, complete it together, complete it independently with review, then take ownership. Keep sessions focused and frequent, with written procedures and recordings available for reference.

Check understanding through demonstration or teach-back rather than asking only whether the material was understood. Update the process documentation when the new hire exposes gaps.

Adapt milestones to the role. At 30 days, the employee may understand the business and complete core tasks with support. At 60 days, they may handle standard work with quality review. At 90 days, they may be approaching the agreed volume and quality level while escalating genuine exceptions.

Share the milestones on day one and review them formally. Record evidence, feedback, support actions and agreed next steps.

Use short, regular check-ins during the first month to discuss work completed, uncertainty, blockers and a sample of output. Reduce the frequency as independence develops, while retaining the weekly one-on-one.

Close supervision during training should be purposeful and transparent. It should build competence and trust, not become permanent monitoring.

Use the agreed milestones and documented feedback as the basis for probation conversations. Raise gaps promptly, listen for underlying causes and agree specific improvement actions and review dates.

Involve the partner’s HR team early whenever performance, attendance or employment action may become formal. Probation and termination requirements are jurisdiction-specific and should be confirmed at the time. Recognise successful completion clearly and positively.