Your First Hire Needs a 30-60-90 Plan, Not a Pile of Verbal Instructions
A simple onboarding plan helps a new employee know what to learn, what good work looks like, and when to ask for help.
Turn owner knowledge into a visible ramp.
A first hire usually fails quietly before it fails officially. The owner assumes the new person understands the work, the new person guesses at priorities, and everyone waits too long to name the gap.
A 30-60-90 onboarding plan does not need to be corporate. It just needs to turn the owner’s mental checklist into a visible path.
The 30-60-90 structure
| Phase | Focus | Question to answer |
|---|---|---|
| First 30 days | Learn the business and standards | What does good look like? |
| Days 31-60 | Own repeatable tasks | What can they handle with less help? |
| Days 61-90 | Improve speed and judgment | What should they fully own now? |
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What to document first
- The five tasks the new hire will repeat most often.
- The mistakes that create the most rework.
- The quality standard customers will notice.
- The weekly check-in questions you will ask.
This week, what felt clear, what felt confusing, and what task do you need to watch me do one more time?
Free version vs. full kit
The free version: write a one-page 30-60-90 plan before the hire starts. The full First Hire 30-60-90 Onboarding Kit gives you a complete ramp plan, weekly check-in prompts, task tracker, role expectations, and training checklist.
View the First Hire Onboarding Kit
Fix the next one before it starts.
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