# New Hire Onboarding Plan: [Name], [Job title]

> A manager and People-team plan that takes one new hire from accepted
> offer to the end of the first 90 days: preboarding, first day, first
> week, the 30, 60 and 90 day phases, a named buddy, required compliance
> training and check-in reviews. Based on common onboarding practice,
> with dated UK, EU and US pointers for the legal steps that fall in
> the first days. Replace every `[bracketed]` value and every row
> marked *Example*. Legal steps vary by country: this is a planning
> format, not legal advice.

<!--
Guidance: How to use this template
- One plan per new hire. The manager owns it; the People team owns the
  legal and payroll steps; IT owns access (use the Joiner, Mover,
  Leaver checklist in `ops/onboarding-checklist` for that).
- Start the plan on the day the offer is accepted, not on day one.
  Most bad first days come from laptops, accounts and paperwork that
  were left until the start date.
- Share the plan with the new hire in their first week. They write
  their own goals in the 30-60-90 Day Plan (`career/ninety-day-plan`);
  this plan is the employer's side of the same period.
- The examples describe Priya Hallworth, a fictional Firmware Engineer
  joining Quillfen Devices Ltd (fictional) in Leeds on 2027-01-04.
- Related templates: Offer Letter (`hr/offer-letter`), Developer
  Onboarding Guide (`dev/onboarding-guide`), One-on-One
  (`meetings/one-on-one`), Performance Review
  (`career/performance-review`).
-->

## Contents

1. Outcomes at 90 days
2. Preboarding (offer accepted to day 1)
3. Day 1 and week 1
4. The 90 days by phase
5. Buddy
6. Stakeholders to meet
7. Required and role training
8. Legal steps in the first days (dated pointers)
9. Check-ins and probation
10. Feedback on onboarding
11. Standard and licence note

## Document control

<!-- Guidance: Record the key dates once here and use them in every section, so the plan stays consistent. -->

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plan ID | [ONB-2027-004] |
| New hire | [Name], [job title] |
| Manager | [@manager] |
| Buddy | [@buddy] |
| People partner | [@people-partner] |
| Offer accepted | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Start date (day 1) | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Probation ends | YYYY-MM-DD (or "No probation") |
| Location and work pattern | [Office / hybrid / remote, country] |
| Status | [Preboarding / Active / Complete] |

### Revision history

| Version | Date | Author | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 *(Example)* | 2026-11-10 | [@manager] | Plan created after offer acceptance |
| 1.0 *(Example)* | 2027-01-08 | [@manager] | Goals agreed with the new hire in week 1 |

## 1. Outcomes at 90 days

<!-- Guidance: Agree three to five outcomes that show the person is settled and productive. Questions to answer: what will they deliver, who will they know, what will they be trusted to do alone? -->

| ID | Outcome | Evidence | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| OUT-1 *(Example)* | Ships one firmware change to production with a peer review | Merged change and release note | Day 60 |
| OUT-2 *(Example)* | Runs the bench test suite without help | Test log signed off by buddy | Day 30 |
| OUT-3 *(Example)* | Owns bug triage for the sensor module | Triage rota and two closed bugs | Day 90 review |
| OUT-4 *(Example)* | Has met every stakeholder in section 6 | Stakeholder list complete | Day 60 |
| [OUT-N] | [Outcome] | [Evidence] | [Day] |

## 2. Preboarding (offer accepted to day 1)

<!-- Guidance: Use the time between acceptance and start date. Keep contact friendly and light: the person may still be working their notice. -->

| Task | Owner | Due | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome message from the manager, with the first-week outline | Manager | Within 2 working days of acceptance | [ ] |
| Contract, handbook and policies sent for signature or reading | People team | [2 weeks] before start | [ ] |
| Right-to-work check completed (before employment starts where required) | People team | Before day 1 | [ ] |
| Payroll, tax and bank details collected through the secure HR system | People team | Before day 1 | [ ] |
| Laptop, phone and equipment ordered; desk or home setup agreed | IT, manager | [2 weeks] before start | [ ] |
| Accounts requested by role through `ops/onboarding-checklist` | Manager, IT | [5 working days] before start | [ ] |
| Buddy named and briefed | Manager | [2 weeks] before start | [ ] |
| Reasonable adjustments discussed during hiring arranged | People team, manager | Before day 1 | [ ] |
| First-week calendar booked | Manager | [3 working days] before start | [ ] |

*Example:* for a start on Monday 2027-01-04, Quillfen ordered the
laptop on Monday 2026-12-21, two weeks before the start date.

## 3. Day 1 and week 1

<!-- Guidance: Day 1 is about welcome, working equipment and people, not documents. Spread mandatory training over the first weeks. -->

**Day 1**

- [ ] Welcome by the manager in person or on video; team introduction
- [ ] Laptop, accounts and building access working before noon
- [ ] Day-one written terms given where the law requires them (see
      section 8)
- [ ] Health and safety induction for the workplace: fire exits, first
      aid, incident reporting, display screen setup for home workers
- [ ] Lunch or coffee with the buddy
- [ ] The manager explains this plan and the 90-day outcomes

**Week 1**

- [ ] One-to-one with the manager to agree outcomes and the
      30-60-90 Day Plan (`career/ninety-day-plan`)
- [ ] Introductions to the stakeholders in section 6
- [ ] Team ways of working: tools, meetings, how decisions are made
- [ ] A first small task with a clear finish line
- [ ] End-of-week check-in: what went well, what is missing

## 4. The 90 days by phase

<!-- Guidance: Each phase has a focus, activities and a review. Keep the list short enough that the person can do it alongside real work. -->

| Phase | Focus | Activities | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 30 | Learn | Product and customer overview, codebase or process tour, shadowing, required training, first small task | 30-day check-in (*Example:* Tuesday 2027-02-02) |
| Days 31 to 60 | Contribute | Owns tasks with support, joins the on-call or support rota as a shadow, first improvement suggestion | 60-day check-in (*Example:* Thursday 2027-03-04) |
| Days 61 to 90 | Own | Owns an area, works with less supervision, sets goals for the next quarter | 90-day review (*Example:* Friday 2027-04-02, the last working day before day 90, Saturday 2027-04-03) |

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  A["Offer accepted"] --> B["Preboarding"]
  B --> C["Day 1 and week 1"]
  C --> D["Days 1 to 30: Learn"]
  D --> E["30-day check-in"]
  E --> F["Days 31 to 60: Contribute"]
  F --> G["60-day check-in"]
  G --> H["Days 61 to 90: Own"]
  H --> I["90-day review"]
```

## 5. Buddy

<!-- Guidance: A buddy is a peer, not the manager. Give them time for the role and tell them what is expected. -->

| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Buddy | [@buddy], [role] |
| Time set aside | [2 hours per week in month 1, 1 hour per week after] |
| Covers | Tools, unwritten rules, who to ask, social introductions |
| Does not cover | Performance feedback, pay, formal HR questions |
| Ends | [Day 90], with a short feedback note to the manager |

## 6. Stakeholders to meet

<!-- Guidance: List the people the role depends on. A new hire who knows these people by day 60 is far less likely to stall. -->

| Person or team | Why | By | Met |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware lead *(Example)* | Board revisions and test rigs | Week 2 | [ ] |
| Product manager *(Example)* | Priorities and roadmap | Week 1 | [ ] |
| Quality engineer *(Example)* | Release and test sign-off | Week 3 | [ ] |
| [Person or team] | [Reason] | [Week] | [ ] |

## 7. Required and role training

<!-- Guidance: List the training the role requires, with a deadline and how completion is recorded. Separate legal or policy training from skills training. -->

| Training | Type | Due | Recorded in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health and safety induction | Required | Day 1 | [HR system] |
| Information security and acceptable use | Required | Week 1 | [Learning system] |
| Data protection and privacy | Required | [Day 30] | [Learning system] |
| Anti-harassment and equality | Required | [Day 30] | [Learning system] |
| Code of conduct and whistleblowing route (`compliance/whistleblowing-policy`) | Required | [Day 30] | [Learning system] |
| [Role skill course] | Role | [Day 60] | [Learning system] |

## 8. Legal steps in the first days (dated pointers)

<!-- Guidance: As of October 2026. Not legal advice: these are examples, not a complete list. Check the current official text and a qualified professional where the person works. -->

| Jurisdiction | Step | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Right-to-work check before employment starts. Principal written statement of terms on or before day 1; the wider statement within two months. | https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work and https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars |
| EU | Written information on working conditions under the national law transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1152, with short deadlines for the essential items. | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/1152/oj/eng |
| US | Form I-9: Section 1 by the employee no later than day 1; Section 2 by the employer within three business days of the start. State new-hire reporting and tax forms also apply. | https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 |

## 9. Check-ins and probation

<!-- Guidance: Write down what was agreed at each check-in. Raise concerns early and with support; a surprise at the probation review is a failure of the plan, not of the person. -->

| Check-in | Date | Outcomes reviewed | Notes and agreed actions | Signed off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of week 1 | YYYY-MM-DD | Plan agreed | [Notes] | [@manager] |
| 30 days | YYYY-MM-DD | OUT-2 | [Notes] | [@manager] |
| 60 days | YYYY-MM-DD | OUT-1, OUT-4 | [Notes] | [@manager] |
| 90 days | YYYY-MM-DD | All outcomes | [Notes, next-quarter goals] | [@manager] |
| Probation review | YYYY-MM-DD | Role standards | [Confirmed / extended / other, per contract] | [@manager], [@people-partner] |

If the new hire is not meeting expectations, agree support first. A
formal process, if needed later, follows the Performance Improvement
Plan (`hr/performance-improvement-plan`) and the Disciplinary and
Grievance Procedure (`hr/disciplinary-grievance-procedure`).

## 10. Feedback on onboarding

<!-- Guidance: Ask the new hire at day 30 and day 90 how onboarding went, and fix the process for the next person. -->

- What was missing on your first day?
- Which session or person helped most in the first month?
- What did you need to know earlier?
- How clear were your 90-day outcomes, from 1 (unclear) to 5 (very
  clear)?

## Standard and licence note

Based on common onboarding practice, with dated legal pointers from
GOV.UK, USCIS and Directive (EU) 2019/1152 checked on 2026-10-30.
Original text written for this collection; people and organisations
are fictional. Not legal advice: check the current official text and a
qualified professional. Template licence: MIT.