TPL-12People

30-60-90 Onboarding Plan

The first 90 days are when the story of "can this person do the job" gets written — usually before the person has enough context to prove it. A written plan lowers ambient anxiety and gives you a shared artifact to inspect.

Days 1-30: Learn

Meet every stakeholder on a named list
Ship one small, real change end-to-end
Read the top 5 docs; ask 20 questions

Days 31-60: Contribute

Own a defined slice of work with a visible outcome. For managers: run 1:1s with the full team, form a first-impressions memo, don't reorg anything.

Days 61-90: Lead

Take primary ownership of a project or team area. Give a written point of view on one thing they'd change. This is the artifact that anchors the 90-day review.

Weekly check-in

15 minutes, same slot each week, on the plan itself — not general work. Adjust the plan as you learn more about the person and the team.

Common pitfalls

— Writing the plan and never opening it again.
— Overloading week one. Onboarding is a marathon.
— For new managers: letting them reorg or fire in the first 90 days. Almost always wrong.

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