You worked hard to hire them. Now do not lose them in month one. The fastest way to waste a great hire is a vague, improvised start. This builds one document in two parts: a tick-off checklist that gets the first month right, then a ramp plan with real ownership milestones, so everyone knows what good looks like by day 30, 60 and 90, and by month 6 and 12. Fill it in, download a branded PDF, and share it with the hire and their manager.
The last step of a great hire. Onboarding is where the offer either pays off or unravels.
The new hire
TIP Name an owner for the onboarding. A plan with no owner is a plan that quietly does not happen.
Part one · The onboarding checklist
TIP These print as tick boxes on the PDF, so the manager and the hire can work through them together and see nothing gets missed. One item per line. Edit the defaults to fit your setup.
Part two · The ramp plan
TIP This is the guide, not the checklist. For each milestone, describe what the hire should own and what good looks like. Be specific. A milestone you cannot measure is a hope, not a plan.
Part three · Engineering wiki
TIP The docs and systems a new engineer should read first. One per line as "Resource: what it covers". Leave blank to use the suggested list.
Part four · Meet the team
TIP The people to meet in the first two weeks, and why. One per line as "Person: why to meet them". Leave blank to use the suggested list.
Part five · Onboarding retrospective
TIP A short reflection template for the hire to complete at 30 and 60 days. It is added automatically with writing space, nothing to fill in here.
