Onboarding Plans with AI

The 30-60-90 framework is the gold standard for onboarding. It gives the new hire clear expectations and milestones for their first three months:

Days 1-30: Learn. The new hire absorbs everything — the product, the team, the processes, the culture. They shadow colleagues, attend meetings, read documentation, and ask questions. The goal is understanding, not output.

Days 31-60: Contribute. They start owning tasks and small projects. They build relationships across the team. They begin applying what they learned in month one. The goal is confidence and early wins.

Days 61-90: Lead. They take ownership of key responsibilities. They drive projects independently. They start showing measurable impact. The goal is proving they belong.

The beauty of this framework is that it works for nearly every role. The specifics change — a software engineer's "Learn" phase looks different from a marketing manager's — but the structure holds.

The first communication a new hire receives after signing sets the tone for their entire experience. A cold, HR-template welcome email says "you're employee #247." A warm, personalised one says "we're genuinely excited you're joining us."

Welcome email from their manager:

"Write a welcome email from [manager name], [title], to [new hire name] who's joining as [role] on [start date]. Reference something specific from their interview — they were excited about [specific thing]. Include what their first day will look like, who will greet them, and one personal touch (e.g., the team's favourite lunch spot, or that Fridays are casual). Tone: warm, human, and genuinely excited. Under 200 words."

Welcome email from the team:

"Write a short welcome message from the [team name] team to [new hire name]. Each team member (names: [list]) contributes one sentence about themselves or a fun fact. End with 'We can't wait to work with you.' Keep it casual and fun. Under 150 words."

Pre-start information pack: Combine the welcome email with practical details — where to park, what to bring, dress code, who to ask for at reception. AI can generate all of this in one prompt.

A new hire's first week should be structured enough that they never feel lost, but flexible enough that they don't feel micromanaged.

Prompt template: "Create a first-week schedule for a new [role] at [company]. Day 1: IT setup, office tour, team lunch, 1:1 with manager. Day 2: Product training, shadow [colleague]. Day 3: Process walkthroughs, tools training. Day 4: Customer/client observation day. Day 5: Reflection meeting with manager, set goals for weeks 2-4. Include specific times and leave buffer time between sessions. Format as a clean daily agenda."

For agency recruiters onboarding new consultants: Include CRM training, shadowing experienced consultants on calls, reviewing live job briefs, and doing their first mock candidate screen by day 3. Get them on a real call by day 5 — observed and supported, but real.

For in-house recruiters onboarding into a new company: Include hiring manager introductions, review of open requisitions, ATS walkthrough, and sitting in on at least two interviews by end of week one. Understanding the business is as important as understanding the recruitment process.

The hiring manager's role in onboarding is critical — and often neglected. A briefing document ensures they're prepared to welcome, support, and develop the new hire from day one.

Prompt template: "Create a manager briefing document for [manager name] who is onboarding [new hire name] as [role] starting [date]. Include: key information about the new hire (background, strengths from interviews, areas to develop), recommended first-week priorities, 30-60-90 day milestones to track, suggested 1:1 topics for the first month, and common onboarding mistakes to avoid. Keep it to one page."

This document is particularly valuable for in-house recruiters. You've spent weeks getting to know this candidate through the interview process. The hiring manager has met them for a few hours. You have insights they don't. A briefing document transfers that knowledge and sets the new hire up for a better relationship with their manager from day one.

For agency recruiters, offering a manager briefing document as part of your service is a genuine differentiator. Most agencies stop at the placement. You're supporting the onboarding — and that's what earns repeat business.

If you're hiring 5, 10, or 50 people a quarter, creating individual onboarding plans sounds impossible. AI makes it practical.

The template approach: Create one master 30-60-90 template per role family (engineering, sales, marketing, etc.). Then use AI to personalise each one: "Here's our standard onboarding plan for sales hires. Personalise it for [name], who is joining as [specific role]. They have experience in [background] but are new to [area]. Adjust the learning activities to focus more on [gap area] and less on [strength area]."

The batch approach: If you're onboarding a cohort, create a shared schedule for group activities (orientation, culture sessions, leadership welcome) and individual plans for role-specific activities. AI can generate both from a single prompt.

The result is onboarding that feels personal to every new hire, even when you're running it at scale. That's the difference between a company where new starters say "I felt really looked after" and one where they say "I was thrown in at the deep end."