A new hire's first 30 days within your snow and ice management operation is the most critical to their long-term success. Therefore, it's important to have a sound onboard plan in place for before, during, and after a new hire’s first day.
Here are the five phases for onboarding a new hire accompanied by their corresponding tasks.
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ONBOARDING PHASE 1
Beginning 15 days prior to the new hire's start date, here’s how to prepare for their arrival.
PREPARATIONS
- Confirm start date, time, place, parking,
- Transportation, and dress code
- Identify computer needs and requirements
- Set up email address and add to company directory
- Add your new hire to relevant email lists
WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Assign (and clean) desk area, truck, and crew
- Set up workstation with laptop, etc.
- Company phone and or tablet
- Safety PPE
- Prepare phone, access cards, nameplate, and printer access
- Create a welcome pack with instructions for access
COMMUNICATION
- Request employee bio for easier team assimilation
- Define week one agenda and share with the new hire
PLANNING
- Grant access to key accounts, drives, systems, tools, and platforms
- Set up regularly scheduled meetings, and add the new employee to other department meetings that will be helpful to onboarding
- Schedule pertinent training sessions
- Schedule a team lunch to introduce the new hire on day one or two
- Plan the new hire’s first assignment

- Show them how to get IT support
- Introduce supervisors and subordinates
GETTING COMFORTABLE
- Present them with company swag to make them feel like part of the team
- Provide a list of nearby restaurants
- Take new hire out to lunch with some of the core team
OFFICE TOUR
- Bathrooms
- Printers, copiers, and fax machines
- Office supplies
- Break rooms
- Production yard
- First aid kit
ONBOARDING PHASE 3
The Day 2 goal is to get your hire up to speed and empowered to succeed in the role.
JOB OVERVIEW
- Provide insight on what the job requires on a day to day basis
- Clarify the schedule for the week, and confirm required training
- Review job description, duties, and expectations
- What will the new hire be doing?
- What are their specific responsibilities?
- What are your goals for that person?
- What are their goals and expectations?
- What’s expected in 30 days? 60 days? 90 days?
HIRING MANAGER OVERVIEW
- Define your personal management style
- What are ways you can best work together?
- What are your preferences and expectations as a manager?
- Review internal processes and workflow overview
- Explain annual performance review and goal setting
ONBOARDING PHASE 4
By the end of the first week, here’s a list of managerial goals for overseeing a new hire.
ESSENTIAL RESOURCES
- Supply a list of helpful onboarding resources, product information/roadmap, industry research, competitive analysis, brand materials, internal process documentation, and system training links
- Define expectations for how and when they should master the information, and set priorities
COMPANY MISSION
- Set the stage at a macro level, from the perspective of the organization as a whole
- Review the company mission statement, brand values, organizational structure, and goals
LOOKING AHEAD
- Set up any additional training sessions
- Schedule check-ins to review progress on onboarding materials, discuss questions, and fill any gaps
- Assign an onboarding buddy
- Choose someone who performs similar day-to-day responsibilities that the new hire can lean on
THE FIRST ASSIGNMENT
- Take time to design an initial assignment that will challenge your new hire; this will help instill confidence in their role and position them for longer term success
- Consider a “Show me, don’t tell me” approach

ONBOARDING PHASE 5
In the first month on the job encourage success and foster growth by supplying regular feedback and setting clear expectations and goals.
ENCOURAGE SUCCESS
- Arrange a lunch or happy hour with the larger team
- Help the new hire meet more people at the company and grow their visibility
- Set aside a time to review your working relationship
- Are there areas to improve on?
- How could we work better together?
- Encourage openness; ask if there are any questions or concerns
ASSESS THE WORK
- Based on the success of your new hire’s first assignment, schedule time to regroup and discuss what worked and what didn’t
- Make adjustments and set clear goals for a six-month review
FOSTER GROWTH
- Discuss additional assignments as well as a larger roadmap of key initiatives
- Assign a mentor, and make introductions
- Set performance expectations and establish that you’ll provide monthly feedback to the new hire regarding job performance, including a more formal evaluation annually\
- Assign any other required reading (ex: books that are critical to the industry or role)
Contributing editor, business coach and co-founder of TrueWinds Consulting Fred Haskett often writes about a wide variety of management issues, including planning, training, recruiting, and sales and marketing. You can reach him at fred@truewindsconsulting.com