The manager's half of onboarding

• Define done for day 30 — Write one sentence describing what a successful first month looks like. Share it with the hire on day one.
• Book the recurring 1:1 — Put it on the calendar before they start so it is not a favour you have to remember.
• Clear a first task — Pick something small, real, and reviewable. Do not let their first week be reading only.
• Tell the team — Who is joining, what they own, and who should introduce them to what.

• Set the plan, not the mood — Walk them through the written plan on day one. Confidence comes from knowing what happens Thursday.
• Introduce with purpose — Every intro gets a reason: this is who you ask about billing, this is who covers the close.
• Watch the first task — Review it quickly and specifically. Your first piece of feedback sets the bar for the year.
• Ask what's unclear on Friday — Then fix the plan, not just the answer.

• Hand over one responsibility — Name it clearly and stop doing it yourself. Shared ownership at this stage means unclear ownership.
• Give one number — A simple target for the month so progress is not a matter of opinion.
• Say how it's going out loud — At day 30, state plainly where they are strong and what needs to change. Silence reads as approval.

Managers at growing companies onboard the same roles repeatedly, usually while covering the gap the hire was meant to fill. Keeping this checklist as a template — with the hire's own items visible to them and yours visible to you — is the difference between onboarding that improves each time and onboarding that resets with every hire.