New Employee Onboarding

New employee onboarding gets almost all its attention in the first week and is actually decided over about three months. Three checkpoints do most of the work.

Week two. Not week one. By week two the person knows enough to have real questions and has usually stopped asking them, because everyone seems busy. A deliberate half hour here catches confusion before it sets.

Week six. The point where the initial goodwill fades and the gap between the role as advertised and the role as it is becomes clear. This is when early resignations are decided, well before they are announced.

Before probation ends. A conversation with a decision in it, not a date that passes.

Each is a calendar entry rather than a programme. Managers who hold all three lose fewer people in the first year.

The Fair Work Ombudsman covers probation and employment obligations. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s onboarding management system and workplace compliance courses.