A Training Plan for New Employees: 7 Key Steps
Learn how to build a successful training plan for new employees with our step-by-step guide. Use your learning management system and online courses to improve retention and get new hires productive faster.
You hire someone you're excited about, but their first few weeks feel chaotic. You see them looking lost, asking the same questions repeatedly. Then, the worst happens, and they quit, leaving you with lost time and money. It's a painful cycle many businesses endure, often wondering what went wrong.
The problem usually isn't the person you hired; it's the lack of a clear path for them. You would not send a soldier into battle without a map, so why send a new employee into your company without a guide? This is where a proper training plan for new employees changes everything.
I am not talking about a simple welcome email and a handbook, but a structured journey. A well-designed training plan for new employees turns a nervous new hire into a confident, productive team member. Creating successful training plans is an investment that pays you back tenfold by protecting your bottom line and building a stronger company.
7 Key Steps to Build a Training Plan for New Employees
- Setting the Stage: The Pre-boarding Phase
- Navigating the First Week
- The 30-Day Foundation
- Building Momentum at 60 Days
- Solidifying Success at 90 Days
- Organizing Essential Tools and Resources for Your Plan
- Measure the Success of Your Training
Why You Need a Structured Onboarding Plan
Let's talk numbers for a moment. Losing an employee is expensive. Some studies show that replacing a salaried employee can cost a business six to nine months of that person's salary, a huge financial hit for most companies.
A great onboarding experience addresses this challenge. Research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that organizations with a strong, structured onboarding process can improve new hire retention by between 50-69% and boost new hire productivity by 70% withing the first few months. By giving your new hire a better start, you greatly increase the chance they will stay and contribute to your team for the long term.
A good training plan for new employees makes them feel valued from day one, which boosts employee engagement. It's also about speed and how quickly your new hire can start contributing. Without a plan, they might spend weeks figuring things out on their own, but with a structured new-hire training plan and clear training objectives, you can cut that time to productivity significantly.
They get the information and knowledge needed right away, meaning they start adding value much faster. This effective training positively impacts overall team morale and output. Finally, consider your company culture, as onboarding is your first and best chance to show a new person what your company is all about and how your values work in practice.
The Building Blocks of an Effective Training Plan for New Employees
Building a solid hire training plan is not about overwhelming a new person with information all at once. It involves a phased approach that builds their knowledge and confidence over time. Let's break down what this looks like over the first 90 days, a time frame experts at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) point to as the critical employee onboarding period.
1. Setting the Stage: The Pre-Boarding Phase
An effective training plan for new employees should begin before their first day in a phase known as pre-boarding. This is your opportunity to make a great first impression and manage a lot of first-day anxiety. This simple step sets a positive tone and shows you are organized and excited for their arrival.
A week before they start, send a digital or physical welcome packet. This packet should include a welcome letter from the CEO or their direct manager. Also, provide an agenda for their first week so they know exactly what to expect, reducing any uncertainty.
Make sure their technology and access are ready. Their computer, email, and necessary software access should be fully set up. There is nothing more frustrating for a new hire than sitting around with nothing to do because their accounts are not active, a situation that immediately sends a poor message about the company's organization.
Finally, complete as much of the administrative paperwork online beforehand. This allows you to focus on connection and integration, not compliance, during their first few days. It streamlines the process and allows more time for meaningful interactions and actual training content.
2. Navigating the First Week
The first week is all about orientation and introductions, with the primary goal being immersion. You want to make them feel like part of the team as quickly as possible. This requires a detailed schedule that balances information with human connection.
Day One should include a team welcome lunch and a tour of the office. Have their workspace clean and ready with some company swag. It is a small gesture that shows you care and were expecting them. A well-prepared space makes an employee feel instantly valued.
Arrange meetings with key people they will be working with. Don't just introduce them by name; explain what each person does and how their roles will interact. These early conversations build the foundation for future collaboration and enhance their understanding of the organizational structure.
Spend time talking about the company's mission, vision, and history. Share stories that bring your company values to life, as this helps them connect on a personal level. These initial training sessions can also include basic safety training if relevant to the work environment.
3. The 30-Day Foundation
During the first month, the focus of the new-hire training shifts to role-specific learning. They now have a sense of the company culture. Now, they need to understand their job inside and out, bridging any potential skills gaps from their previous roles.
This is where you provide them with thorough training on the tools, systems, and software they will use daily. It's also an excellent time for formal skill development as part of their personal development plan. You might have them take a specific online training course to build a fresh skill set or improve on current skills.
For example, a new marketing hire could take a HubSpot Academy course on social media strategy. Setting clear, achievable goals for their first 30 days is vital. These goals should represent small wins that build their confidence and demonstrate early progress.
Schedule weekly check-ins with their manager. These meetings are crucial for asking questions, seeking clarification, and getting feedback, not for judging job performance. This supportive environment encourages open communication and rapid learning.
4. Building Momentum at 60 Days
By the 60-day mark, your new employee should be feeling more comfortable and integrated into the team. Now it is time to help them gain more independence and apply their initial learning. The goal is to see them start taking on more responsibility and working more autonomously.
Start assigning them more complex projects or tasks that require collaboration with other departments. Include leadership training and encourage them to lead a small part of a team meeting or present a new idea. This is when the initial hand-holding lessens, and you encourage them to start solving problems on their own.
This phase is also a good time for more formal feedback, perhaps through a structured conversation. Have a discussion about what is going well and where they can improve, framing it as a coaching session to help them with career growth. Your support here helps them build real momentum and solidifies their place on the team.
5. Solidifying Success at 90 Days
The 90-day mark is a significant milestone, often marking the end of the formal probationary period. It is a time for a comprehensive review and for looking ahead to their future with the company. This final stage of the initial training plan for new employees sets the stage for long-term success.
Conduct a formal 90-day performance review. Discuss their progress against the goals you set for the first month and the complexities of the tasks they have handled since. Celebrate their achievements and talk about the positive impact they have had so far.
This is also the time to set goals for the next quarter and discuss their long-term career aspirations. Ask how your company can help them achieve their goals for career progression. This conversation demonstrates that you are invested in their future, turning the employee onboarding process into a continuous development program.
| Time Frame | Primary Focus | Key Activities | Desired Outcome |
| Days 1-30 | Orientation & Basic Training | Company orientation, team introductions, systems training, setting initial goals, and on-the-job training with supervision. | Employee understands the company culture, their role, and basic job requirements. |
| Days 31-60 | Integration & Responsibility | Work on smaller projects, collaborate with colleagues, receive regular feedback, and identify and address skills gaps. | Employee begins to work independently and contribute meaningfully to team projects. |
| Days 61-90 | Autonomy & Future Planning | Take ownership of larger tasks, receive a formal performance review, set long-term goals, discuss career growth. | Employee is a fully integrated and productive team member with a clear path forward. |
6. Organizing Essential Tools and Resources for Your Plan
A training plan is just a document without the right tools and resources to support it. You need to give your new hire a wide range of learning opportunities to grow. A blended approach using various learning tools often works best to accommodate different learning styles.
Consider implementing a mentorship or buddy system. Assigning a new hire an experienced team member gives them a go-to person for informal questions and guidance. This relationship builds social connections and helps them understand the unwritten rules of the company culture.
Leverage online learning platforms and smart instructional design best practices as a core part of your employee training programs. The modern workforce is focused on skills-based hiring. According to Coursera's recent Micro-Credentials Impact Report 2025, 97% of employers worldwide are already using or actively exploring skills-based hiring, a methodology that emphasizes verifiable, skill-specific credentials (i.e., micro-credentials) over traditional credentials like degrees.
You can greatly enhance employee skills with free courses from the HubSpot Academy, edX, Codecademy or the Project Management Institue (PMI). Integrate these into your training plan for new employees to enhance skills in specific areas. For example, a new project manager could take a short PMI course on AI to gain cutting-edge knowledge, showing they are committed to their professional growth and improving customer outcomes through better service.
| Course Provider | Free Courses |
| HubSpot Academy | Social Media Marketing |
| Project Management Institute | Generative AI Overview for Project Managers |
| edX | IBM: Data Analytics Basics for Everyone |
| Codeacademy | Getting Started with Python for Data Science |
Different training methods should also be considered based on the training objective. For instance, instructor-led training is great for complex topics that benefit from real-time Q&A. On the other hand, self-paced online training offers flexibility for foundational knowledge.
You can also create engaging and interactive training sessions through other means. Group discussion can foster collaboration and help new hires understand different perspectives. Workshops on soft skills like communication skills or time management can provide practical, hands-on experience that benefits their current job and future career growth.
7. Measure the Success of Your Training
How do you know if your training plan for new employees is working? You have to measure its impact. Creating a successful training program is not a static activity; it should be a living system that you constantly improve through effective program management.
First, track key metrics to gauge the effectiveness of your training development. Look at your 90-day retention rate. If more of your new hires are staying past that critical milestone, that is a huge sign that the training improves the employee experience.
Also, measure their time to productivity. Talk to managers about when new team members are able to work independently and meet job performance expectations. Reducing this ramp-up time is a direct benefit of a strong hire training program.
Second, you must get feedback directly from participants. Send out anonymous surveys to new hires after their first week, first month, and first 90 days. Ask them what was helpful, what was confusing, and what training opportunities they would like to see in the future.
You should also gather feedback from their managers to get a complete picture. Use this information to refine your process. Perhaps the first-week schedule is too packed, or a certain training module is not clear enough. Every piece of feedback helps you make the training plan for new employees better for the next person.
Conclusion
Building a thoughtful and structured onboarding process and employee training plan is a strategic business decision. A great training plan for new employees is your best defense against high turnover rates. It benefits employees by enhancing their skill sets, helping them become productive faster, and fostering a stronger, more connected company culture.
The company's investment in a comprehensive and ongoing employee development program shows your people you are invested in them from the very start. It sets a positive tone that can last for their entire tenure. This is how you build a team that sticks around, grows with you, and helps your company thrive.
