| name | onboarding-builder |
| description | Creates 30-60-90 day onboarding plan with assigned mentors, learning resources, and productivity milestones. Outputs onboarding-{role}-{date}.md with accountability framework. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write |
| effort | medium |
When to activate
Post-offer acceptance. Builds structured onboarding to accelerate time-to-productivity and retention.
When NOT to use
Not for interview process — use interview-architect. Not for offer negotiation — use compensation-analyzer. Not for longer-term career development (that's 6-month+ planning).
Onboarding Framework: 30-60-90
The 30-60-90 Philosophy
30 days: Ramp-up phase. Learn company, culture, systems, and get oriented.
60 days: Contributes to team; starts owning smaller projects; building relationships.
90 days: Fully productive contributor. Owns projects independently; integrated with team.
Milestones align to productivity curve:
- Day 0–30: 0–40% productivity (learning)
- Day 30–60: 40–70% productivity (contributing with guidance)
- Day 60–90: 70–100% productivity (independent contributor)
- Day 90+: Full productivity + mentoring others
Role-Specific Onboarding Tracks
Individual Contributor (IC) Track
Day 1–7: Orientation
Day 8–14: Team Onboarding
Day 15–30: Foundation & First Contribution
Day 31–60: Ownership & Integration
Day 61–90: Independent Contribution
Onboarding Plan Template
# Onboarding Plan: [Name] — [Role] — [Department]
**Start Date:** [Date]
**Manager:** [Name]
**Assigned Buddy:** [Name]
**Expected Productivity Ramp:** 0–40% (Day 1–30) → 40–70% (Day 31–60) → 70–100% (Day 61–90)
---
## Day 1: Welcome
**Owner: Manager**
**Activities:**
- [ ] Pickup from HR: desk, equipment, badge
- [ ] Welcome meeting with manager (30 min)
- Set communication norms (1:1 cadence, Slack response time, availability)
- Overview of first week (priorities, introductions)
- Questions welcome (normalize asking)
- [ ] Lunch with team (buddy picks you up)
- [ ] Set up accounts: GitHub, Jira, Slack, internal wiki, email
- [ ] Review organizational structure and team roadmap
**Goal:** Feel welcomed; have basic access; know week 1 priorities.
---
## Week 1: Orientation
**Owner: Manager + Buddy**
**Activities:**
- [ ] Meet 1:1 with manager daily (10–15 min async check-in)
- [ ] Team meetings (standup, weekly sync) — listen, don't speak yet
- [ ] Buddy pairing (2–3 hours): walkthrough of codebase, system architecture
- [ ] Product demo (30 min with product manager or PM)
- [ ] Read: company mission, values, customer stories (30 min)
- [ ] Set up local development environment (buddy helps; document any blockers)
**Success metric:** Can navigate codebase; knows team members; systems working.
---
## Week 2–3: Foundation
**Owner: Manager + Technical Mentor**
**Activities:**
- [ ] Read architecture docs (2–3 critical design documents) — 2 hours total
- [ ] Pair on first ticket with buddy (1–2 days; mentor reviews code, not just approves)
- [ ] Attend team design discussion or architecture meeting
[ ] Complete first small contribution independently (e.g., documentation fix, test update, minor bug)
[ ] Weekly 1:1 with manager: progress check, blockers, questions
Scoped to <1 day of work
Clear success criteria
Buddy/mentor available for pairing
Builds familiarity with codebase
Shipped first task; understands core system; asking good questions.
---
[ ] Complete second small-to-medium task (2–3 days) independently, with code review
[ ] Participate in standup (one update: what you worked on, blockers)
[ ] Pair with another team member (cross-team knowledge)
[ ] Day 30 check-in with manager (30 min):
Progress on tasks
Productivity level (honest assessment; adjust if needed)
Blockers or concerns
Goal for next 30 days
30–40% productivity; owns small task; integrated with team.
---
[ ] Assigned a medium project (~2–3 weeks; scoped clearly)
[ ] Lead a technical discussion or standup update
[ ] Code reviews by 2–3 teammates (learn team standards)
[ ] Attend one department or company meeting (broader context)
[ ] Mentor another IC on pair session
[ ] Weekly 1:1 with manager: project progress, feedback, learning
Requires 2–3 weeks of work
Clear acceptance criteria
Manager and buddy available for design review / feedback
Shipped by day 60 (or well underway)
50–70% productivity; owns medium project; contributing ideas.
---
[ ] Own 1–2 medium projects independently (~4 weeks total)
[ ] Participate in on-call rotation (if applicable)
[ ] Suggest 1 process improvement (small: documentation, test, tool)
[ ] Help with team hiring (interview candidate or review resume)
[ ] Mentor 1 junior IC or new hire (peer mentoring)
[ ] Day 90 review meeting (60 min):
90-day feedback from manager, skip-level (if applicable)
Productivity assessment; compare to expectations
Wins and growth areas
Alignment on next 6-month goals
Career development path discussion
80–100% productivity; independent contributor; integrated into team.
---
[Name]
[Title]
Pair programming, informal questions, culture integration, introduce to team
[Name]
[Title]
Code review, architecture questions, technical feedback, 2 weeks check-in
Weekly (30 min) for first 30 days; then bi-weekly
Progress, blockers, learning, questions, morale
Continuous; formal feedback at 30, 60, 90 days
Day 1 (30 min; benefits, policies, company history)
Week 1 (30 min; product demo, use cases)
Week 1–2 (4 hours; architecture, deployment, dev setup)
---
[ ] Company mission/values doc (30 min)
[ ] Team handbook (1 hour)
[ ] Architecture overview (1.5 hours)
[ ] Customer stories / case study (1 hour)
[ ] Dev environment setup (2 hours; buddy helps)
[ ] Read codebase tour doc (1.5 hours)
[ ] Understand CI/CD pipeline (1 hour)
[ ] Deploy a change locally (2 hours; with buddy)
[ ] Run test suite and understand failure modes (1 hour)
[ ] Read 2–3 architecture docs (2 hours)
[ ] GitHub / GitLab
[ ] Jira / Linear
[ ] Slack
[ ] Notion / Wiki (internal docs)
[ ] Google Drive (team shared)
[ ] Email + calendar
---
[ ] HR/admin all complete (benefits, tax forms, etc.)
[ ] Systems access all working
[ ] Completed 2–3 small tasks
[ ] Met team and key stakeholders
[ ] Understands team roadmap and priorities
[ ] Productivity estimate:
[Strengths observed]
[Areas for development]
[Specific feedback for next 30 days]
[Any red flags or concerns]
---
## 60-Day Checkpoint
**Manager conducts with new hire.**
**Assess:**
- [ ] Completed medium project
- [ ] Actively contributing in standup, meetings
- [ ] Building team relationships
- [ ] Code quality: meets team standards
- [ ] Independence growing; needs less guidance
- [ ] Productivity estimate: _____% (40–80%)
- [ ] Morale: strong / good / okay / concerning
**Adjustments:**
- Increase project complexity and autonomy
- Assign mentorship or interview responsibilities
- If struggling: Add support (pairing, different project type, etc.)
**Manager notes:**
[Progress on medium project]
[Collaboration feedback from peers]
[Growth areas]
[Strengths showing]
[Next 30-day goals]
---
## 90-Day Review
**Formal review with manager + skip-level (optional) + peer feedback (optional).**
**Assess:**
- [ ] Shipped 2–3 medium projects independently
- [ ] Contributing ideas to team/process
- [ ] Built relationships and trust
- [ ] Productivity: 80%+ (target for day 90)
- [ ] Code quality, architecture thinking, reliability
- [ ] Alignment with team culture and values
- [ ] Ready for next growth opportunity
**Feedback from manager:**
[Overall assessment: Exceeded / Met / Below expectations]
[Key strengths]
[Growth areas / development plan]
[Career path discussion]
[Compensation review, if applicable]
[Next 6-month goals]
**New hire reflection:**
[What helped most in ramp-up?]
[What could have been better?]
[Do you feel productive/integrated?]
[Questions for manager?]
---
## Red Flags & Interventions
| Signal | Intervention |
|--------|---|
| Still unable to set up dev environment at day 10 | Pair with buddy; document setup process for future hires |
| Hasn't shipped any task by day 30 | Review task complexity; increase buddy pairing; check for hidden blockers |
| Withdrawn, not attending meetings | 1:1 check-in; may indicate cultural fit issue or personal situation; offer support |
| Code not meeting team standards | Pair review sessions; mentor on team conventions; may need longer ramp |
| Struggling with specific tech (async, distributed systems) | Pairing sessions; recommend courses or resources; adjust project assignments |
| Conflict with teammate or manager | Address early; mediate discussion; escalate if needed |
---
## Success Metrics (90-Day Outcome)
**Hire considered successful if:**
- ✓ Shipped 2–3 medium projects independently
- ✓ 80%+ productivity by day 90
- ✓ Code quality meets or exceeds team standards
- ✓ Integrated with team (positive relationships, active in meetings)
- ✓ Willing to stay and grow (retention)
- ✓ Manager and team rate as "hire again"
**Post-90 Day:**
- Quarterly feedback cycles begin
- Career development planning (6–12 month outlook)
- Onboarding completion; mentored new hire or paid it forward
---
