Free first-week plan

About this document

A first-week plan gives a new hire their opening days on paper — what they'll do each day and with whom. Handed over on arrival, it replaces the worst first-week feeling: standing around wondering what to do while everyone else looks busy.

When to use it

• A new hire is starting and their week shouldn't depend on your free moments.
• Whoever's training them isn't you.
• Roles with real ramp-up, where week one sets the pattern.

Getting it right

• Keep day one light on purpose: tour, setup, one small real task with a visible finish line.
• Name the "with" for every item — a plan without people is just a reading list.
• Close the week with a short sit-down about the plan itself; whatever confused them improves your next hire's week.

It's a schedule of activities, not a performance framework — no targets or evaluations hide in it, and it shouldn't read as if they do.

Part of Hire and onboard — the whole situation, connected.

Common questions

How detailed should each day be?

Two to four items. A first week planned by the hour collapses by Tuesday and demoralizes by Wednesday.

The plan changed mid-week — is that failure?

It's normal. Edit and re-download, or amend by hand — the plan is a starting shape, not a contract.

Does the new hire get their own copy?

That's the point. It's written to be handed over — print it or send the PDF before they arrive.