Template

New manager onboarding template

The first proper conversation with someone newly managing a team: what is expected of them, what the team is like, the first decisions they face, and who will support them.

60 minutesFor The new manager and their own manager, sometimes with HRAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. What the role is10 min
    • What does good look like for you in three, six and twelve months?
  2. The team15 min
    • Who is on it, what are they working on, and what do they need?
  3. What is inherited10 min
    • Which open issues, promises and problems come with the team?
  4. The first decisions10 min
    • What will you need to decide in your first month?
  5. Support10 min
    • Who can you go to, and what training will you get?
  6. Next check-in5 min
    • When do we meet again?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Role. Lead six support agents; by six months, first reply under 4 hours.

Inherited. One person on an improvement plan; a promised promotion conversation for another.

First decisions. The holiday rota for December.

Support. Peer: Lina in sales. Management course starts in February.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Promoted from withinAdd a conversation about managing former peers.
Hired from outsideAdd introductions to every department head in the first two weeks.

When to skip it. Never — new managers left alone make the mistakes that cost teams.

Questions

What should new manager onboarding include?

Clear expectations, an introduction to the team and its work, open issues being inherited, early decisions, training and someone to turn to for support.

What should a new manager do in the first 90 days?

Meet each team member one to one, learn the work and its problems, make a few early decisions well, and agree goals with their own manager.

Why do new managers need onboarding?

Managing is a different job from the work they did before, and early mistakes with people are costly and hard to undo.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

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