The first 90 days are theirs. Plan them that way.
A new colleague decides early whether to stay. They need to know the job, believe they can do it, and feel they belong. This checklist builds all three, stage by stage.
Onboarding works when it is built in, sustained and owned.
A binder on day one isn’t enough. The research says what helps, and is honest about what doesn’t.
“Employees get about 90 days to prove themselves in a new job.” The reverse holds too: many decide within months whether to stay.
T. N. Bauer, SHRM FoundationA meta-analysis of 70 newcomer samples: role clarity, self-efficacy and social acceptance link what organisations do to satisfaction, commitment, performance and turnover.
Journal of Applied PsychologyAcross 105 hospitals, those with established transition programmes had about 12% first-year turnover, against nearly 25% with limited ones. A new standard programme didn’t cut turnover significantly in its first year.
NCSBN, Journal of Nursing RegulationAbout 17.5% of newly licensed registered nurses in a US panel study left their first job within a year. How you define turnover changes the rate.
Policy, Politics, & Nursing PracticeFour stages. Four building blocks.
Each item is tagged with one of the four Cs from Bauer’s guide: Compliance, Clarification, Culture and Connection. Most organisations stop at the first two.
| Item | Building block | Owner | Due | Done on | Evidence or note | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before day one | ||||||
| Verify licences with the issuing body; record certificates with expiry dates. | Compliance | Credentialing officer | 10 days before | 2026-11-11 | Credential register EV-0141 | Done |
| Name a buddy and, for clinical roles, a preceptor. Brief both. | Connection | Manager | 5 days before | 2026-11-10 | Done | |
| Badge, uniform, accounts, locker, roster for the first two weeks. | Clarification | HR officer | 3 days before | Due this week | ||
| A short welcome: first-day schedule, who to ask for, where to go. | Connection | Manager | 2 days before | Due this week | ||
| First week | ||||||
| Written role description and the competences to sign off, with dates. | Clarification | Manager | Day 1 | Open | ||
| Meet the people they will depend on, beyond their own team. | Connection | Buddy | Day 3 | Open | ||
| How work really runs: handovers, escalation, who decides what. | Culture | Buddy | Day 4 | Open | ||
| Fire safety, infection prevention, emergencies, privacy, incident reporting. | Compliance | Training coordinator | Day 5 | Open | ||
| First month | ||||||
| Ask what has surprised them about how things are done here. | Culture | Manager | Day 21 | Open | ||
| Competence sign-offs by observation, not by signature alone. | Clarification | Preceptor | Day 30 | Open | ||
| 30-day review: what is clear, what isn’t, what support is missing. | Clarification | Manager | Day 30 | Open | ||
| By 90 days | ||||||
| 60-day review. | Clarification | Manager | Day 60 | Open | ||
| Core sign-offs complete, or open ones recorded with the reason. | Clarification | Preceptor | Day 90 | Open | ||
| Ask what nearly made them leave. Fix one thing. | Culture | Manager | Day 90 | Open | ||
In the XLSX, enter the start date once; every due date and status follows. A second sheet records each competence: who observed it, when, in what situation.
Rules, safety and policy the job requires.
What the job is, what is expected, and the competences to show.
How work really runs here, formally and informally.
The relationships and networks a newcomer must build.
A peer for connection and culture. Kept apart from evaluation.
Teaches and supervises practice in clinical roles. Educated for it.
One copy per new colleague.
Start ten days early
Verify licences, prepare access, name the buddy. Day one should feel expected.
Adapt the items, keep the shape
A teller, a teacher and a nurse need different items. All need the four building blocks.
Give the buddy roster time
Weekly meetings for the first month. Unscheduled help is help that doesn’t happen.
Observe, then sign
Record the skill, the date, who observed and in what situation. Not yet assessed until then.
Review at 30, 60 and 90
Ask what is clear and what isn’t. At 90, ask what nearly made them leave, and fix one thing.
Count by start cohort
Leavers within 90 days and 12 months, voluntary apart from involuntary. Show counts when groups are small.
What makes onboarding a formality.
Bauer’s guide estimates only about 20% of organisations formally address all four Cs.
A list full of ticks with no observation protects no one. Show what isn’t assessed yet.
A newcomer won’t ask a peer for help if every question becomes a grade.
For newly qualified clinicians, the evidence points to programmes of 9 to 12 months.
If turnover falls after a new programme, pay, staffing or the job market may have changed too.
Generic items get skipped. Adapt to the role; keep the stages and reviews.
When new starters arrive every week.
One copy per person works for a few people a year. Then the copies multiply.
- You run several checklists at once and can’t see which are late.
- The checklist, the licences and the first rosters live in three places.
- Managers and preceptors keep separate copies that disagree.
- Nobody can say how many of last quarter’s starters are still here.
ROADYOM REFRACTION
Onboarding beside the people record.
In Refraction, a new starter’s checklist, licences and first shifts live in one place, beside staff records, the org chart, time off and rosters. Each stage has owners and dates. Competence sign-offs carry their evidence, and items without it show as not yet assessed. Managers and preceptors see the same record, and people make the decisions.
Questions, answered.
Orientation or onboarding?
Orientation is the initial training and information. Onboarding is the whole first period, until the person is clear, capable and connected. The Joint Commission separates orientation from competence for the same reason.
Does this work for non-clinical roles?
Yes. Drop the preceptor and the clinical items. A bank teller, a teacher or a municipal officer still needs compliance, clarity, culture and connection.
Who owns the checklist?
The line manager. HR, the buddy and the preceptor own their items. The newcomer should see the whole list.
What if a competence isn’t signed off by day 90?
Record it as open, with the reason and a new date. That is honest and useful. A forced tick is neither.
How do we measure whether it works?
Early turnover by start cohort, within 90 days and 12 months, with the definition fixed in advance. Add a short exit conversation held by someone outside the reporting line.
Why does the XLSX ask for a start date?
Every item is set in days from the start. Enter the date once, and the due dates and statuses calculate themselves.
Sources (6)
- Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success (T. N. Bauer). SHRM Foundation, 2010.
- Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2007.
- Transition to Practice Study in Hospital Settings. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 2015.
- Transition to Practice Study Results. National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2026.
- What Does Nurse Turnover Rate Mean and What Is the Rate?. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 2014.
- Competency Assessment vs Orientation. The Joint Commission, 2026.
Make day one feel expected.
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