Use early check-ins to find onboarding gaps
Use early check-ins to find out what the new employee cannot yet locate, understand or complete with the support provided. Ask about specific work, agree a practical action and return to it at the next meeting. Keep this conversation focused on learning and employer support, rather than turning every uncertainty into a formal performance concern.
What you’ll get from this guide: Two short check-in cards and an action record you can revisit.
Use early check-ins to find out what the new employee cannot yet locate, understand or complete with the support provided. Ask about specific work, agree a practical action and return to it at the next meeting. Keep this conversation focused on learning and employer support, rather than turning every uncertainty into a formal performance concern.
This guide helps an owner move beyond “How’s it going?” after the first day. It provides questions for the first week and first month, not a warning letter or probation decision.
Choose questions someone can answer honestly
A new employee may not know whether their experience is normal yet. Ask about a task they attempted, the information they used and the help they could reach. Use their example to identify the missing support.
Business Queensland recommends regular one-to-one meetings during onboarding to give and seek feedback. Business Queensland: staff onboarding and inductions. Choose times that suit the actual working pattern and allow a private conversation where needed.
| Stage | Questions to ask | Support commitment to record | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week one | Which task was harder to find instructions for? When did you need help? Could you reach the right person? | Name the missing access, explanation or supported practice and its owner. | Agree when the employee will try again. |
| Month one | Which work can you now handle with confidence? Which exceptions are unclear? What support still interrupts or delays the work? | Adjust the learning plan and clarify decision limits. | Review the changed arrangement on an agreed date. |
Original ASBG example. Names and situations are fictional; the table is also the accessible text version.
Keep the questions open. “You understand the system now, don’t you?” makes it harder to say no. “Show me where you would start this enquiry” gives you a better view of the learning.
Turn an observation into an action
In a fictional small wholesaler, new employee Alex says order enquiries take too long. The manager initially assumes the software needs more practice. Looking at one training case reveals that Alex cannot access the current delivery-status notes.
The agreed action is specific: the authorised system owner checks Alex’s access, and Priya demonstrates the status process once it is available. At the next check-in, they review a new example. They do not mark the issue closed simply because an access request was sent.
Keep the note short: observation, action, owner and date. Avoid labels such as “not confident” without the task or context that explains them.
Check the support you promised
Return to the last action before adding another one. Did the demonstration happen? Was the buddy available? Did the starter get a chance to practise? If not, revise the plan and explain who will make room for it.
WorkSafe Victoria recommends following up induction and checking the effectiveness of training. WorkSafe Victoria: induction and training. Your record should show what changed after the conversation, not merely that a meeting occurred.
Keep sensitive and formal matters on the right path
If the conversation raises a safety concern, complaint or employment issue, use the appropriate process and contact. Do not promise absolute confidentiality or investigate something informally just to keep the meeting short.
A learning check-in does not replace a formal performance process. Keep any decision about warnings, probation or ending employment separate and obtain the appropriate advice. This article’s questions are designed to improve onboarding support.
Use the answers to improve the next induction
If several starters cannot find the same instruction, fix its location or wording. If the first week consistently contains too much information, move non-urgent learning into the 30-day plan.
Share practical changes with the onboarding buddy without passing around unnecessary personal details. Use the hiring and onboarding hub to choose the next task.
Key takeaways
- Ask about a real task and the support available for it.
- Give each agreed improvement an owner and follow-up date.
- Check whether the action helped before marking it complete.
Copy the working notes
Copy this blank template into your own files. Your records stay with you.
Where to get help
Where to go from here
Build a 30-day learning plan for a new employee
Update the learning plan with the support you agreed.
3 min readChoose and brief an onboarding buddy
Resolve gaps in the buddy’s availability or brief.
3 min readPlan a first day that helps a new employee start useful work
Explore a related question linked in this guide.
3 min read
General information only. This guide doesn't take your personal or business circumstances into account and isn't financial, legal or tax advice. Rates and thresholds change — check the official sources linked in this guide and get qualified advice where your circumstances require it.