The 90-Day Mistake: Rethinking Onboarding Before You Lose Great People
Let’s be honest about the onboarding process. Most of it is forgettable. Some of it is overwhelming and too often, it’s disconnected from the reality of what the job actually feels like.
The first 90 days are where a new hire decides whether they’ve joined a team or just taken a job. If you’re not designing those days with intention, you’re potentially losing people before you even know you had them.
Why the first 90 days matter so much
When someone starts a new role, their brain is in scan mode. They’re picking up on tone, tempo, team dynamics. They’re asking, out loud or quietly, does this place live up to what I was told? Do I see myself here? Will I be supported when things get hard?
This window is short, but it’s where culture either becomes real or stays a pitch deck.
The typical onboarding playbook misses the mark
Too many brands over-index on operations. With policy layouts and compliance videos. They definitely under invest in culture and connection or the brand’s sense of purpose.
When the focus is only on information, not orientation, the result is usually the same: a new hire who feels unmoored. They know what to do, but not how to belong.
Let’s shift the goal from productivity to alignment
Great onboarding doesn’t just teach systems. It builds identity and helps people understand what your brand sounds like, looks like, stands for, and how their role fits into the bigger picture. It helps leverage a new employee's personal skillset to carve a clear path forward to do the job you hired them for.
This requires a mindset shift.
You’re not onboarding for efficiency. You’re onboarding for retention.
And that means:
Creating space for storytelling. Share the why behind your brand.
Assigning culture guides and peer leaders, not just task trainers.
Making the invisible parts of the job visible. Acknowledge and train on emotional labor and guest recovery. Teach them how to handle a slow night, and give them a platform that is safe for asking questions and learning.
Break the 90 days into moments that matter
Instead of cramming everything into week one, space it out.
Day 1–7: Orientation, emotional welcome, team intro.
Day 8–30: Job shadowing, supported execution, micro-goals.
Day 31–60: Increasing autonomy, real-time feedback, role clarity.
Day 61–90: Culture reflection, alignment conversations, growth planning.
This pacing helps new hires breathe, absorb, and adjust. And it builds loyalty through care, not control.
Track more than just training completion
If your only onboarding metric is whether the paperwork was signed and the checklist checked, you’re missing the real story. We suggestion looking at:
Retention rates after 3, 6, and 12 months.
Feedback from new hires on what helped them feel connected.
Manager input on where new team members shine or struggle.
What this looks like in practice
At CLC, we’ve seen our partners rework onboarding to include:
Brand storytelling sessions with founders or GMs
Weekly check-ins focused on team dynamics, not just tasks
Roleplay scenarios to build fluency in tone and guest recovery
Team rituals that anchor new hires to the energy of the space
The takeaway
When onboarding is designed with care, new hires stay longer, contribute more, and become advocates faster. The investment pays back in performance, morale, and retention.
Onboarding isn’t the first thing a new hire experiences. It’s the thing that defines whether they stay, and if you want to build a culture that lasts, the first 90 days is where it starts.