You spent three months recruiting someone. They accepted the offer. They show up Day One.

Then they quit after two weeks.

Why? Not because they realized the job was wrong. Because the first week was so bad they assumed the entire company was dysfunctional.

Research shows new hires decide whether to stay or leave within the first five business days. 22% of turnover happens within the first 45 days—and most of those decisions are made in Week One.

Most onboarding focuses on paperwork, compliance videos, and "getting them set up." That's not enough.

Here's what the first week should actually include if you want new hires to stay.

Day One: Make Them Feel Like They Made The Right Decision

Day One sets the tone for everything. Employees who have a positive Day One experience are 69% more likely to stay beyond three years.

What most companies do:

• Hand them a laptop
• Tell them to watch compliance videos for 4 hours
• Leave them sitting alone at a desk while everyone else works

What you should do:

1. Manager greets them personally

The hiring manager should be present when the new hire arrives. Not "stopping by later"—there when they walk in.

Why it matters: Employees whose managers greet them on Day One feel 3x more valued.

2. Workspace is ready

Laptop configured. Email account active. Access to systems working. Desk has their name on it (or assigned Zoom room if remote).

Why it matters: Nothing says "we don't care" like making someone wait 3 hours for IT to set up their laptop.

3. Scheduled welcome lunch (with the team, not alone)

Don't let them eat lunch alone on Day One. Schedule a team lunch or 1:1 lunch with their manager or buddy.

Why it matters: New hires who have social interaction on Day One are significantly less anxious.

4. End the day with a check-in

Manager or onboarding buddy checks in at end of day: "How was your first day? Any questions or concerns?"

Why it matters: This signals the company cares about their experience, not just completing paperwork.

5. Give them something to DO (not just watch videos)

Assign a small, achievable task they can complete Day One. Not busywork—something real.

Examples:

• "Read these three customer support tickets and share your first impressions"
• "Review this project brief and come to tomorrow's meeting with questions"
• "Set up your development environment and run our codebase locally"

Why it matters: Employees who do meaningful work on Day One feel productive instead of useless.

Days 2-3: Give Them Context (Not Just Tasks)

Most onboarding dumps tasks on new hires without context. They don't understand how their work fits into the bigger picture.

1. Explain the "why" behind their role

Bad onboarding: "Your job is to write code for the payment system."

Good onboarding: "Your job is to maintain the payment system. That system processes $2M in transactions daily. When it breaks, customers can't buy, and we lose revenue. Your work directly impacts revenue and customer trust."

Why it matters: Employees who understand the impact of their work are 2x more engaged.

2. Introduce them to people in other departments

Don't just introduce them to their immediate team. Introduce them to people in other departments they'll work with.

Who to introduce:

• Cross-functional partners (e.g., if they're in engineering, introduce them to product and design)
• Internal customers (people who rely on their work)
• Leadership (even a 5-minute intro to a VP makes new hires feel valued)

Why it matters: New hires who understand org structure and relationships integrate faster.

3. Share the company's problems (not just wins)

Most onboarding presentations are 90% "we're amazing" and 10% reality.

Be honest about challenges:

• "Our biggest problem right now is X. Here's what we're doing about it."
• "We're behind on Y. That's why we hired you."

Why it matters: Transparency builds trust. New hires will discover problems eventually—better to tell them upfront.

Days 4-5: Give Them Early Wins

By the end of Week One, new hires should accomplish something visible.

1. Assign a "Week One project"

Give them a small, achievable project they can complete by Friday.

Good Week One projects:

• Fix a low-priority bug
• Write documentation for a process that's poorly documented
• Analyze data and present findings to the team
• Shadow customer support and summarize common issues

Bad Week One projects:

• "Learn the codebase" (too vague, no deliverable)
• "Get up to speed" (meaningless)

Why it matters: Employees who complete a tangible deliverable in Week One feel competent and valuable.

2. Celebrate the win publicly

When they complete the Week One project, celebrate it. Slack shoutout. Mention in team meeting. Quick email to the team.

Why it matters: Public recognition in the first week signals "you belong here".

What NOT To Do In Week One

❌ Don't leave them alone for hours

"Here's your laptop. Watch these training videos. Let me know if you have questions."

This is the #1 complaint about onboarding. Don't abandon new hires.

❌ Don't overload them with 30 meetings

Some companies swing the other way: 8 hours of back-to-back intro meetings.

Information overload is just as bad as neglect.

Better: 2-3 meaningful meetings per day, with breaks in between.

❌ Don't skip the manager 1:1s

Some managers say "I'll give you space to settle in, let's meet next week."

New hires interpret this as disinterest. Schedule daily check-ins for Week One (even if they're just 15 minutes).

❌ Don't make them figure out "how things work" alone

Where do we eat lunch? What's the dress code? Is it okay to work from home on Fridays? What time do people actually start working?

New hires spend cognitive energy worrying about unwritten rules. Write this stuff down or assign a buddy to explain it.

The "Onboarding Buddy" System That Actually Works

Many companies assign onboarding buddies. Most buddies don't do anything.

How to make buddies useful:

1. Give buddies a checklist

Don't just say "help the new hire." Give them specific tasks:

• [ ] Have lunch with them Day One
• [ ] Introduce them to 3 people on Day Two
• [ ] Walk them through first task on Day Three
• [ ] Answer questions daily for first two weeks
• [ ] Check in Friday of Week One: "How's it going?"

2. Choose buddies who actually want to do it

Don't volunteer people. Ask for volunteers. Reluctant buddies are worse than no buddies.

3. Recognize and reward buddies

Onboarding buddies do extra work. Recognize it: public thank you, bonus, gift card, whatever your company does for recognition.

The Friday Week One Check-In

End of Week One, the hiring manager should have a structured check-in conversation:

Questions to ask:

1. "How has your first week been? What's gone well?"

   • Listen for signs of positive or negative experience

2. "What's been confusing or unclear?"

   • Surface problems early so you can fix them

3. "Do you feel like you have what you need to be successful?"

   • Equipment, access, information, support?

4. "Any surprises—good or bad—compared to what you expected?"

   • Identifies misalignment between recruiting pitch and reality

5. "What questions do you have about the role, team, or company?"

   • Gives them space to ask things they've been wondering about

End with: "I'm glad you're here. We're excited to have you on the team. Let's check in again next Friday."

This structured check-in catches problems before they become reasons to quit.

The Bottom Line

Week One onboarding should accomplish three things:

1. Make them feel welcome (not alone and confused)
2. Give them context (why their work matters)
3. Create early wins (tangible accomplishments by Friday)

22% of turnover happens in the first 45 days—and most of those decisions are made in Week One.

Your Week One checklist:

✅ Manager greets them personally on Day One ✅ Workspace and systems are ready ✅ Scheduled social interaction (lunch, coffee, team intro) ✅ Daily manager check-ins ✅ Meaningful task assigned Day One ✅ Context provided (why their role matters) ✅ Cross-functional introductions ✅ Week One project with a deliverable ✅ Public recognition of early win ✅ Structured Friday check-in

Do this, and your new hires will stay. Skip this, and they'll start job searching by Week Three.

You spent months recruiting them. Don't lose them in the first week because onboarding was an afterthought.