The most expensive week in a dental practice is the first week of a new hire who does not make it. You paid to recruit, you paid to train, the team absorbed the disruption, and now you start over. Most of those departures are avoidable, and the cause is almost always the same: nobody decided in advance who would train what, so the new person spent three weeks shadowing whoever was free and never got competent at anything. This plan fixes that by assigning every task an owner and a date before day one.
How to use this template
- Fill in the owner column before the new hire's first day. A plan with blank owners is a wish list.
- Print two copies: one for the manager and one for the new hire, so they can see what is expected and when.
- The sign-off column means the task was completed and the new hire can do it, not that it was mentioned.
- Keep the four check-ins (day 1, week 1, day 30, day 90) on the calendar as real appointments. They are the part that gets skipped.
- Document required training (bloodborne pathogens, hazard communication, HIPAA) with dates and content, because those records are required and retained for set periods.
New hire information
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Name | |
| Role | |
| Start date | |
| Schedule (days and hours) | |
| Reports to | |
| Assigned buddy or mentor | |
| Onboarding owner (manager) | |
| Probationary or introductory period end date, if used | |
| Day 30 check-in scheduled for | |
| Day 60 check-in scheduled for | |
| Day 90 review scheduled for |
Before day one
| Task | Owner | Due | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written offer accepted; start date and pay confirmed in writing | ||||
| License, registration, or certification verified through the issuing board | ||||
| Radiography credential verified if the role exposes radiographs | ||||
| Background or reference checks completed per policy | ||||
| New hire packet sent (handbook, forms, parking, dress code, first-day plan) | ||||
| Software logins created with role-appropriate permissions | ||||
| Email, phone extension, and time clock set up | ||||
| Scrubs, name badge, keys or door code ordered | ||||
| Workstation or operatory assigned and stocked | ||||
| Team told who is starting, when, and in what role | ||||
| Schedule lightened on day one and week one to allow training | ||||
| Buddy assigned and briefed on what they own |
Day 1
| Task | Owner | Time | Done | Sign-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome, tour, introductions to every person by name and role | ||||
| Form I-9: employee completes Section 1 on the first day of work | ||||
| W-4, state tax forms, direct deposit, emergency contact | ||||
| Handbook reviewed and acknowledgment signed | ||||
| Confidentiality and HIPAA acknowledgment signed | ||||
| Job description reviewed; expectations for the first 90 days explained | ||||
| Time clock, break policy, and how to request time off | ||||
| Emergency exits, fire extinguishers, eyewash, first aid, AED location | ||||
| Medical emergency protocol and who to call | ||||
| Bloodborne pathogens training before any task with exposure risk | ||||
| Hazard communication overview; where the SDS are and how to use them | ||||
| Hepatitis B vaccination offered in writing (must be available at no cost within 10 working days of assignment) | ||||
| PPE issued and fitted; where supplies are kept | ||||
| Software login tested; password and security rules explained | ||||
| Lunch with the team or the buddy | ||||
| End-of-day check-in: questions, first impressions, tomorrow's plan |
Week 1
| Task | Owner | Day | Done | Sign-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form I-9 Section 2 completed within three business days of the first day | ||||
| New hire reported to the state directory within the required window | ||||
| Benefits enrollment explained with deadlines | ||||
| Infection control: instrument processing flow start to finish | ||||
| Sterilizer operation, load labeling, and where the logs live | ||||
| Failed spore test protocol reviewed and located | ||||
| Waterline protocol, evacuation cleaning, and daily equipment tasks | ||||
| Operatory setup and turnover for the three most common appointment types | ||||
| Practice software basics for the role: where to look, what to enter | ||||
| Phone greeting and transfer; who handles what kind of call | ||||
| Morning huddle: attend and understand their part in it | ||||
| Opening and closing checklists walked through | ||||
| HIPAA practical: screen positioning, what not to discuss where, records requests | ||||
| Exposure incident procedure: who to tell, where to go, same day | ||||
| End-of-week check-in: what is clear, what is not, what is next |
Day 30 milestones
| Should be able to do independently | Owner who trained it | Demonstrated (date) | Sign-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full operatory setup and turnover without prompting | |||
| Complete instrument processing cycle, including logging | |||
| Daily equipment tasks in their area | |||
| Core software tasks for the role, start to finish | |||
| Role-specific clinical or administrative skills (list in notes) | |||
| Knows every team member's name and role | |||
| Can explain the practice's standard of care to a patient in plain language | |||
| Knows where every policy, log, and checklist lives |
| Day 30 check-in | Entry |
|---|---|
| What is going well | |
| What is still confusing | |
| Training still needed, and who will do it | |
| Anything about the job that differs from what they expected | |
| Manager's honest assessment | |
| Agreed focus for the next 30 days | |
| Both signatures and date |
Day 60 milestones
| Should be able to do independently | Owner | Demonstrated (date) | Sign-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work a full day at normal pace in their role | |||
| Handle the less common appointment types and procedures | |||
| Cover a second role at a basic level (cross-training) | |||
| Handle a difficult patient conversation in their scope | |||
| Troubleshoot routine equipment problems and know when to escalate | |||
| Contribute in the morning huddle | |||
| Role-specific stretch task (list in notes) |
| Day 60 check-in | Entry |
|---|---|
| Progress against day 30 focus | |
| Feedback from the team | |
| Gaps to close before day 90 | |
| Any concerns raised by either side | |
| Both signatures and date |
Day 90 review
| Area | Meets expectations? (Y / partly / no) | Evidence or example | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical skill in the role | |||
| Speed and efficiency | |||
| Accuracy and documentation | |||
| Infection control and safety compliance | |||
| Patient communication | |||
| Teamwork and reliability | |||
| Attendance and punctuality | |||
| Initiative and coachability |
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Strengths, with specific examples | |
| Development areas, with specific examples | |
| Goals for the next 90 days | |
| Training or CE to schedule | |
| Compensation review date, if applicable | |
| What the new hire says we could do better for the next new hire | |
| Employee signature and date | |
| Manager signature and date |
Required training record
| Training | Date | Trainer | Content summary | Employee initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodborne pathogens (at assignment, then annually) | ||||
| Hazard communication | ||||
| HIPAA privacy and security | ||||
| Infection control policies and procedures | ||||
| Emergency action plan and medical emergencies | ||||
| Radiation safety, if applicable | ||||
| Equipment-specific training | ||||
| Other (state-required topics) |
How to run the plan
Fill in the owner column before the first day. This is the step that separates onboarding that works from onboarding that does not. "The team will show her" means nobody shows her. Name a person for each line, tell those people what they own, and give them the time to do it by lightening the schedule during the first week. A day of reduced production in week one is cheaper than replacing the hire in month four.
Assign a buddy who is not the manager. The buddy answers the questions people are embarrassed to ask a manager: where the good parking is, how the lunch rotation works, which patients are difficult, what the unwritten rules are. Brief the buddy explicitly on what they own so it does not become an unpaid second job.
Hold the four check-ins as calendar appointments with a start time. Day one end of day, end of week one, day 30, and day 90, with an optional day 60. The day 30 conversation is the most valuable one and the most commonly skipped, because by then the new hire is working and the urgency is gone. That is exactly when small frustrations calcify into a decision to leave.
Who owns what
The manager owns the plan, the paperwork, the check-ins, and the day 90 review. The buddy owns the social integration and day-to-day questions. Subject matter owners each train one area: the sterilization lead trains instrument processing, the insurance coordinator trains verification and claims, a senior assistant trains operatory setup, the doctor trains clinical standards and expectations for their own chairside preferences.
The owner or doctor should be visible in the first week and present at the day 90 review. Not to manage the details, but because a new hire's sense of whether they made a good decision is heavily shaped by whether the person running the practice knows their name and what they do.
Required training has named ownership too, because those records are regulatory. Bloodborne pathogens training happens at initial assignment and at least annually, and training records are retained for three years. The hepatitis B vaccination series must be made available at no cost within ten working days of initial assignment to a job with exposure, and a declination must be signed if the employee refuses. HIPAA training is required within a reasonable time after hire and after material policy changes, and those records are kept six years. The compliance chapter covers the full set.
What good looks like
At thirty days, a well-onboarded hire can do the core of their job without someone standing next to them, knows everyone's name, and knows where every log and policy lives. At sixty days they can work a normal day at normal pace and handle the unusual cases with occasional help. At ninety days they are a contributing team member, and the review is a confirmation of what both sides already know rather than a surprise.
Good also means the plan produces evidence. Sign-offs mean someone watched the task get done correctly, not that a topic was mentioned in passing. When you sign off that a new assistant can run the full instrument processing cycle, you should have watched them do it, including the logging.
One underrated marker: ask at the day 90 review what you could do better for the next new hire, and actually change something. Practices that run this loop two or three times develop onboarding that is genuinely good, because the people who just went through it know exactly where the gaps were.
Common mistakes
Shadowing instead of training. Following someone around teaches what the job looks like, not how to do it. Every skill needs an explanation, a demonstration, a supervised attempt, and then independent work with a check.
No reduced schedule. Onboarding on a fully booked day means the new person watches from the hallway. Build in the time.
Skipping the day 30 check-in. This is the single highest-return thirty minutes in the entire plan. Most first-ninety-day departures were visible at day 30 to anyone who asked.
Vague feedback. "You're doing great" and "you need to be faster" are equally useless. Use the evidence column in the day 90 review and name specific situations.
Letting required training slide. Bloodborne pathogens training has to happen before the person does work with exposure risk, not at the end of the month when it is convenient. It also has to be interactive, meaning someone knowledgeable is available to answer questions; a video with nobody to ask does not satisfy the standard.
Treating a probationary period as a free pass. Calling the first ninety days probationary does not change employment law obligations, and it can create expectations you did not intend. Ask an employment attorney in your state how to describe an introductory period in your handbook.
Hiring the wrong person and hoping onboarding fixes it. Onboarding accelerates a good hire. It does not convert a bad one. See hiring dental staff for the part that comes before this plan.
Related ChairsideSource resources
- Onboarding: the first ninety days
- Hiring dental staff
- Dental job posting templates
- Culture and retention
- Annual OSHA and compliance calendar
This template is educational and is not legal advice. Employment obligations vary by state and by employer size. Confirm your requirements with an employment attorney in your state.
This guide is educational content and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or clinical advice. Laws and regulations vary by state and change over time. Consult your own dental-specific attorney, CPA, and state dental board before acting.