Your New Team Member's First 30 Days

Your New Team Member's First 30 Days - An onboarding checklist and simple 30 day plan for salon owners: set the tone, set the standard, and set the relationship right.

Written by Helen Cotton

Someone starts, you hand them a contract, show them where the kettle is, and hope the rest sorts itself out.

This isn't an unusual first day - most salons don't have a real onboarding plan. We often don't realise what it's worth until weeks or months down the track, dealing with small issues and misunderstandings that could've been avoided from day one.

I know what the other end of this feels like. I once started a role with no real onboarding, no conversation about expectations or culture, no structure, and very little access to the people who could answer my questions. It left me feeling like like I didn't belong, or like a number.

The structure in this guide is the exact one I used for every new hire in a salon I managed, apprentices, stylists new to the colour brand, and stylists who already knew it well, and it worked every time.

Written by a hairdresser, for hairdressers.

What's inside:

• Day-by-day guidance for the first four days: contract, culture, policies and procedures, done properly, without overwhelming anyone
• A full first-week and second-week plan, including colour brand education and stock control, one of the most overlooked parts of onboarding
• Three onboarding paths: a new apprentice, a senior stylist new to your brand, and one already fluent in it, so the pace always fits the person
• A 30-day check-in that sets up regular reviews going forward
• Every worksheet included: a Day One Agenda, a Contract and Manual Sign-Off sheet, and a full 30-Day Plan

Who it's for:

• Salon owners and managers bringing on a new team member, of any experience level
• Anyone who's ever watched a new hire struggle simply because nobody showed them how things w

Format:

• Instant PDF download, 15 pages. You get two files: a fillable version to type into on a computer, and a print version to fill in by hand.

Price: $35 (prices in NZD, and include GST)

Need more than a guide? Book 1:1 training, a workshop or book into a coaching, with SalonED Training and Support on our website at www.saloned.co.nz

From me to you 🌸

I built this guide from the two sides of onboarding I've experienced myself. I know what it feels like to start a role with no real plan, no conversation about what's expected, and barely any support, right down to printing my own contract and never getting my copy back. It left me feeling like an afterthought, or a number, not a person someone had actually prepared for.

I also know what it feels like on the other side, bringing someone new into a team with a genuine plan in place. Every time I did it properly, contract and culture first, the right pace for the person, clear structure from day one, it worked. The new hire settled in quickly, the team trusted them faster, and nobody was left guessing. This guide is that plan, written down so you don't have to work it out the hard way, like I did.

Helen xx