Grow your business / Operator

New Technician 30-60-90 Day Plan With a Day 90 Decision

Contractor Lane editorial guidance. Reviewed October 12, 2026. Examples are illustrative, not industry benchmarks.

Short answer: give every new technician a written plan for the first 90 days with three stages: learn the system, prove it on more calls, then decide. Track a few numbers from the first week. At day 90, make a real decision: keep, move toward lead, keep with a written scope limit, or let go. Drifting past day 90 with no decision is how weak hires become permanent.

Before day one

• Truck, tools, uniform, phone and system logins ready, so the first morning is not spent waiting.
• A written trainer of record. If training depends on whoever happens to be free, it will not happen.
• Payroll, tax forms, workers' compensation and any required credentials verified.
• A short list of call types they will run alone in month one and which ones need a ride-along.
• Safety orientation scheduled. Washington note: construction employers must hold crew safety meetings at the start of each job and at least weekly and keep the minutes for one year (WAC 296-155-110). Fold the new hire into that schedule from the first week.

Days 1 to 30: learn the system

The goal is not production. It is learning how your company works, so production later is consistent.

• Learn the price book and how options are presented.
• Learn the call process from arrival to payment, including how to talk with customers about price.
• Learn the documentation standard: photos, notes, materials used.
• Learn truck stock standards and how restocking works.
• Prove reliability: on time, every day, with follow-through on small tasks.
• Run selected calls under observation, then alone within the written scope.

Hold a short weekly check-in. Ask what is confusing, what they would change and what they need. Write down what you agree on. See running the one-on-one.

Days 31 to 60: more calls, start measuring

Expand the call types they run alone as they prove each one. Start tracking, by technician:

• Revenue produced and average ticket.
• Close rate on options presented.
• Callbacks on their work.
• Material accuracy: what came off the truck compared with what was invoiced.
• Documentation completeness.
• Reviews mentioning them by name.

Compare them with their own earlier weeks, not just with your veterans. A new technician who improves every week is often a better bet than one who starts fast and flattens.

Days 61 to 90: decide

By now you have two months of numbers and observation. Schedule a formal review before day 90. Look at revenue, close rate, callback rate, gross margin on their work, reviews, attendance, process compliance and how they work with the team and the field leader. Then pick one of four outcomes:

1. Keep as technician. Set goals for the next quarter.
2. Move toward the lead path. Start leadership tasks. See the lead technician path.
3. Keep with a restricted scope. This is not a soft pass. Write the limits, for example service calls only, no water heater installs alone, and set a re-review date.
4. Let go. If the numbers and behavior are not there and coaching has not changed them, decide now. Follow your written policy and applicable law, document the reasons and pay final wages on time.

What to watch for early

• Off-book pricing. If a new technician discounts or invents prices in the first month, address it the same day.
• Repeated small reliability misses. Late starts and missing paperwork in month one usually grow, not shrink.
• Avoiding certain calls. It may mean a skill gap you need to train, or a scope you need to limit.
• Not asking questions. A new person who never asks is guessing.

The owner's or manager's job during the 90 days

Most failed hires were never really onboarded. The leader's job is to make expectations clear, give fast feedback, protect training time even in busy weeks and make the day 90 decision on schedule. If the busy season eats the training, the plan has failed, not the technician. Hire before the rush when you can. See the yearly hiring plan.

Keep a simple written record

Use one page per new hire. At the top, the start date, the trainer of record and the day 30, 60 and 90 review dates. Below, a running list: the call types approved to run alone and the date each was approved, the weekly numbers, the topics covered in each check-in and anything agreed. At the bottom, the day 90 decision and the reasons.

This record does three jobs. It keeps the plan from slipping in a busy week. It gives the technician a clear picture of where they stand, so the day 90 conversation holds no surprises. And if the decision is to restrict scope or let go, it shows the decision was based on the same facts the technician saw along the way.

Setting goals after day 90

For a technician you keep, write two or three goals for the next quarter. Tie each one to a number and a date, for example a lower callback rate on a specific job type, running a new call type alone, or completing a training module. Review them in the weekly one-on-one so the 90-day plan turns into a normal rhythm instead of ending.

A fictional example

For illustration: a new technician starts strong on sales but has two callbacks in month two and skips photos on several jobs. At the day 60 check-in, the field leader shows the numbers and pairs him on ride-alongs for the job type causing callbacks. By day 90 callbacks have stopped and photos are complete. Decision: keep, with a goal to run that job type alone next quarter.

For helpers rather than technicians, use the helper first-week training plan.