Technician onboarding: the first 90 days

Why onboarding decides whether a tech stays

Many new techs decide in their first weeks whether they made the right move. A new hire who spends day one waiting for a truck, rides with a tech who does not want them, and gets sent alone on a call in week two often starts looking again. A written onboarding plan fixes that. It tells the new hire what will happen, who is responsible for each step and what they need to show before moving on.

Onboarding is also where safety habits are set. Fatal work injuries among building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers rose to 356 in 2024 from 337 in 2023^[4], and construction and extraction workers had 1,032 fatal injuries in 2024, including 370 from falls, slips and trips^[5]. The first 90 days are when a new tech learns whether your company really means its safety rules.

Before day one

• Send a welcome message with the start time, where to park, what to wear and who will meet them.
• Order uniforms, ID badge, phone, tablet and logins for dispatch, CRM and time tracking.
• Assign the truck and stock it, or set the date it will be ready.
• Pick the mentor and block their schedule for ride-alongs.
• Print the 90-day plan with names and dates.

Week one: paperwork, tools and safety

Start with the paperwork, because some of it has deadlines. The employee completes Section 1 of Form I-9 by the first day of employment, and the employer must complete Section 2 within three business days of the first day of work for pay; for a Monday start, that means by Thursday^[1]. Collect the federal and state tax withholding forms, direct deposit details, emergency contacts and signed policy acknowledgements in the same session.

1. 01

   Day 1: welcome and paperwork

   Tour, introductions, I-9 and tax forms, handbook, pay plan explained with a worked example, phone and app set-up.

2. 02

   Day 2: safety

   Lockout and electrical safety, ladder and fall protection, PPE, vehicle safety and what to do after an injury or accident.

3. 03

   Day 3: tools and truck

   Inventory the truck, learn the parts process and how to order, check meters and test equipment.

4. 04

   Days 4 and 5: systems and customers

   Dispatch app, job notes, photos, invoices and payment, plus the company’s customer standards at the door.

If the role involves work at heights, such as roofs, open framing on construction sites or high ladders, federal rules require a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards, taught by a competent person, with a written certification record of who was trained and when^[3].

Explain pay and the first paycheck

Few things unsettle a new hire more than a first paycheck that does not match what they expected. Walk through the pay plan on day one with a worked example: the hourly rate, how overtime is calculated, any commission or spiff rules, on-call pay, the pay period and when the first check arrives. If commission does not start until after onboarding, say so and put the date in writing. Show them where to check their hours in the time-tracking app, and ask them to confirm their hours at the end of each week, so errors are caught before payday rather than after.

Credentials to confirm

Weeks two to six: ride-alongs

Ride-alongs are the core of onboarding. Pair the new tech with one mentor for most of this stage, so they learn one consistent way of doing things before seeing variations. Start with observing, then move to the new tech doing parts of the job while the mentor watches. Use a short list of skills to sign off: for example, a maintenance visit start to finish, a diagnostic call, a customer presentation of options and a complete invoice with photos.

• Daily: the mentor gives one thing done well and one thing to work on.
• Weekly: a fifteen-minute check-in with the service manager.
• Cover the full range of call types the tech will see alone, including after-hours calls if they will join the on-call rotation.
• Practise the customer side: knocking, introducing yourself, shoe covers, explaining findings and asking for questions. See technician customer etiquette.

Weeks seven to twelve: supervised and solo calls

In this stage the new tech runs calls with the mentor nearby, then simple calls alone with the mentor on the phone and reviewing photos and notes afterward. Give them easy calls first: maintenance visits, simple repairs and warranty work. Keep a list of call types they are cleared for, and add to it as they show they can handle each one. Dispatch should see the list so the board does not send a new tech to a complex job by mistake.

Onboarding an experienced tech

An experienced tech does not need to learn how to diagnose a furnace, but they do need to learn your way of working: how you present options, which parts you stock, how you write notes, what the invoice must include and how dispatch expects updates. Shorten the ride-along stage to one or two weeks and focus it on those standards rather than on basic skills. Experienced hires are also the most likely to bring habits from their last company, good and bad. Ask them what worked well there, and listen; some of your best process ideas will come from new hires in their first month.

The mentor's checklist

• Meet the new tech on day one and explain how the ride-along weeks will work.
• Show, then let them do, then review, for each skill on the sign-off list.
• Give one thing done well and one thing to improve at the end of every day.
• Sign off skills only when the new tech can do them without prompting.
• Tell the service manager early if something is not working, rather than at day 90.

Common onboarding gaps

• The truck or tablet is not ready, so the first days are spent waiting.
• The mentor was not told in advance and treats the new tech as a helper.
• The pay plan is never explained with a worked example, so the first paycheck is a surprise.
• The new tech is sent alone on a complex call because the board is full.
• No one checks in after the first week, and small problems grow.

The first solo call

Make the first fully solo call a planned event, not an accident of a busy Monday. Choose a straightforward call close to the shop, tell the tech the day before, and have the mentor available by phone. Afterward, review the call together: the diagnosis, the customer conversation, the invoice and the notes. Celebrate it. A new tech who feels supported on that first call will ask for help when they need it later, which is exactly what you want.

Check-ins at day 7, 30, 60 and 90

1. Day 7: Is the pay plan clear? Is anything missing from the truck or tools? How is the mentor pairing?
2. Day 30: Which skills are signed off? What is still hard? Any concerns about schedule or on-call?
3. Day 60: Which call types are cleared for solo work? Customer feedback so far?
4. Day 90: Skills check, pay step if earned, and the goals for the next six months on the career ladder.

Ask the same question at every check-in: "Is there anything that would make you think about leaving?" New techs rarely raise problems on their own, but most will answer a direct question. Use the answers to fix the plan for the next hire. Our guide to why techs quit and how to keep them covers what to do after day 90.