Onboarding That Actually Works — The First 90 Days

1

Pre-work — before the session

Take 10 minutes. Most onboarding lessons live inside your own first 90 days somewhere.

Do before May 25

Reflect on your own first 90 days — anywhere

Not just Dogtopia. Think about the best and worst onboarding you've ever experienced. We'll hear 2–3 voices on each prompt in the opener.

1. Think of a job where you felt like you belonged within the first week. What specifically made that happen? 2. Think of a job you left within the first 90 days — or wanted to. What was the moment you decided? 3. Of the team members you've onboarded so far, what is the one thing you wish you had done differently?

The numbers we're working against

Why this session is urgent — and why a GM's behavior in the first 90 days is the lever.

47.6%Annualized turnover

84%Voluntary exits

107Separations Jan–Apr 2026

~26Avg per month

What a GM is worth. Moving turnover from 47.6% to 30% saves an estimated $30,000–$60,000+ per year per location in recruiting and replacement costs. The first 90 days is where that work happens.

2

Pre-Boarding closes the gap

Before Day 1, the new hire is already deciding whether this feels like a place they belong. The People team handles paperwork. You handle human connection.

Personal WelcomeText or short GM video within 24 hours. Name one specific reason you are excited.
Culture BuddyPick a peer-level teammate and ask permission before direct contact happens.
Logistics PacketParking, dress code, what to bring, team roster, and fun facts.
Meet the PackFor Coaches and Rovers, share a short clip of currently enrolled dogs.
Ready on ArrivalName tag, locker, and system access set up before they walk in.
90-Day PreviewShow the roadmap: check-ins, buddy support, and clear growth milestones.

Contact Authorization Protocol. Ask during the offer call: "Would it be okay if one of your future teammates reached out before your first day?" A yes means the buddy can contact directly. A no or not yet means the GM sends a warm intro and the in-person connection happens on Day 1. Never share personal contact information without explicit consent.

3

Activity — Build Your Day 1 Welcome Plan

In a breakout room or solo. Don't write bullets — write the real message, the real itinerary, the real question.

15 min

Goal. By the end, you should be able to read your plan aloud and the room hears something they want to steal. Replace "How's it going?" with a question that creates a real answer.

Part 1 — Pre-Day 1 contact

Pick your Culture Buddy. Who, specifically — and why this teammate? Write the actual welcome message — text or video script. Not bullets, the real words. What's your plan if direct buddy contact is not authorized yet?

Part 2 — Day 1 itinerary

The arrival ritual — how will this person be greeted by name, by more than just you? Your 1:1. Write your three questions. Make them invite real answers. The story you'll tell. Which Dogtopia value will it bring to life — and which moment from your location?

Part 3 — Week 1 & Week 2 check-ins

Week 1 — two questions that feel natural in your voice (not a script) Week 2 — two questions that invite emotional honesty

Manager mindset. The first 30 days are not about paperwork. They are about helping someone feel known, useful, and safe enough to ask.

Debrief — for the report-out

What was the hardest section to fill out — and what does that tell you about where your onboarding gaps might be right now?

4

Use Three Buddies

A structured buddy model gives new hires the right person for the right need across the first 90 days.

Culture Buddy

WhoPeer-level teammate

WhenDays 1–30

Answers "is this normal?" questions, invites informal connection, and shares the unwritten stuff that helps someone feel like part of the pack.

Role Buddy

WhoSame role, more tenured

WhenDays 1–60

Teaches role craft, debriefs tricky moments, and evolves from answering questions to growth conversations after Day 30.

Leadership Buddy

WhoLead or GM

WhenDays 30–90

Creates career path visibility and answers "where do I go from here?" before uncertainty becomes a reason to leave.

Plan your next new hire's buddies

Name real teammates. If you don't have a candidate for one of these roles, that's the gap to develop.

Culture Buddy candidate(s) for your next new hire Role Buddy candidate(s) by role at your daycare Where's the gap? Which buddy role do you struggle to staff — and what does that signal?

5

Activity — The Tough Conversation Role Play

Breakout rooms of 3: GM, New Hire, Observer. Pick ONE scenario. Role play 12 minutes, then debrief.

20 min

The setup. Assign your three roles before you start. The GM opens the conversation. The New Hire responds in character. The Observer watches for the moment that lands — and the moment that didn't. Swap if there's time.

Pick your scenario

As a group, choose ONE. The harder it feels, the more useful the rep.

A. The Quiet One35-day Canine Coach. Technically solid but quieter this week. Buddy heard they may be looking elsewhere. B. The Pay ConversationFront Desk saw another daycare paying $2 more. You can't match it today. C. The 90-Day ScoreA Rover says they're a "5" on staying a year — then goes silent. D. The Uninvested EmployeeA 45-day Ops Lead completed the roadmap but shows minimum initiative.

Plan your opener — as the GM

Write your real first three sentences. The goal is to invite truth, not to fix it yet.

Your opening lines The one question you want to ask — and then stop talking What's the result you want by the end of the conversation? (Not 'fix it' — be specific.)

Observer notes

Watch for the moment the conversation became real — and the moment it almost didn't.

What did the GM do that you'd steal? Where did the conversation almost go off the rails — and how did the GM (or didn't) bring it back? Who on your actual team might be living this scenario right now?

What strong GMs do in this conversation: Name what you noticed in behavior, not motive. Ask one question and protect the silence — 5 seconds feels like 30. Mirror their phrasing back to confirm what you heard. Don't promise a fix in the room — promise a follow-up. End with "Is there anything I haven't asked that I should have?"

6

Activity — Build Your Virtual Recognition Board

Open the Dogtopia Recognition Board for your breakout group, build out the board you'd actually use at your daycare, and bring at least three real recognition notes.

15 min

🎨 Open your Recognition Board

Type your breakout room number, daycare name, or anything you want — each unique name spins up its own private board that the whole group sees in real time. No account, no sign-in.

Tip: everyone in your breakout types the exact same name so you all land on the same board. Bookmark the URL after — that's your daycare's permanent board.

What's on the board. Five pre-built sections (Pack Wins · New Hire Spotlight · Values in Action · Pet Parent Praise · Team Shoutout), plus a sticker library (🐾🏆⭐❤️🎉), banner ribbons, and theme picker. Click 🎨 Customize to pick a color theme, edit the board title, or add a header banner like "Star of the Week."

The standard for a board-ready note

Every note names the behavior, the impact, and the value it reinforces. Specificity is what makes recognition real.

Too generic
"Great job this week."

Board-ready
"Jaylen stayed 20 minutes late Tuesday to help a nervous first-time dog parent and never rushed her."

Plan your board — sections you'll use

What sections will your team see in the center of the board? What rhythm refreshes it? (Daily huddle? Weekly reset? Monthly archive?)

Draft your three recognition notes

Real Dogtopia behaviors. Real names. At least one for a new hire in their first 60 days. Each note: behavior · impact · value.

Note 1 · Values in Action

Note 2 · New Hire Spotlight

Note 3 · Your choice

Share-out

Choose ONE note from your board to share with the full group. Which one — and why this one? One recognition note you would actually post this week back at your daycare

7

The 60-Day & 90-Day Conversations

Days 31–60 are about contributing. Days 61–90 are about owning. The conversations look different.

60-Day check-in — go deeper

The stay/leave question. "What would make you leave? What would make you stay for years?"
Address pay concerns now. Real timelines to raises, shift lead pay, advancement — and what's required to get there.
Begin development planning. Coach Level 2/3, Shift Leader, PRL certification, cross-training.
Frame feedback as investment. One strength + one growth area. Proof that you see a future for them.

For your most recent or upcoming 60-day check-in — write the stay/leave question in your own voice

90-Day future planning — not a performance review

Forward-looking tone. Celebrate documented wins from the first 90 days.
Co-create 1–3 goals for the next quarter together.
Ask: "On a scale of 1–10, how likely are you to still be here in a year?"
Follow with: "What would make it a 10?" — anything below 8 becomes an action item.

Write your 90-day opener — the first 3 sentences What's your follow-up if the score is a 6 or 7?

Show the career map — every time

A simple future path gives a new hire something to picture, ask about, and work toward.

Operations Track — care-floor leadership

Canine Coach → Operations Lead → General Manager

PRL Track — front-of-house leadership

Front Desk → PRL → General Manager

Rover can go either way — use the 1:1 conversation to help them see the best-fit path. There may be steps in between. Keep it basic.

Where is the career map posted at your daycare today? (If "nowhere," that's the action.)

8

Quick Reference

Open during any onboarding moment. Close when you're done.

Days 1–30 · Learn — the rhythm

Day 1 people moments

Whole-team welcome — greet by name. Make them feel expected by more than just the GM.
GM 1:1 — "What does success look like to you in 90 days?" and "What worries you most?"
Values through stories — share 2–3 real stories from your location, then invite one of theirs.
Pet parent tour — walk the building from the parent's perspective, not the operations lens.
Buddy connection — make the in-person intro and protect 15 minutes of unstructured time.

Week 1 pulse — "What has surprised you? What is still confusing? What do you need more of?"

Week 2 pulse — "Tell me a moment you felt proud this week. Tell me one moment that was hard."

Days 31–60 · Contribute — role goals by position

Role	30–60 day contribution target
Parent Relationship Lead	Lead first parent onboarding independently; own one outreach or referral initiative
Front Desk	Own open/close protocol and handle one complex parent concern solo
Operations Lead	Lead one team huddle; begin coaching a Coach or Rover on a specific skill
Canine Coach	Supervise playroom with backup available; begin mentoring a Rover
Rover	Become the named go-to for a specific task area and be publicly recognized for it

30-day milestone moment — public shoutout at huddle · reflection 1:1 ("What are you good at that we haven't fully used yet?") · total value picture (pay, perks, career) · strength snapshot ("Here's what I've noticed about you in the first 30 days").

After Day 90 — the retention rhythm for every GM

Practice	Cadence	What it sounds like
Monthly GM 1:1s	Every month	15–20 min on energy, challenges, wins, what support would make work feel easier
Stay Interviews	6 months + 1 year	"What keeps you here?" / "What could pull you away?" — before the exit interview is too late
Quarterly Recognition	Every quarter	Service milestones, peer nominations, specific moments named in comms
Psychological Safety	Every day	Share manager mistakes, invite input from newer staff, celebrate questions over silence
Career Path Visibility	Every 1:1	Reference the growth ladder when recognizing people publicly
Track Your Numbers	Every cohort	30-day retention, 90-day retention, voluntary exit %, internal promotions

Measure what moves — KPIs at a glance

Metric	Current Baseline	90-Day Cohort Target	12-Month Goal
Annualized turnover rate	47.6%	—	Below 35%
Monthly separations	~26/month	—	Below 15/month
Voluntary exits	84%	Below 70%	Below 60%
30-day retention	Not yet tracked	90%+	—
90-day retention	Not yet tracked	82%+	—
New hire engagement pulse	Not yet collected	8/10+ at Days 30, 60, 90	—
Internal promotion rate	Not yet tracked	Begin tracking by cohort	Year-over-year growth

Manager discipline. Track the cohort, review the trend, and talk about the numbers before the exit interview tells you what you missed.

The recognition note formula

Every board-ready note names three things:

Behavior — what specifically did they do? (Verb, not adjective.)
Impact — what happened because of it? (Who was affected.)
Value — which Dogtopia value did it reinforce? (Connection, safety, joy, growth.)

Pattern: [Name] [specific behavior] [specific moment / time], which [impact]. That's [value] in action.

9

Commit Before You Leave

Three commitments. Your team will feel the difference by Monday.

Before Day 1

One thing I will do differently for my next new hire before their first day.

My commitment

One real conversation this week

One person currently on my team I need to have a real check-in conversation with this week.

Who — and what's the question I'll open with?

Recognition by Friday

One recognition moment I've been meaning to make — and I will do it by Friday.

Who, what, and where (board, huddle, text)?

These are not homework. Specific, measurable, time-bound. Your team will feel the difference by Monday.

10

Post-session reflection

Come back to this 1 week and 30 days after the session. Bring your stories to the next Leadership Lab.

What was the biggest shift in how you'll onboard from now on? What's still unclear or feels hard? Who will hold you accountable to your three commitments? One week in — what stuck, what slipped, and what surprised you? 30 days in — did any of your numbers move? What's the next layer of work?