LESSON 2 OF 6 · INTERMEDIATE
Plan the first week around readiness
Sequence essential clearances and access before productive work. Verify licensing with the appropriate team, confirm system permissions and name a person who can help when something fails. Provide a manageable schedule rather than overwhelming the new employee with every policy on day one. Avoid assigning production activity before the organization has confirmed readiness.
Write a first-week checklist that tests readiness rather than just listing meetings.
About 2 minutes reading + 12 minutes practice. Take longer when needed.
Apply the method
Plan the first week around what the person needs to do safely and effectively. Confirm required authority through licensing, test essential system access, introduce the manager and support contacts, and show a complete example workflow. Schedule a short review rather than filling every hour with presentations. Ask the employee to demonstrate a low-risk training task using fictional information so gaps are visible. Separate an access problem from a learning problem. When a dependency is blocked, identify the owner and a temporary plan approved by the organization; do not ask the employee to improvise around required controls.
A worked application
Fictional worked example: A new LO can sign in but cannot view a required training environment. The checklist records sign-in as complete and workflow readiness as blocked. Technology is assigned a deadline, and the manager reschedules the relevant practice. The end-of-week review asks the LO to explain where to send a scenario and whom to contact about a delay. The review identifies a missing escalation introduction, which is added. Readiness is demonstrated through the work rather than assumed from attendance at orientation.
Common mistake to avoid
Do not mark a system task complete because an invitation was sent. Test the user’s ability to perform the intended training action.
Work through the case
FICTIONAL SCENARIO
The LO has a laptop but lacks pricing access and does not know whom to ask. A readiness checklist should have tested that access, not merely recorded that equipment was shipped.
Make it practical
Write a first-week checklist that tests readiness rather than just listing meetings.
Compare your reasoning with a worked response
Each item has evidence: sign-in works, training is understood, questions have an owner and required authority is confirmed. Schedule a brief end-of-week review.
Takeaway
Use the method to explain your decision, identify what you still need to verify and choose an accountable next step.
Treat the response as a model for reasoning, not the only possible wording. Adapt it to the role, evidence and appropriate organizational guidance.