The Truth: You Suck at Onboarding

Together With

Good morning.

Ever heard the phrase “Hire slow and fire fast”? It’s a lazy manager’s excuse for poor leadership. If you think dragging out the hiring process makes up for bad onboarding, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Let’s be honest—you’ve done this before:

You interview a great candidate, maybe even adding an extra interview or two just to be sure they’re a good fit. They accept the offer, sit through a couple of days of HR orientation, maybe shadow a high performer at another community, and then… they’re off to the races.

And then?

15% of the time, they crush it, not because of you, but because they’re naturally driven.
50% of the time, they’re just… fine. They don’t fail, but they don’t thrive either.
35% of the time, it’s a disaster. And now you’re stuck in HR limbo, trying to figure out how to replace them.

Here’s the problem: You are terrible at setting and communicating expectations.

You think you’re clear, but you’re not. You assume they’ll “figure it out.” And when they don’t, you blame them instead of your broken process.

Let’s fix that.

Elevate Your Leadership

Step 1: Define Success (No, Really—Write It Down)

“Doing a good job” isn’t a metric. Your new hire needs clear, measurable expectations for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year. Write down a list of precisely what will define their success and give it to them.

What should they accomplish at each stage?
What numbers or outcomes will define success?
How will you both know if they’re winning—or failing?

Pro tip: Alongside their job description, give them a structured list of daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly tasks. Lay it all out—the habits, outcomes, and best practices that will guarantee success.

Skipping this step will cost you months of frustration.

Step 2: Structure the Feedback Loop

You can’t just “check in when needed.” Define precisely when, where, and how feedback will happen. Write this down also and review it with the new leader so they know exactly, who, what, where, and when they can expect to receive feedback on how they're progressing.

Weekly 1:1s for the first 90 days (non-negotiable).
Set a standing agenda—review their metrics, discuss challenges, and keep the focus on results.
Follow up every meeting with a written recap (email) so expectations are crystal clear.

Pro tip: Leaders fail when they don’t know where they stand. Weekly 1:1s create clarity, and clarity creates success.

No More Guesswork

Onboarding isn’t about hoping someone “figures it out.” It’s about equipping them to win.

Define success—structure communication. Hold them accountable.

Do that, and you won’t need to “fire fast” anymore—because you’ll actually be hiring right.

Partners We Love

Get Paid Every Dollar, Every Day with primeCLAIMS

Getting paid every dollar for every day of care is hard. There are so many places in the process where you can leak money. If your organization has ever NOT turned a claim in on time, continues to mail secondary claims, or still works in Medicare’s DDE mainframe – you may be leaking money simply because you’re using the wrong technology for your business.

Designed specifically for senior care billers, primeCLAIMS continuously evolves to supercharge your reimbursement cycle in five key areas:

1) Simple primary claims process, customized for senior care

2) Truly automated secondary claims

3) Streamlined data/collection

4) Effortless denial/ADR tracking

5) Effective processes and support

PrimeCLAIMS is an intuitive, process-driven app with recent innovations, including two-way EHR integration with PointClickCare, plus simple payer enrollment/tracking. It’s designed for billers by billers – and supported by billers. Download a summary, or get in touch for a demo today!

Whenever you're ready, I can help you in a few ways.

Leverage our partnership with CEUSrEZ and purchase NAB-approved, online, self-paced, continuing education courses at a 20% discount here.
Use our free AI-powered Chatbot trained on all 900 pages of CMS Nursing Home Regulations, proprietary processes, and information from decades of skilled nursing leadership experience. Click here.
Sign up for Assisto and keep track of the regulatory environment in your state. Know what deficiencies surveyors cite in real-time and ensure you're not at risk for the same tag. Sign up here.

Forward this newsletter, and we might give them a free coffee for signing up!

Enjoy reading our newsletter? Forward this edition to a colleague and friend, and we will send five randomly selected new subscribers a free coffee using Thnks.

Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day.

Kevin Goedeke, Publisher and Founder