The Hiring Leak | Article 8: The Onboarding Vacuum
You’ve hired someone who seemed perfect on paper, interviewed well, and fit the culture—or at least what you thought was culture.
And then… nothing happens.
That’s the Onboarding Vacuum.
Hiring Is Only the Beginning
Hiring is the input. Onboarding is the first stage of integration.
Without structured onboarding, all the care we took in hiring can leak away:
- Context is missing
- Priorities are unclear
- Systems and processes are opaque
- Expectations are assumed, not explained
Even high-caliber hires stumble when the environment doesn’t support them.
What the Vacuum Looks Like
The Onboarding Vacuum is invisible at first. Signs include:
- “I don’t know who to ask”
- “I’m not sure what’s most important”
- “I’m fixing things I shouldn’t”
- “I feel like I’m in limbo”
The hire is competent, but the system is empty. They fill gaps, guess priorities, and inadvertently create friction.
The Cost of the Vacuum
Even short periods of misalignment compound:
- Knowledge is siloed
- Decisions are delayed
- Errors multiply
- Momentum stalls
By the time leadership notices, the hire may already be frustrated—or worse, disengaged.
Why It Happens
The vacuum forms when onboarding is treated as paperwork, not system integration:
- Laptops and credentials are handed over, but context is not
- Mentors are assigned, but first goals are undefined
- “First week completed” is measured, rather than “first impact realized”
Hiring without onboarding is like buying a high-performance engine and leaving it in a garage with no fuel or oil. Performance is possible — but only by accident.
Filling the Vacuum: 30/60/90 Days
A structured first three months is the most effective way to prevent the Onboarding Vacuum. A 30/60/90 day plan isn’t micro-management — it’s providing context, clarity, and early alignment.
30 Days – Understand:
- Learn systems, tools, and processes
- Meet stakeholders and peers
- Observe patterns without pressure to change
- Ask questions and clarify expectations
60 Days – Contribute:
- Take ownership of small but meaningful tasks
- Connect dots across teams
- Begin making decisions with guidance
- Share observations and suggest improvements
90 Days – Impact:
- Own larger initiatives independently
- Influence team practices and priorities
- Shape culture through example
- Demonstrate value aligned to organizational goals
A clear 30/60/90 plan gives new hires visible milestones, context, and early wins, drastically reducing the leak and setting the stage for sustainable success.
The Core Insight
The Onboarding Vacuum proves that hiring is not just about selecting people — it’s about setting them up to succeed in your specific system.
Without this, even the best hires underperform, and the system quietly leaks the value you thought you were gaining.
Closing the Hiring Leak
The Hiring Leak begins with how we select people, continues through the signals we reward, and ends in the vacuum where alignment fails.
Fixing it isn’t about finding perfect candidates. It’s about:
- Understanding what success really looks like
- Recognizing the limits of proxies and performance
- Supporting integration into the system with clarity, context, and care
With deliberate onboarding — including a structured 30/60/90 day plan — your investment in talent finally converts into real organizational impact.