Common Pitfalls During the First 90 Days and How to Avoid Them
- Marcy Stoudt
- Apr 23
- 3 min read
Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Advice to Managers for the First 90 Days of a New Hire
The first 90 days of a new hire’s journey aren’t just important for the employee—they’re a critical window for you as the manager. This period shapes how your new hire sees your team, adapts to your culture, and contributes to your goals. With proactive leadership, you can avoid common pitfalls and set your new hire up for long-term success.
Harvard Business Review emphasizes that successful onboarding is not a one-day event—it’s a strategic process that begins before day one and continues through the first several months.
Here’s what to watch for—and how to lead with clarity and confidence.
Pitfall 1: Lack of Clear Expectations During the Recruiting Process
The Risk: When expectations aren’t clearly defined before a candidate accepts the offer, the result is often confusion, misalignment, and unmet assumptions.
Your Move: You’ve already made a major investment in your internal Talent Acquisition team or a third-party recruiter. Why not fully partner with them? Use the recruiting phase to communicate not just the responsibilities of the role, but the vision, culture, success metrics, and 90-day expectations. This clarity sets the tone before the first day, reduces the risk of misalignment, and builds momentum from day one.
“Setting clear expectations during the hiring process is one of the most underrated leadership strategies—it creates trust before day one.” – Adapted from The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins
Pitfall 2: Lack of a Clear Onboarding Plan
The Risk: New hires without structure often feel unsupported, overwhelmed, or disengaged.
Your Move: As the hiring manager, own the onboarding plan. Outline what success looks like in the first 30, 60, and 90 days. Build a roadmap that includes touchpoints, training, and expectations to help your new hire build confidence and gain early wins.
"When you become a leader, success is all about growing others." – Jack Welch
Pitfall 3: Overlooking Team Integration
The Risk: A great hire can flounder if they don’t feel like part of the team.
Your Move: Make integration intentional. Schedule meet-and-greets, assign a peer mentor, and share team norms. Help your new hire understand how the team communicates, collaborates, and makes decisions. Team integration isa crucial ingredient in building early credibility. Don't leave it to chance.
Pitfall 4: Unclear Expectations and Goals
The Risk: New hires who don’t understand their priorities often stall out, frustrated and misaligned.
Your Move: Set clear, specific, and measurable goals for the first 90 days. Preview these goals during the interview process and review them during onboarding. Early alignment creates a sense of purpose and direction.
Pitfall 5: Neglecting Ongoing Feedback
The Risk: Without feedback, new hires either spin their wheels or second-guess their progress.
Your Move: Establish a regular cadence for check-ins—weekly early on, then biweekly. Use these moments to reinforce wins, provide constructive feedback, and make adjustments. Feedback builds trust and accelerates growth.
According to Harvard Business Review, early feedback conversations are critical for maintaining engagement and ensuring mutual understanding of progress and goals.
The Takeaway: Your leadership in the first 90 days shapes everything that comes next. When you lead with clarity, consistency, and care, you create the conditions for your new hire to thrive—and for your team to grow stronger.
Let the first 90 days be a launchpad, not a learning curve.
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Marcy Stoudt is a seasoned sales leader dedicated to shaping the future of talent acquisition and executive coaching. As the founder of Revel Search and Revel Coach, Marcy collaborates with corporate clients to develop innovative strategies for attracting, advancing, and retaining top-tier talent.
During her 22 years at Allegis Group, Marcy was TEKsystems's first female Vice President. She led a team of 300 producers and delivered four consecutive years of revenue results at 18% CAGR, averaging $320 million annually. While at MarketSource, she established the Customer Experience Strategy for the Target Mobile outsourced sales team at 1,540 Target locations, fostering executive-level relationships with Target and Apple.
The Revel Coach™ Blog is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not mental health, financial, business or legal advice. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any medical, mental or emotional condition. The information presented here is not a guarantee that you will obtain any results or earn any money using our content.
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