Onboarding plan

Administrative Assistant Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)

A practical, printable plan to take a new administrative assistant from first day to full productivity.

Updated By the Career Education Institute Curriculum Team
Administrative Assistant onboarding at a glance

Week one covers orientation, safety and shadowing. Days 1–30 build vocabulary and supervised practice on core procedures; days 31–60 move to independent work with competency sign-offs; days 61–90 focus on full productivity, cross-training and a credential plan.

Before day one

  • Confirm start date, schedule, pay and supervisor in writing
  • Verify required credentials: CAP (IAAP), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) (as applicable)
  • Prepare equipment and access: microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint; google Workspace; video meeting platforms; scheduling software
  • Assign a buddy or preceptor
  • Enroll the new hire in Administrative Assistant training so foundations are covered before or during week one

Week one: orient and protect

  • Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
  • Protect confidential and personal information
  • Verify payment or banking change requests by phone to prevent fraud
  • Use ergonomic workstation setup to prevent strain
  • Follow records retention and privacy policies
  • Shadow an experienced administrative assistant through a full shift
  • Training modules 1–3: role foundations, a day on the job and essential vocabulary (15 terms)

Days 1–30: learn

Goal: perform core tasks safely under supervision.

  • Supervised practice: take effective meeting minutes
  • Supervised practice: manage a busy executive’s calendar
  • Supervised practice: create a mail merge
  • Training modules 4–7: duties, step-by-step tasks, tools and safety
  • 30-day check-in: confidence, questions and early wins

Days 31–60: contribute

Goal: handle a regular workload independently.

  • Manage calendars and schedule meetings: independently
  • Answer phones, emails and visitors professionally: independently
  • Prepare documents, presentations and spreadsheets: independently
  • Organize physical and digital files and records: independently
  • Competency sign-offs completed (see checklist below)
  • Training final knowledge check and certificate of completion
  • 60-day check-in

Days 61–90: own

Goal: full productivity and a growth plan.

  • Meet productivity and quality targets for the role
  • Begin cross-training on a secondary task
  • Agree on a credential goal (for example, CAP (IAAP))
  • Discuss the career path: Administrative Assistant → Senior or Executive Assistant → Office Manager
  • 90-day review

Competency checklist

Skill or taskTrainedObservedSigned off
Take Effective Meeting Minutes
Manage a Busy Executive’s Calendar
Create a Mail Merge
Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
Calendar and email management
Document formatting and spreadsheets
Records management

How to measure onboarding success

  • Time to independent work
  • Error or rework rate
  • Internal customer satisfaction
  • 90-day retention

How Administrative Assistant training maps to this plan

  1. Introduction to the Administrative Assistant Role
  2. A Day on the Job
  3. Essential Administrative Assistant Vocabulary
  4. Core Duties and Responsibilities
  5. Common Tasks, Step by Step
  6. Tools, Equipment and Technology
  7. Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
  8. Skills Employers Look For
  9. Launching Your Administrative Assistant Career
  10. Final Knowledge Check
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