Onboarding plan
Short-Order Cook Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)
A practical, printable plan to take a new short-order cook from first day to full productivity.
Short-Order Cook 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: Food handler card, ServSafe (as applicable)
- Prepare equipment and access: griddles; grills; spatulas; ticket rails
- Assign a buddy or preceptor
- Enroll the new hire in Short-Order Cook training so foundations are covered before or during week one
Week one: orient and protect
- Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
- Prevent burns
- Follow food safety
- Prevent slips
- Watch hot oil
- Shadow an experienced short-order cook 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: cook eggs to order
- Supervised practice: run multiple tickets at once
- Supervised practice: clean a griddle properly
- 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.
- Cook orders: independently
- Run the griddle: independently
- Read tickets: independently
- Time multiple orders: 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, Food handler card)
- Discuss the career path: Short-Order Cook → Line Cook → Lead Cook
- 90-day review
Competency checklist
| Skill or task | Trained | Observed | Signed off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Eggs to Order | |||
| Run Multiple Tickets at Once | |||
| Clean a Griddle Properly | |||
| Griddle cooking | |||
| Egg cooking | |||
| Ticket timing | |||
| Multitasking |
How to measure onboarding success
- Days to independent shifts
- Health inspection and audit results
- Guest satisfaction and review scores
- 30- and 90-day retention
How Short-Order Cook training maps to this plan
- Introduction to the Short-Order Cook Role
- A Day on the Job
- Essential Short-Order Cook Vocabulary
- Core Duties and Responsibilities
- Common Tasks, Step by Step
- Tools, Equipment and Technology
- Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
- Skills Employers Look For
- Launching Your Short-Order Cook Career
- Final Knowledge Check