Hires Quit After 2 Months: Why It Keeps Happening
Third hire quit in 90 days? It’s not bad luck - 80% who feel undertrained plan to leave.
Third Hire Gone in 90 Days
You just lost your third hire in 12 months. Each one quit within 90 days. Same pattern every time - they seemed excited during the interview, started strong the first week, then gradually disengaged until they gave notice.
You’re starting to think the problem might be you. Maybe you’re bad at picking people. Maybe your business isn’t a good place to work. Maybe employees are just unreliable.
This happens to over 50% of small business owners at the $108K/year mark - and the ones who fix it don’t do it by “finding better people.” They fix what happens in the first 90 days, before the new hire decides to quit.
What You Think Is Wrong vs What’s Actually Wrong
What you think: You can’t find good people. Employees are unreliable. Your pay isn’t competitive enough.
What’s actually wrong: You have an onboarding failure. 80% of employees who feel undertrained plan to quit. They don’t feel connected, supported, or clear on what success looks like.
Here’s what’s happening: You hired someone. On Day 1, you gave them login credentials, pointed them to some tools, and said, “let me know if you have questions.” Then you went back to your own work.
They spent Week 1 trying to figure out where things are, what you expect, and whether they made a mistake taking this job. No clear onboarding plan. No training schedule. No 30-60-90 day milestones. No regular check-ins.
By Week 4, they felt lost. By Week 6, they felt like they were bothering you with questions. By Week 8, they were updating their resume.
The research is clear: 50% of newly hired employees plan to quit soon - but only 7% of those who feel well-trained plan to leave. Your retention problem is an onboarding problem.
The Reframe That Changes Everything
50% of newly hired employees plan to quit soon - but only 7% of those who feel well-trained plan to leave. Your onboarding IS your retention strategy.
Think about it: You’re spending time and money recruiting, interviewing, and hiring. Then you’re losing them in 90 days because you didn’t invest 10 hours building an onboarding system.
The cost? Let’s calculate for Selma’s situation:
Time to recruit and hire: 20 hours at $52/hour = $1,040
Time training (minimal, ad-hoc): 5 hours at $52/hour = $260
Lost productivity during their 2 months: Conservatively $2,000
Cost to replace them: Another $1,040
Total cost per failed hire: $4,340
Three failed hires in 12 months = $13,020 in turnover costs. All are preventable with proper onboarding.
This means bad onboarding isn’t just frustrating - it’s bleeding your business of money and momentum every 90 days.
Do This Today (The Immediate Fix)
Before your next hire, you need to know what went wrong with the last ones.
Step 1: Conduct Exit Interviews (30 minutes each)
Call or email your most recent departures. Not to argue or defend - to learn. Ask three questions:
“What would have made you stay?”
“What did you need in your first 30 days that you didn’t get?”
“When did you start thinking about leaving?”
Listen without defending. Take notes. The patterns will show you exactly what’s broken.
Most common answers: “I never knew if I was doing well.” “I didn’t know what success looked like.” “I felt like I was bothering you with questions.” “I wasn’t sure what my role actually was.”
Step 2: Map Your Current Onboarding (20 minutes)
Write down everything that happened in your last hire’s first week. Be brutally honest:
Day 1: What did they actually experience?
Week 1: What training happened? Who led it?
First month: How many check-ins did you have?
90 days: Did they know what success looked like?
Most owners realize they have no onboarding - just chaos with good intentions.
Step 3: Identify the Biggest Gap (10 minutes)
Look at your exit interview notes and your onboarding map. What’s the biggest gap between what new hires needed and what they got?
Usually it’s one of three things:
No clear expectations: They never knew what “good” looked like
No regular feedback: They worked in a vacuum, unsure if they were succeeding
No connection: They felt isolated, not part of the team
Write it down: “The biggest gap is: _”
That’s where you start building.
Quality Check:
Before your next hire, verify:
I’ve talked to at least one past departure about what went wrong
I’ve documented what onboarding actually looks like now
I’ve identified the single biggest gap to fix first
If ANY of these is missing, you’ll repeat the same 90-day turnover cycle.
The 7-Day Protocol (Complete Solution)
The immediate fix shows you what’s broken. This protocol builds a system that keeps people.
Day 1: Complete Exit Interviews
Reach out to all recent departures. If they won’t talk, that’s data too - it tells you the relationship was damaged beyond repair, which points to a feedback/connection problem.
For those who will talk, listen for themes:
Clarity issues: “I didn’t know what you wanted”
Training gaps: “I never learned the systems”
Isolation: “I felt like I was on an island”
Feedback vacuum: “I had no idea if I was doing well”
These themes become your onboarding priorities.
Day 2: Audit What Actually Exists
Document your current onboarding honestly. Not what you wish it was - what it actually is.
Most agencies at $108K/year have:
Login credentials sent via email
Maybe a quick Zoom call to share screen and show tools
“Let me know if you have questions”
Sporadic check-ins when you remember
No documentation, no milestones, no structure
If that’s you, you’re not alone. But now you know what to build.
Day 3: Create “First Week Checklist”
Build a simple checklist for every new hire’s first week:
Day 1:
Welcome email sent (make them feel valued, not just employed)
All tool access confirmed (test it before they start)
60-minute onboarding call scheduled
First project assigned (small win, clear success criteria)
Day 2-3:
Training on primary tool/system (video + live walkthrough)
Introduction to any existing team members
First project review - feedback on what they did well
Day 4-5:
Shadow you on one task they’ll eventually own
Second project assigned (slightly more complex)
End-of-week check-in: “What’s working? What’s confusing?”
This gives structure to chaos. They know what’s happening. You know what to deliver.
Day 4: Write “90-Day Success Plan”
Define what success looks like at 30, 60, and 90 days. Be specific.
30 days:
Can complete [specific task] without supervision
Understands our client communication standards
Asks clarifying questions before starting work
60 days:
Owns [specific area] with minimal oversight
Proactively identifies problems and suggests solutions
Delivers work that needs <10% revision
90 days:
Fully independent on [list specific responsibilities]
Trains others on processes they now own
Contributes ideas for improvement
Share this with new hires on Day 1. Now they know the target.
Day 5: Design Weekly Check-In Structure
Schedule 30-minute 1-on-1s for the first 90 days. Same time, every week, non-negotiable.
Use this agenda:
Wins this week: What went well? (Celebrate it)
Challenges: What was hard? (Help solve it)
Learning: What did you learn? (Reinforce growth)
Next week: What are you working on? (Confirm clarity)
Support needed: What do you need from me? (Remove blockers)
This costs you 30 minutes weekly but eliminates the “I didn’t know if I was doing well” problem.
Day 6: Create “Day 1 Welcome” Experience
Make them feel valued, not just employed. Small things matter:
Welcome email sent the day before they start (reduces first-day anxiety)
Clear schedule for their first day (shows you’re prepared)
Small welcome gesture (handwritten note, company swag, team lunch on Zoom)
Introduction to the team (makes them feel part of something)
This costs almost nothing but signals: “We’re glad you’re here. We’re invested in your success.”
Day 7: Document Everything
Put all of this in a folder labeled “New Hire Onboarding”:
First Week Checklist
90-Day Success Plan
Weekly Check-In Agenda
Training videos for key tools/processes
Welcome email template
Now it’s repeatable. Your next hire gets the same quality experience, not whatever you remember to do while you’re busy.
Go Deeper: The Complete Framework
This solves the immediate problem - preventing 90-day turnover by building real onboarding.
But if you want the complete team development system that builds capability, maintains alignment, and creates a team that grows with your business:
The Monthly Team Calibration shows you how to develop team members through regular feedback cycles, maintain quality standards as you grow, and build a team culture that retains top performers long-term.
Want the full Clear Edge OS? 26 frameworks for $5K-$150K operators who want precision, not guesswork. Start here
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