Onboarding Your New Childcare Educator in Regional Victoria: The 90-Day Plan That Prevents Early Turnover

The research is clear: the first 90 days of employment determine whether a new hire stays for a year or leaves after three months. In childcare, where the stakes of early turnover include ratio instability, team disruption and significant re-recruitment cost, investing in a structured 90-day onboarding plan is one of the highest-return actions a centre director can take.

Here's the plan — week by week.

WEEK 1: FOUNDATION

Day 1: Assign a buddy — a senior, positive team member — before the new educator arrives. Have their workspace set up, their name tag ready and their schedule for the first week printed. First impressions of organisation and care matter enormously.

Day 1-2: Walk through your centre's philosophy, culture norms and the families in their room. Don't assume they'll figure out your culture from observation — articulate it explicitly.

Day 3-5: Shadow the buddy across different scenarios — morning routines, programming, outdoor play, family communication at pick-up.

End of week 1: 15-minute check-in with the Centre Director. Ask: "How is your first week feeling? What do you want to understand better?" This check-in signals that the director is paying attention.

WEEKS 2-4: INTEGRATION

Week 2: Begin gradual responsibility transfer — the new educator starts leading specific activities under the buddy's observation.

Week 3: Begin independent room time with buddy available nearby. Discuss initial observations of the room's children and program.

Week 4: End-of-month formal check-in with the Centre Director. Discuss: initial impressions, any early challenges, first professional development conversation. Ask directly: "Is there anything about the role that's different from what you expected?"

MONTHS 2-3: ESTABLISHMENT

Month 2: The new educator leads the room independently with regular (not reactive) check-ins from the Centre Director. Begin including them in team planning discussions.

Month 3: Formal 90-day review. Document: what's going well, development areas for the next quarter, professional development plan, and — importantly — an explicit conversation about what the centre will do to support their long-term career here.

THE 90-DAY CONVERSATION THAT SEALS RETENTION

At the 90-day review, ask: "What would make this the best job you've ever had?" The answer tells you what to do next.

HOW VHIRE SUPPORTS THE 90-DAY PERIOD

Vhire's post-placement check-ins at 30 and 90 days listen for early retention risk signals and flag them to centre directors — from the candidate's perspective — while there is still time to act.

Contact Vhire at info@vhire.com.au or visit vhire.com.au/hire-staff.