When someone gets promoted into their first management role, it’s a big step for them and for the business. But while most organisations have a structured onboarding process for new starters, new managers often don’t get the same support.
Instead, they’re frequently expected to work it out as they go, without clear expectations or tools to help them.
Without support, new managers can feel uncertain, stretched, and pulled between their old role and their new one. And that’s not great for them or for their team.
Why onboarding managers matters
Becoming a manager requires a whole new skill set. Suddenly, people are expected to:
- Lead former peers
- Delegate, coach, and support others to grow
- Give feedback and handle conflict
- Balance delivery with managing the team
If they don’t have support or guidance, managers can end up firefighting, avoiding tricky conversations, or sticking to their individual tasks. That leaves the ‘people’ part of the job neglected, which is where engagement and retention often suffer.
Defining the people manager role
Before you on-board new managers, it helps if you have clearly defined what the manager role involves. If you haven’t yet done that in your organisation, you might find our previous blog on defining the people manager role useful – it shares a simple three-step approach for getting started.
What good onboarding looks like
Manager onboarding doesn’t need to be complicated. A simple, practical process can make all the difference.
That could look like:
- A clear summary of what’s expected in the role
- A checklist of systems, policies and processes they need to know
- Early conversations with their own manager to set priorities
- Knowing where to go for help or resources
The tools that help managers succeed
Onboarding managers gets them off to a great start. Next, they need access to tools and resources they can use day to day.
This doesn’t have to be anything fancy. The most useful tools are straightforward, easy to find, and relevant to the role. For example:
- Performance review process guide
- Career development discussion guides
- A feedback framework (such as our IDEAS model)
- A wellbeing action plan template
- A simple goal-setting guide
- HR processes and policies
When managers have these, it’s much easier for them to do the right things consistently, even when the pressure is on.
Why this matters for HR and L&D
As HR or L&D leaders, one of the biggest things you can do to support your managers is to give them clarity and support. This builds confidence, creates consistency, and stops people from feeling like they’re on their own.
Strong managers are the foundation of strong teams. Setting them up properly from the start makes a huge difference to performance, wellbeing, and culture.
Support for your managers
If you’d like something practical to use straight away, we’ve put together a free HR Toolkit: Setting Managers Up for Success. It includes an onboarding checklist, useful tools, and simple resources you can adapt for your own organisation.
📘 Download the HR Toolkit here
And if you’d like to explore this more, come along to our free webinar:
🎤 How to Stop Your First-Time Managers from Sinking
📅 Thursday 18 September | 3:00–3:45pm | Online
👉 Sign up here
This way, you’re giving managers the best chance to succeed, and setting up your teams, and your business, for success too.
About the Author
Louise Puddifoot is the founder of Willow & Puddifoot, where she and her team CRAFT™ confident, capable leaders at every stage. With over 20 years’ experience in leadership and learning, Louise designs practical development that builds confidence, capability, and impact. Her work is built on the CRAFT™ Leadership Framework, focusing on communication, resilience, authenticity, future focus, and transformation, to create real behaviour change that lasts.