New Support Agent Onboarding: A Checklist for the First Two Weeks

A new agent's first two weeks decide how quickly they become confident — and how long they stay. "Sit next to someone and watch" isn't a training plan; a clear structure is safer for the new agent and for your customers.

This checklist walks through the first two weeks day by day: from accounts and security to the first real conversations.

Before day one: accounts and access

• Create the account and add the new agent to the right inboxes and teams.
• Give them the right role: only the access they actually need.
• Schedule two-factor login for day one.
• Prepare the resources: product guides, your tone guide and the canned response library.

In Hodhod: when an admin adds an agent under Settings → Agents, Hodhod shows a one-time password you can share securely, and you can confirm the account right away. Add the agent on each inbox's "Collaborators" tab and under Settings → Teams, and set permissions under Settings → Custom Roles. Two-factor login is turned on from Profile Settings.

Week one: product, tools and shadowing

Days 1–2: learn the product

• Your customers' twenty most frequent questions and their correct answers.
• Pricing, shipping, returns and refund policies.
• What an agent can solve alone and what needs to be escalated.

Days 2–3: learn the panel

• The shared inbox, conversation assignment and conversation statuses.
• Private notes for coordinating with teammates.
• Labels, canned responses and macros.
• Converting a conversation to a ticket, and what priority and SLAs mean.

Days 3–5: shadow and draft

• Read real conversations — both highly rated ones and difficult ones.
• Draft replies to real conversations, reviewed by an experienced agent before sending.

Week two: real work with a buddy

• Simple conversations: the new agent replies, and an experienced buddy reviews.
• Escalations and tough situations: handled side by side with the buddy.
• Tickets and SLA deadlines: seen in practice.
• End of the week: join the full queue, with a lower capacity than everyone else.

In Hodhod you can set a lower capacity limit for the new agent under Settings → Agent Assignment, so they aren't overwhelmed by simultaneous conversations in the first days.

Your tone guide in five rules

1. Greet customers by name.
2. Write short sentences — chat isn't a formal letter.
3. Avoid jargon unless the customer uses it first.
4. Always make the next step clear.
5. Own mistakes and fix them fast.

Six practice scenarios

1. "Where's my order?"
2. A customer charged twice.
3. An angry customer writing for the second time — the method is in how to handle angry customers.
4. A question you don't know the answer to.
5. A customer asking for a discount.
6. Following up on a message left unanswered overnight.

Role-play each one first, then compare the answer with your team's canned responses.

Security basics for new agents

• Turn on two-factor login from day one.
• Never share your password — not even with a teammate.
• Never ask customers for their password or one-time codes.
• Keep customer data inside the panel.
• Report suspicious messages or unusual requests to your team lead.

If an agent loses access to their two-factor login, a company admin can reset their password or two-factor login under Settings → Team security.

How to measure progress

• First response time and CSAT on the new agent's own conversations.
• Quality review: read five of their conversations together each week and share feedback.
• A short one-to-one at the end of week one and week two.

Read more about these metrics in 10 customer support KPIs.

The full checklist

To see Hodhod's team management tools, request a free demo.

Frequently asked questions