Most onboarding fails the same way: a new team member gets a login, a Zoom call, and a vague instruction to ask questions. Thirty days later nobody can say what they own. This template fixes that. It works for local hires and remote hires alike, and it assumes the person already knows AppFolio basics, which is exactly what you should be hiring for.
Before day one
- Create their named AppFolio account with least privilege permissions for the role.
- Turn on two step verification and confirm NDA and device controls are in place.
- Write one page SOPs for the first five tasks they will own. Bullet points beat paragraphs.
- Set up their communication channels: email, phone or dialer, and your team chat.
Week 1: Shadow and learn your portfolio
- Walk through your properties, owners, and team structure. Context prevents mistakes.
- They shadow the current task owner on each SOP, taking notes and asking questions.
- Daily 15 minute check in at the start of your day, plus an end of day written recap from them: what they did, what they learned, what is unclear.
Week 2: Own with review
- They perform each task; you or the previous owner reviews every output before it goes out.
- Update the SOPs together as gaps surface. The SOP is done when they can execute without asking.
- Keep the daily check in and end of day report.
Week 3: Own with spot checks
- Review moves from everything to samples: a few work orders, a few guest cards, a few ledger entries.
- Introduce the role's KPIs: response times, same day dispatch, follow up completion. Share the numbers with them; people improve what they can see.
Week 4: Full ownership
- They own the tasks and the numbers. Check ins drop to twice weekly plus the daily written recap.
- Hold a 30 day review: what is working, what to add next month, one thing to fix.
The shortcut
This template assumes you run onboarding yourself. Revaya clients get most of it handled: we place AppFolio experienced assistants, run structured onboarding and daily reporting with them, and QA their work weekly, so your part is mostly week one context and access. Talk to an expert to see the full onboarding playbook.
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