Training Program — New-Hire Onboarding (Northwind Logistics)

Program title: Operations New-Hire Onboarding Audience: New operations coordinators in their first two weeks Owner: People & Capability Lead, Priya Vance Version / date: v3 — 4 June 2026

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1. Program goals and audience

• Business driver: New coordinators were taking roughly eight weeks to handle dispatch independently, and early-week errors in the shipping system were creating rework for the wider team.
• Performance gap: New hires arrive without knowledge of Northwind's systems, dispatch process, or customer-handling standards, and cannot safely process a live shipment on their own.
• Primary audience: Operations coordinators, typically four to six new hires per monthly cohort.
• Prerequisites: None — this is the entry program; completion of HR paperwork before day one.
• Success looks like: A new coordinator processing standard shipments unaided by the end of week two, with the independent-ramp time cut from eight weeks toward four.

2. Learning objectives

By the end of the program, a new coordinator will be able to:

• Navigate the dispatch system and locate any active shipment within thirty seconds.
• Process a standard outbound shipment end to end, correctly applying the carrier and labelling rules.
• Resolve the five most common shipment exceptions using the exceptions playbook.
• Handle a routine customer status enquiry to Northwind's service standard.

3. Module outline

Module	Objective	Format	Duration
1. Welcome and systems setup	Log in and navigate the dispatch system confidently	Blended	2 hours
2. The dispatch process	Process a standard outbound shipment end to end	ILT	Half day
3. Handling exceptions	Resolve the five most common shipment exceptions	ILT	2 hours
4. Customer service standards	Handle a routine status enquiry to standard	E-learning	1 hour

4. Delivery plan

• Format mix: Module 1 pairs a short e-learning system tour with a hands-on setup session; modules 2 and 3 are instructor-led because they are judgment-heavy and need live practice; module 4 is e-learning since the service standards are consistent and factual.
• Facilitators: A senior coordinator runs the ILT modules; the L&D team maintains the e-learning.
• Materials: System tour module, dispatch slide deck, the exceptions playbook job aid, and a sandbox account with practice shipments that mirror real cases.
• Practice built in: Each new hire processes practice shipments in the sandbox during module 2 and works three simulated exceptions in module 3 before touching live work.
• Group size and logistics: One cohort of four to six, in the training room with sandbox laptops.

5. Assessment

Objective	Assessment method	Pass standard
Navigate the dispatch system	Timed navigation check in the sandbox	Locate three shipments under 30s each
Process a standard shipment	Observed work sample on a live shipment	Completed correctly, supervised
Resolve common exceptions	Three simulated exception scenarios	Resolves at least 4 of 5 correctly
Handle a customer enquiry	Role-play scored against the service rubric	Meets all rubric must-haves

6. Evaluation

Level	What you measure	How / when
Reaction	Usefulness and clarity of each module	End-of-week-two survey
Learning	Gain on the four assessments	Sandbox check scores vs. day-one baseline
Behaviour	Independent live dispatch	Supervisor observation at week four
Results	Ramp time and early-week error rate	Compared to the prior six cohorts

7. Schedule

Date / week	Module or activity	Audience	Facilitator
Week 1, Mon	Module 1: Welcome and systems setup	New cohort	L&D + senior coordinator
Week 1, Wed	Module 2: The dispatch process	New cohort	Senior coordinator
Week 2, Tue	Module 3: Handling exceptions + assessments	New cohort	Senior coordinator
Week 2, Thu	Module 4: Customer service standards (self-paced)	New cohort	Self-paced
Week 4	On-the-job behaviour check	Each new hire	Line supervisor