The first 90 days of a new plant HR role: what to put in place first

A new HR manager joins a moulding and assembly plant running three shifts. On day one she inherits a time office with two clerks and a muster roll. There is also a drawer of contractor invoices, a laminated skill chart from an old audit, and a queue at the window about overtime. Everyone wants something fixed this week.

The temptation is to unveil something showy. The wiser first quarter is quieter. Learn how the plant really runs, fix the basics that touch every wage slip, then build a few things that last. The plan below works across trades, with small changes for each.

• Walk every shift, including nights. Stand at shift change, eat in the canteen, ride the staff bus once.
• Meet the people who run HR without the title. Time office clerks, security at the gate, the canteen contractor, labour contractors and the senior shift in-charges.
• List the records that exist. Attendance, overtime register, contractor and workmen lists, leave, training, incidents, grievances, skill matrix. Note who keeps each one and how current it is.
• Go through twelve months of resignations. Sort by section, shift and length of service.
• Count the queue. Note why people come to the HR window. The commonest three grievances set your early agenda.

Open the stores and welfare corners too. Check the PPE issue register, the stock of safety shoes and uniforms, the first-aid boxes and the occupational health room. If migrant workers live in a hostel on site, visit it. These places tell you more about how people are treated than any policy file.

• Ask the time office for these in week one. Muster roll, wage register, overtime register, leave cards, gate pass log.
• From security. Visitor book, vehicle log, the list of contract gangs entering each morning.
• From the safety officer. Accident book, first-aid register, near-miss cards, permit file.
• From the personnel files. Appointment letters, increment letters, warning letters, resignation letters.
• From the canteen and transport contractors. Menu, coupon counts, bus routes and timings per shift.

1. 1

   Attendance cut-off and regularisation

   One cut-off date, one missed-punch form, one approver per section. Biometric, gate register and supervisor marking should agree before payroll.

2. 2

   Overtime sanction before the hours

   A signed slip before overtime starts, checked by the time office against attendance. Retrospective sanction is where most disputes begin.

3. 3

   Contractor reconciliation

   Gate attendance for each contract crew matched against the contractor's monthly invoice, with evidence that wages reached the crew.

4. 4

   No induction, no gate pass

   No newcomer, payroll or contract, collects a gate pass until induction is signed. Hold firm even when dispatch is screaming.

5. 5

   One grievance route for every shift

   Written, displayed in the floor languages, with a night-shift contact named on the notice. Keep safety concerns on a separate route.

These chores are dull, and they matter most. When overtime is paid correctly and missed punches are fixed before payroll, the queue at the window shrinks and the floor starts to trust the new person. Our work on time office and roster rules usually starts here.

• A live skill matrix for the riskiest section. The one where a single absence stops a line.
• A monthly one-page HR report for the plant head. Headcount by section and by contractor, absence, overtime per person, joiners and leavers, incidents, open grievances.
• A supervisor routine. Return chats after absence, a weekly look at overtime names, and a monthly review of disciplinary cases by shift.
• A calendar of recurring tasks. Increments, festival leave planning, contractor renewals, training refreshers, record reviews.

Plant, headcount own and contract, number of shifts: ________.
Days 1 to 30. Shifts walked: ________. Records found and their state: ________. Top three window complaints: ________.
Days 31 to 60. Cut-off date set: ________. Overtime slip in use from: ________. Contractor reconciliation done for: ________. Induction gate rule from: ________. Grievance route displayed on: ________.
Days 61 to 90. Skill matrix live for: ________. First monthly HR report sent on: ________. Supervisor routine started in: ________.
Deferred to next quarter: ________.
Reviewed with plant head on day 30, day 60 and day 90.

In a tablet or API plant, training records face auditors, so the training file may move into the first month. Our page on pharmaceutical plants explains why. In a garment unit, piece-rate questions may dominate the window, which the textile and garment notes cover. In a foundry, heat breaks, protective gear and the knockout end may need attention before anything else, as our foundry page sets out.

Engagement surveys, competency frameworks, a fresh appraisal format and HR software shopping can all wait for the second quarter. Each leans on the basics. A survey run while overtime is still paid wrongly will mostly measure anger about overtime. When the time comes, an outside review of HR processes helps rank what to tackle next.

Agree the plan in week one. Review it together on days thirty, sixty and ninety. Protect them from being pulled into every dispute while they fix the basics. The onboarding 30-60-90 plan template is a useful frame. Our wider view of plant HR shows where this first quarter leads. For help shaping it, send us your plant details.