Free training plan template
An employee training plan with learning objectives, a week-by-week schedule table, training methods, assessment and sign-off. Use it to onboard new hires or upskill a team in a structured way.
What's in this template
New Hire Training Plan: Customer Support Associate
| Company | Ledgerly, accounting software for small businesses |
| Team | Customer Support, Leeds office |
| Trainee | Aisha Rahman |
| Start date | Monday, 2 November 2026 |
| Training lead | Tom Gallagher, Support Team Lead |
| Buddy | Chloe Davies, Senior Support Associate |
| Duration | 6 weeks |
Purpose
This plan takes a new support associate from day one to handling a full queue of chat and email tickets on their own. By the end of week 6, Aisha will understand Ledgerly's product, its customers and our support standards, and will be ready to join the regular rota.
Learning objectives
By the end of the programme, the trainee will be able to:
- Explain Ledgerly's core features (invoicing, bank feeds, VAT returns and payroll) in plain language
- Resolve the 20 most common ticket types using the help centre and internal playbooks
- Use Zendesk to manage, tag and escalate tickets correctly
- Meet our service standards: first reply within 2 hours by email and 2 minutes on chat
- Handle frustrated customers calmly and turn complaints into clear product feedback
- Recognise when a VAT or payroll question needs to go to the specialist team
Training schedule
| Week | Focus | Activities | Hours | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome and product basics | Induction, IT setup, product tour, set up a test company in Ledgerly | 35 | Can navigate the product and explain each module |
| 2 | Tools and processes | Zendesk training, tagging, macros, escalation paths; shadow Chloe on chat | 35 | Can work a ticket end to end with help |
| 3 | Common issues | Study the top 20 ticket playbooks; answer practice tickets in the sandbox | 35 | Scores 80% or more on practice tickets |
| 4 | Supervised live tickets | Handle live email tickets with every reply reviewed by Chloe before sending | 35 | 15 tickets a day with review |
| 5 | Chat and phone | Join the chat queue with Chloe listening in; two shadowed phone callbacks a day | 35 | Meets chat reply standard |
| 6 | Independence | Full queue with spot checks; final assessment on Friday | 35 | Ready for the regular rota |
Training methods
- Self-paced e-learning: Ledgerly Academy modules on each product area (about 12 hours in total)
- Shadowing: sitting with Chloe on chat, email and phone to see how experienced associates work
- Sandbox practice: 60 real past tickets, anonymised, answered in a test environment and marked by Tom
- Live tickets with review: real customers, with every reply checked before it is sent in week 4
- Weekly one-to-ones: 30 minutes each Friday with Tom to review progress and agree the focus for next week
Assessment
| Check | When | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Product knowledge quiz (30 questions) | End of week 1 | 80% |
| Sandbox ticket marking | End of week 3 | 80% quality score |
| Quality review of 20 live tickets | End of week 5 | 85% quality score |
| Customer satisfaction on own tickets | Weeks 5 and 6 | 90% or higher |
| Final role-play with an angry customer | Friday of week 6 | Meets all 5 criteria on the rubric |
If any check is not met, Tom and Aisha agree a short catch-up plan of up to one extra week before the next check.
Resources
- Ledgerly Academy (learning portal)
- Support playbooks in Confluence, "Top 20 Tickets" space
- Zendesk sandbox account
- Tone of voice guide, version 2026
Sign-off
Training completed and trainee ready for the regular rota.
Trainee: ____________________ Date: ____________
Training lead: ____________________ Date: ____________