In the second part of our hiring series, we focus on how startups—especially those in emerging markets—can accelerate new employee productivity from day one. We introduce a practical, results-driven onboarding method shared by Emil Jersling, Orbit Mentor and former COO of Groupon Belgium. Emil’s experience leading rapid team builds across multiple continents brings actionable insights for startups aiming to avoid the pitfalls of traditional training and quickly measure new hire success.
The Traditional Training Trap
Most organizations follow a predictable pattern: hire someone, spend weeks teaching them everything they might need to know, then gradually introduce them to real work. The logic seems sound—prepare them thoroughly before they start producing.
But this approach creates several hidden problems:
- Reality shock: New hires discover the actual job differs significantly from expectations
- Delayed feedback: Managers can’t assess capability until weeks into employment
- Training investment risk: Extensive upfront training can benefit competitors if employees leave
- Extended unproductivity: Companies carry non-productive employees for long periods
The 48-Hour Ramp Up System
Emil’s alternative for onboarding new sales hires flips conventional wisdom and gets them productive within 2 days:
Day 1 Morning: Train new sales hires on exactly one skill—how to convert phone calls into appointments for the following afternoon. Nothing else.
Day 1 Afternoon: Immediate application. New hires spend the rest of the day using that morning’s training to fill their calendars with prospects meetings for the following afternoon.
Day 2 Morning: Train exclusively on closing deals—the specific techniques and information needed to convert the meetings they booked the previous day.
Day 2 Afternoon: Close deals with prospects in meetings they scheduled themselves.
By day three, managers have a good idea of the competence and challenges faced by each new team member and can start supporting them through coaching and role-playing exercises with real in-field experience.
Why Rapid Ramp Up Works
Immediate Reality Testing
New hires experience the actual job within hours, not weeks. Those who discover the role isn’t what they expected can exit quickly, saving everyone time and resources.
Accelerated Performance Assessment
Instead of waiting weeks to evaluate capability, managers get real performance data within 48 hours. They can immediately identify who’s thriving and who’s struggling.
Reduced Training Investment Risk
If someone leaves during their probation period, the company has invested two days of training, not two months.
Self-Selection Mechanism
The intensity leads to those who enjoy the work and value the support provided to quickly identify where they must improve while rewarding success with quick wins for the company and individual. The goal is to provide the tools for everyone to become an important team player.
The Measurement Framework
In addition – implement specific KPIs starting from week two—one grace week, then immediate accountability. For the sales team they were:
Effort Metrics: Number of calls made, meetings scheduled, in-person appointments completed
Result Metrics: Deals closed, revenue generated
This dual measurement approach ensures new hires understand both the activity requirements and outcome expectations from day one.
Continuous Process Improvement
A key additional layer is using new hire performance to refine the hiring process itself. You can track correlations between interview assessments (salesmanship, passion, drive, ambition) and actual two-week performance results.
Emil’s sales feedback loop revealed:
- Which interview qualities actually predicted success
- Whether the hiring process was measuring the right factors
- What additional qualities correlated with high performance but weren’t being tested for
Implementation Guidelines
Organizations looking to adopt this approach should:
- Identify the Most Critical Skills for immediate productivity in each role
- Design Focused Training covering only what’s needed for those skill
- Create Real Application Opportunities available immediately after training
- Establish Clear KPIs that can be measured within the first two weeks
- Track Correlation between hiring assessments and rapid performance results
The Intensity Factor
Emil acknowledges that many new hires left during probation because they found the atmosphere stressful and intensity too high. This isn’t a bug—it’s a feature. Better to identify mismatches quickly than to carry poor fit employees for months.
The approach works best for organizations that value rapid execution, immediate accountability, and high performance over gradual development and extensive hand-holding.
Results Over Comfort
The two-day rule reflects a fundamental philosophy: new employees should contribute value as quickly as possible, not spend weeks consuming resources while slowly ramping up. This approach respects both the company’s need for productivity and the employee’s desire to make meaningful contributions from day one.
For startups and high-growth companies where every day matters, transforming new hires into producers in 48 hours isn’t just efficient—it’s essential for survival and competitive advantage.
This is Part 2 of our Hiring & Talent Strategy series. Look out for Part 1 here >>
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Emil Jersling, Orbit Mentor and former COO of Groupon Belgium went to Colombia in 2010 to rebuild the local Groupon sales team. He would refine his scalable hiring techniques across 10+ countries in Latin America, Asia, and Europe interviewing thousands of candidates and hiring hundreds of people. Emil shared his learnings with Orbit founders at the Orbit Growth Summit.
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Orbit Growth Summit is where Orbit founders learn growth tactics from top experts in product-led growth, performance marketing, and scalable systems.
Emil Jersling
Orbit Mentor and Business Pitch Mentor NUS
My strengths are operational execution, inclusive leadership, and data driven decision making especially in international expansion where I’ve built companies in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
