New Hire Curriculum

Tekton Growth New Hire Training Curriculum

This curriculum takes a new SEO team member from day one to fully independent inside 30 days. It has three role tracks, a shared foundation, and a structured ramp with evaluation gates.

Last updated: 2026-04-22

The three tracks

Role	Ramp length	Supervisor	First solo client
SEO Specialist	4 weeks	Owner / senior specialist	Week 5
GBP Specialist (VA)	2 weeks	GBP lead	Week 3
Client Success Manager (CSM)	2 weeks	Owner	Week 3, shadowed

Everyone starts with the shared foundation (week 1) regardless of role. After that the tracks diverge.

Shared foundation (week 1, all roles)

Goal: the new hire can explain what Tekton does, why it works, and where to find answers.

Day 1: Orientation and accounts

Activities

• Access setup: Tekton email, TaskTracker, clients.json, Claude Code, Google Drive, GHL, Loom, Fathom
• Read sops/00-client-lifecycle-playbook.md to see how an engagement flows end to end
• Read references/decision-playbook.md sections 1 through 4 (GBP basics and landing page)
• 30 minute overview call with the owner: who we serve, how we price, what retention looks like

Deliverable: fill in a short “what I learned today” note in the Tekton onboarding doc. 5 bullets, nothing formal.

Day 2: The three phases

Activities

• Read sops/training/seo-foundation.md (the foundational concepts)
• Read references/decision-playbook.md sections 7 through 11 (content strategy, Core 30, topical, geographic, rank map reading)
• Watch the source course modules 1 and 2 (Getting Started, SEO Foundation) on their own account. This is optional reinforcement, not the primary learning path.
• Meet with a senior specialist for 30 minutes. Ask: why topical before geographic, what the third payment gate is, when we pick entry vs standard scope.

Deliverable: explain the three phases in their own words, in writing, in the onboarding doc. One paragraph per phase. Supervisor reads and approves before day 3.

Day 3: The skill stack

Activities

• Read sops/training/ai-tool-setup.md so Claude Code is set up correctly on their machine
• Walk through each Tekton slash command with the supervisor. For each skill, supervisor runs it live against a safe demo client while the new hire watches the output
• Skills to cover in order:
  1. /local-seo gbp — GBP audit
  2. /local-seo-landing-page-audit — landing page
  3. /seo-gap-analysis — Core 30 gap
  4. /local-seo heatmap — rank map
  5. /seo-monthly — phase diagnosis
  6. /seo-geo-strategy — geo planning
  7. /seo-write-page — page production
  8. /seo-report — client reporting
• Bookmark the decision playbook. Emphasize: when you hit a weird situation, search the playbook BEFORE asking a teammate.

Deliverable: the new hire runs /local-seo gbp and /seo-gap-analysis against a real Tekton client assigned by the supervisor. Output is not client-facing yet. Supervisor reviews quality and flags anything that needs a redo.

Day 4: TaskTracker and the engagement rhythm

Activities

• Read sops/training/ai-prompt-library.md (the standard prompts we use)
• Tour of TaskTracker with the owner: where tasks come from, how phases map to weeks, how role assignments work
• Walk a live client’s current task list together. Pick one that is mid-engagement. Trace where each open task came from and what skill generated it.
• Read references/decision-playbook.md sections 14 and 15 (retention, third payment gate)

Deliverable: in TaskTracker, the new hire claims three shadow tasks on a live client (not assigned to them yet, just observing). They write a one-paragraph “what I would do next” for each and share with the supervisor.

Day 5: First solo exercise and weekend reading

Activities

• Assigned a practice client from the clients.json roster. Usually a Tekton client who is ~3 months into engagement with established baseline data.
• New hire runs the full monthly audit pipeline on this client (guided):

  /seo-crawl <client>
  /seo-data <client>
  /seo-gap-analysis <client>
  /local-seo heatmap <client>
  /seo-monthly <client>

• Output goes into a sandbox folder, not the client’s real Drive folder
• Weekend reading: source course modules 3 and 4 (Setting Up Your AI, Local SEO Foundations)

Deliverable: supervisor reviews the sandbox output on Monday morning. Criteria: did the new hire diagnose the correct phase, did they identify the right missing pages, did they catch the obvious gaps.

Week 1 evaluation gate

Before starting the role-specific track, the new hire must pass a 15-minute check-in with the owner:

• Can they explain Tekton’s engagement flow in one minute?
• Can they name and explain the four phases (0, 1, 2, 3, 4)?
• Can they run /local-seo gbp and interpret the output?
• Do they know where to find the decision playbook?

If any of these are shaky, add another day of foundation work before the track begins.

Track 1: SEO Specialist (weeks 2 to 4)

Goal: by end of week 4, the specialist can run the full monthly pipeline on any client, write a service page that passes quality review, and interpret a rank map to pick the next month’s content.

Week 2: Content and Core 30

Monday-Tuesday

• Read sops/seo-specialist/content-strategy.md and sops/seo-specialist/monthly-pipeline.md
• Study references/decision-playbook.md sections 7, 8, 9 in depth (Content Strategy, Core 30 Buildout, Topical Relevance)
• Practice: run /seo-gap-analysis on three different client types (contractor, lawyer, healthcare). Compare outputs.

Wednesday

• Write their first full service page using /seo-write-page. Assigned a real missing page from a live client’s build queue.
• Supervisor reviews against the quality checklist in sops/seo-specialist/README.md

Thursday-Friday

• Topical content: read references/decision-playbook.md section 9
• Run /local-seo-topical-content on an established client. Produce a PAA-rewritten FAQ section and a 1,500-word supporting article outline.
• Write the supporting article (draft only, no publish)

Evaluation gate (Friday): supervisor reviews the service page and the topical draft. Gate: both pieces pass with no more than one round of revision.

Week 3: Rank maps and geographic strategy

Monday-Tuesday

• Read sops/seo-specialist/rank-tracking.md
• Read references/decision-playbook.md sections 10 and 11 (Geographic, Rank Map Interpretation)
• Practice: pull three live client heatmaps from the Drive. For each, classify Pocket vs Wide, identify the weakest Priority 1 cluster, and propose the next page to build.

Wednesday-Thursday

• Run /local-seo heatmap and /seo-geo-strategy on an assigned client
• Produce a 3-month geo rollout for them (not pushed, review only)
• Study references/decision-playbook.md section 12 (Schema & Technical)
• Practice: run /local-seo-schema and read the JSON-LD output. Identify what schema type each client needs.

Friday

• Multi-location intro: read references/decision-playbook.md section 13
• Pair with the owner on a multi-location client’s strategy call (shadow, listen only)

Evaluation gate (Friday): new hire presents the geo rollout to the supervisor and defends every page choice against the rank map.

Week 4: Full monthly and off-site

Monday

• Off-site SEO: read sops/seo-specialist/offsite-seo.md and playbook section on links
• Run /seo-links on an assigned client
• Read sops/seo-specialist/ai-chatgpt-optimization.md and playbook section 19

Tuesday-Wednesday

• Full monthly pipeline solo on an assigned client. Supervisor reviews after.
• Includes: crawl, data review, gap analysis, heatmap, geo strategy, monthly report, task push to TaskTracker

Thursday

• Client reporting: read sops/csm/monthly-reporting.md
• Generate a client-facing PDF report using /seo-report for the client they worked on Tuesday-Wednesday
• Review with supervisor for tone and accuracy

Friday: graduation

• 45 minute review with owner + supervisor
• Criteria: can the new hire run a monthly pipeline end to end without help, pick phase-appropriate tasks, and present a rank map comparison to a client?
• If yes, they get assigned their first solo client starting week 5
• If not, extend by one week focused on whatever gate they failed

Track 2: GBP Specialist / VA (weeks 2 to 3)

Goal: by end of week 3, the GBP specialist can audit and optimize any GBP, handle the services upload procedure, respond to reviews in Tekton voice, and manage the weekly post and photo cadence for a portfolio of 15+ clients.

Week 2

Monday

• Read sops/gbp-specialist/README.md and sops/gbp-specialist/gbp-management.md
• Read references/decision-playbook.md sections 1 through 5 (GBP audit, categories, services, posts, photos, landing page, verification)
• Study the “Master GBP Categories and Services.xlsx” file. Understand how categories map to industries.

Tuesday

• Shadow a current GBP audit: sit with the GBP lead while they run /local-seo gbp on a new client
• Watch the services upload procedure live on a client’s dashboard
• Read sops/gbp-specialist/ghl-sub-account-setup.md and sops/gbp-specialist/analytics-setup.md

Wednesday

• Review response: read sops/gbp-specialist/review-response.md and sops/gbp-specialist/review-response-clawton-workflow.md
• Practice: draft 5 review responses for a client. Include a keyword naturally in each. Submit to supervisor.

Thursday

• Post scheduling: read sops/gbp-specialist/posting-calendar.md
• Draft one week of posts for an assigned client. Include image brief, caption, CTA, and tag.
• Practice the services upload procedure on a sandbox GBP (ask owner for a test profile) or shadow a live one

Friday

• Citation cleanup: read sops/gbp-specialist/citation-building.md
• Run /local-seo citations on a client and work through the first 5 inconsistencies
• Evaluation: supervisor reviews all drafts from the week. Gate: review responses pass voice check, post drafts are scheduled correctly, citation work is accurate.

Week 3

Monday-Tuesday

• Run a full GBP audit solo on an assigned client using /local-seo gbp
• Present findings to the GBP lead with ADD/REWORD/REMOVE recommendations
• Execute approved changes through Leadsnap (once connected)

Wednesday-Thursday

• Take over the weekly cadence for 3 existing clients (under supervision):
  • Post drip (1 per week per client)
  • Photo drip (1 to 2 per week per client)
  • Review monitoring and response
• Daily check for reverted services on clients currently in the 14-day upload window

Friday: graduation

• Review with owner + GBP lead
• Criteria: GBP audit is clean, weekly cadence is managed without reminders, service uploads handled correctly
• If yes, assigned 5 live client GBPs to manage. Portfolio expands to full load over next 4 weeks.

Track 3: Client Success Manager (weeks 2 to 3)

Goal: by end of week 3, the CSM can run a client onboarding call, send monthly reports, handle the third payment gate conversation, and spot retention risk before it surfaces.

Week 2

Monday

• Read sops/csm/README.md, sops/csm/onboarding.md, and sops/csm/monthly-reporting.md
• Read references/decision-playbook.md sections 14, 15, 16, 17 (retention, third payment, pricing, objection handling)
• Shadow a live onboarding call with the owner (listen only)

Tuesday

• Read sops/csm/client-deliverables-reporting.md and sops/csm/monthly-roi-verification.md
• Review 3 months of monthly reports across 3 different clients. Identify what makes a good report vs a filler one.
• Read sops/csm/grant-client-ga4-access.md and sops/csm/email-alias-setup.md

Wednesday

• Role play an onboarding call with the owner playing the client. Two rounds, different industries. Owner gives feedback.
• Read sops/csm/offboarding.md (so they know what the off-ramp looks like)

Thursday

• Run /seo-report on an assigned client and send the branded PDF
• Draft the email that accompanies the report. Tekton voice, no em dashes, no overclaims.
• Schedule an internal dry-run of a month 2 client check-in. Owner plays the client.

Friday

• Retention conversation practice: the Day 55 script when results are weak. Role play with the owner three times.
• Evaluation: owner confirms CSM is ready to shadow live calls.

Week 3

Monday-Wednesday

• Shadow two live client calls per day (onboarding, mid-engagement check-in, or third-payment gate)
• After each call, debrief: what would the new CSM have done differently, what did they catch, what did they miss

Thursday

• First solo call: a monthly check-in with a low-risk long-term client. Owner on the line as silent backup.
• Send the follow-up recap email within 24 hours

Friday: graduation

• Review with owner
• Criteria: the new CSM can run an onboarding call, a check-in, and the third-payment conversation without the owner on the line
• If yes, assigned 3 clients to own. Portfolio expands over next 4 weeks.

Ongoing development (month 2 and beyond)

Once through the ramp, everyone continues learning. These are monthly anchors, not a linear path.

• First Friday of each month: 60-minute team training on a topic picked from the decision playbook. Rotate who leads.
• Every new client adds a handful of edge cases. The team member who handled it adds an entry to the decision playbook before closing the month.
• Each team member audits their own work quarterly using the gates in sops/seo-specialist/seo-specialist-priority-guide.md or the equivalent guide for their role.
• Source course reference: the Skool course stays available as deeper training. No one is required to watch every video but it is the best place to go when a concept in the playbook needs more background.

Practice exercises (library)

The supervisor pulls from this list when a new hire needs extra reps on a specific skill.

Skill	Exercise
GBP audit	Audit the GBP of three competitors for an assigned client. Compare to the client’s GBP. Identify 5 specific differences.
Landing page	Find a landing page on a client’s site that ranks but looks wrong. Identify why it ranks and what would make it convert better.
Gap analysis	Take a client mid-engagement. List every GBP service. Mark each as matched / missing / overlap / skip. Explain the reasoning for each skip.
Rank map	Given three heatmaps from three different clients, classify each as Pocket or Wide and pick the next page to build for each.
Geo strategy	Take a Pocket-pattern heatmap. Identify the weakest cluster. Name the neighborhood, the landmark, and the service. Write the H1 for the page.
Review response	Draft responses to 5 real reviews pulled from client GBPs. Include keywords naturally. No copy-paste templates.
Services upload	Walk through the 14-day upload procedure in writing. Include what to do on day 1, what to do on day 7, and what to do if a service is still reverting on day 14.
Third payment	Role play the Day 55 conversation. Results are weak. Client is irritable. Talk them through the next 60 days without overclaiming.
Proposal	Given a prospect brief (industry, city, avg ticket), run the ROI math and pick the right tier. Defend the tier choice in 3 sentences.
Multi-location	Given a 4-location client, sketch the content production schedule for month 1 and month 2 across all locations.

Evaluation rubric

Every ramp gate uses the same four categories:

1. Accuracy: did they get the phase, recommendation, or decision right
2. Voice: does their written output match Tekton voice rules (12-month framing, no overclaims, contractor vocabulary)
3. Speed: can they execute without excessive handholding
4. Self-correction: when they hit something new, do they check the decision playbook before asking

A new hire can ramp fast on accuracy and speed and still fail on voice. Voice takes the longest to learn. If the gate is failing on voice, extend by one day of review editing, not a week of content production.

Supervisor checklist for each hire

• Foundation gate passed (end of week 1)
• Track week 1 gate passed
• Track week 2 gate passed
• Final graduation gate passed
• First solo client assigned
• First independent month complete with no gate failures
• Added one entry to the decision playbook
• Leading one team training session within 90 days of start

Files this curriculum references

• sops/00-client-lifecycle-playbook.md — engagement flow overview
• sops/training/seo-foundation.md — foundational concepts
• sops/training/ai-tool-setup.md — Claude Code setup
• sops/training/ai-prompt-library.md — standard prompts
• sops/seo-specialist/ — full role SOPs
• sops/gbp-specialist/ — full role SOPs
• sops/csm/ — full role SOPs
• references/decision-playbook.md — the situation-driven reference
• clients.json — client roster
• The source course at skool.com/ai-seo-mastery-pro — optional deeper reinforcement

When a training document contradicts the decision playbook, the playbook wins. The playbook is updated as we learn new things. The SOPs are updated less often. If you find a contradiction, flag it to the owner and update the playbook first.