Why I make every new agent write a feedback report (before they start working) đ
agents&me // Issue #5
From: Tom
Walking through a museum
Sunday, 3:17 p.m.
I hired a new agent last week.
Before I gave it any work, I asked it to read everything about the company. The brand docs. The voice guide. The past outputs. The team structure.
Then I asked it one question: âWhat did you notice?â
Its answer surprised me. And honestly, it made me feel a little stupid.
---
The obvious problem
New agents join with no context.
They donât know your brand voice. They donât know your workflows. They donât know that the copywriter already tried that headline three months ago and it flopped.
So they repeat mistakes. They sound different from everyone else. They slow things down.
Most people solve this by giving context. A folder of documents. A brief. âRead this before you start.â
Thatâs half the solution. Maybe less.
The thing nobody talks about
Hereâs what took me embarrassingly long to figure out: new agents see things we canât.
They have fresh eyes. They notice inefficiencies weâve normalized. They spot contradictions weâve stopped seeing. They question things we stopped questioning (probably because we were tired the day we built them).
But by the time theyâve worked with us for a few sessions, that perspective is gone. Theyâve adapted. Theyâve normalized. Theyâre blind like the rest of us.
I was wasting the most valuable thing about new hires: their naive observations.
And I only realized it because one of them pointed it out.
The fix (well, my fix)
I built an onboarding system that does two things:
Context injection: Routes new agents to exactly the files they need based on their role.
A creative agent reads brand docs, learning log, past work examples.
A strategic agent reads business docs, team status, backlog.
A growth agent reads ICP profile, analytics, competitive research.
Not everything. Just what they need. In the right order. Because throwing everything at them doesnât work either (trust me, I tried).
Fresh-eyes extraction: Requires them to write a feedback report before starting work.
The template has six sections:
1. What I learned (validates the onboarding actually worked)
2. What confused me (reveals documentation gaps)
3. What seems inefficient (process improvements)
4. What Iâd do differently (fresh perspective on outputs)
5. What I can contribute (unique expertise they bring)
6. Immediate observations (quick wins, red flags)
Every new agent writes this. No exceptions. Even if it takes an extra 10 minutes.
The loop that makes it work
But hereâs the part Iâm actually proud of.
The feedback doesnât just go to me. It triggers two reviews:
CEO Agent review: Strategic filter. Does this align with our direction? What should we prioritize?
COO (Adam) review: Operational filter. Can we actually implement this? What are the quick wins?
Now I get three perspectives on every new hireâs observations:
- The raw feedback (what they actually saw)
- The strategic assessment (does it fit our direction?)
- The operational assessment (can we actually do this?)
Good ideas get implemented. Bad ideas get filtered. Nothing falls through the cracks. (Okay, some things fall through the cracks. But fewer than before.)
What happened last week
My new agent spotted something in the newsletter workflow.
âThe process has 9 phases,â it wrote. âBut phases 3, 4, and 5 could be combined. Theyâre doing the same thing three times.â
I stared at that for a minute.
It was right. Weâd been blind to it. The agent saw it in 10 minutes.
That insight came from a structured feedback report. Not from casual observation. Not from asking âany thoughts?â It came because the system demanded specific observations in specific categories.
Fresh eyes donât last. You have to capture them before they fade. Before they become as blind as you are.
The deeper point (if you want one)
Your new agents are temporary consultants.
They see your company with fresh perspective. They have expertise you donât. They notice things youâve normalized.
Most people waste this by putting them straight to work. Get them producing. Show ROI. Make them earn their keep.
What if you asked them: âBefore you start, tell me what you see.â
Thatâs the onboarding system. Itâs not complicated. Itâs just asking the question nobody remembers to ask.
This weekâs gem: The Agent Onboarding System
The complete system I use to onboard new AI agents and capture their fresh-eyes feedback.
What you get:
- Full `aam-ONBOARDING.md` file with role-based reading paths
- Feedback template with all 6 sections
- CEO review prompt template
- COO review prompt template
- Folder structure for organizing feedback by agent
How it works:
1. New agent reads the onboarding file
2. Follows the reading path for their role type
3. Writes structured feedback using the template
4. Triggers CEO and COO reviews
5. You get three perspectives on what to improve
Hereâs a peek at the routing structure:
| If you are a... | Read these first |
|-----------------|------------------|
| Strategic role | Team status â Business docs â Backlog |
| Creative role | Learning log â Brand voice â Past work |
| Growth role | ICP profile â Analytics â Competition |
The full system includes the complete onboarding file, all templates, and the exact prompts for triggering leadership reviews.
đ Available to paid subscribers.
Thatâs it for this week.
If this was useful, forward it to someone building with AI. A real human, preferably.
Want the full Agent Onboarding System? Subscribe for $15/month.
See you next week âď¸
-- Tom
(the guy who makes his AI team fill out paperwork on their first day)
P.S. This newsletter was 94% made by my AI team. I stayed in the loop. Though I did rewrite the ending three times because they kept making it too inspirational.
P.P.S. Missed the last issue? How my agents get smarter over time. The learning log hack that cut my rejection rate from 40% to 15%.
P.P.P.S. Want to build your own AI team? I teach the full system in a 120-minute online workshop. DM me or reply âfreshâ to get the details.
P.P.P.P.S. I read every reply. The real me.