How To Create An Onboarding Buddy Program?

Welcoming team members can be a challenging process but it doesn’t have to be! To bridge the gap and ensure a smooth transition for your new teammate, an onboarding buddy program is the perfect choice.

With an onboarding buddy program, you can match experienced coworkers with your new hires to offer support, share insights, and foster connections that contribute to team dynamics in the long run. This way, you’re not only accelerating the learning curve but also helping build a sense of belonging.

So let’s dive straight into the details of what an onboarding buddy is and does, and how you can start creating your own program!

What Is An Onboarding Buddy?

An onboarding buddy is an employee of an organization who is experienced enough to help your new team members navigate their way around the company in their first few days.

The purpose of such a program is to provide guidance and offer support from a peer who can fast-track the onboarding process by giving the ins and outs of the organization’s way of working firsthand. This way, the new hire can acclimate to the company culture, processes, and workflows more easily, fast-tracking their way into being an engaging employee.

Onboarding Buddy vs Mentor

By this point, you might be wondering, how is an onboarding buddy different from a mentor? Well, the biggest catch is that a mentor is typically somebody who is much more older and experienced person than an employee is likely striving to be like in the future. There is also a sense of a longer partnership in a sense because mentorship is an inherently longer process.

However, an onboarding buddy serves more as a shorter-term guidance that typically is offered by a peer. An onboarding buddy, compared to a mentor, will have a much shorter expiration date simply because of the fact that your onboarding buddy’s services are only required until you get adjusted to your new environment.

Why Assign An Onboarding Buddy?

Assigning an onboarding buddy is a helpful method for a couple of simple yet important reasons. As this buddy will be an already experienced employee who has been through most if not all processes your new hire will go through, they will be able to provide the necessary insights first-hand to your newest colleague.

Additionally, the fact that the onboarding buddy will likely be a peer will help create a sense of camaraderie much easier, it will help fast-track the process of onboarding as a whole. By this logic, not only the onboarding buddy will be taking the pressure off the bureaucratic rigid protocols, but they will also help create a sense of belonging that will inevitably help support employee loyalty and retention.

How To Create An Onboarding Buddy Program

Now that we’ve established why creating an onboarding buddy program is beneficial for your organization, let’s take a look at how you can start cultivating your own.

Using good onboarding software will help streamline your onboarding buddy program and make sure all processes and protocols are managed effectively and efficiently. This way your time will be spent less on worrying about logistics and more on actually onboarding your newest employee.

This is where Teamflect comes in! Teamflect is an all-in-one performance management solution that will allow you to streamline all of your performance management needs. With its strong integration with Microsoft Teams and Outlook, Teamflect allows for an even smoother and more effective onboarding experience, especially if you’re in a remote setting.

Assigning Onboarding Buddies

Once you’ve downloaded Teamflect, on your homepage you will see the tab “My People”. This is where you can see all of your organizational relationships.

If you scroll all the way down in your “My People” section, you’ll also see all the other organizational relationship types that you can add to your team. Teamflect, the customizable software that it is, allows you to change the relationship types inside the tool as you please.

Scheduling Regular Onboarding Check-ins

Once you’ve set your onboarding buddies our work will continue still. The next task at hand will be to keep track of progression to ensure a smooth onboarding process. To do so, we recommend implementing regular check-ins!

By utilizing Teamflect’s meetings module, you’ll be able to set regular 1-on-1s to check up on how things are going and make any adjustments if necessary. All you have to do is to click on the Meetings module, and then click new 1-on-1.

From there you’ll be able to assign the 1-on-1s to whomever you please and adjust other details such as meeting consistency and duration.

Evaluating the Buddy System with an Onboarding Survey

As you’re nearing the end of your onboarding processes, remember to always request feedback so that you can improve for the future. Remember, there is always more room to grow!

The survey module inside Teamflect will give you the opportunity to create your own surveys for any occasion. In this case, simply choose Employee Onboarding Survey from our built-in templates to request feedback.

Otherwise, you may also choose to customize your own survey from our template gallery for even better catered feedback for your personal circumstances to improve even better!

How To Pick Onboarding Buddies

To pick yourself suitable onboarding buddies, we recommend you consider the following criteria and take a look at our employee onboarding checklist!

• Experience & Knowhow: To ensure the most effective process, you need to look for employees who are well-versed in your company’s culture, processes, and workflows.

• Communication Skills: Select members who are approachable and patient and who can explain concepts and procedures well to other people.

• Enthusiasm: Make sure that the onboarding buddies you pick are excited to take on the role and are willing to dedicate the time to onboarding new hires.

• Compatibility: Consider matching new members with buddies who are within the same department and have similar roles and interests to foster a better connection and ensure a smoother process overall.

• Availability: It’s also important to consider how available your employees actually are to take on such a role so that they can give adequate time to your new hires.

Responsibilities of an onboarding buddy

As you’re picking out onboarding buddies considering the previous criteria we just shared, also keep in mind the following responsibilities of a buddy to give you an idea of who might be up for the job.

1. Welcome and Orientation: Introducing the new team member to the rest of the crew and familiarizing them with the workspace and key colleagues.
2. Guidance and Support: Providing practical assistance on company policies, procedures, tools, and relevant resources.
3. Answer Questions: Being available to answer questions and clarify any doubts that may arise.
4. Feedback: Offering constructive feedback and tips to help the new hire adjust easily and excel in their new role.
5. Check-ins: Regularly checking in with them to ensure they feel comfortable and are integrating well into the team.
6. Advocacy: Acting as an advocate for new hires, helping them navigate challenges and facilitating their success within the company.
7. Encouragement: Offering encouragement and reassurance during the initial stages of onboarding, fostering a positive and supportive environment for them to thrive in.

With these responsibilities fulfilled, the onboarding buddy will help create the right space for the new hires to feel welcomed, supported, and equipped for their new roles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an onboarding buddy?

An onboarding buddy is an employee of an organization who is experienced enough to help your new team members navigate their way around the company in their first few days.

What’s the difference between a buddy and a mentor?

An onboarding buddy is a peer who helps new hires acclimate to the company, offering immediate support and guidance. A mentor, typically more experienced, provides long-term career advice and personal development insights. Buddies focus on the initial transition, while mentors support ongoing career growth.

Who can be an onboarding buddy?

An onboarding buddy can be any experienced employee who is familiar with the company’s culture, processes, and workflows and is willing to support and guide new hires.

What is the role of the onboarding buddy?

The role of an onboarding buddy is to help new hires acclimate to the company by providing guidance, answering questions, and offering support during the initial transition period.

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