The buddy system in startups - why it matters and how to get it right
Let’s face it. When you’re hiring a new employee, your work doesn't end when they accept the offer and sign on the dotted line. You'll need to put the effort in to ensure that they have a wholly positive experience from their first day and having an effective onboarding process can be one of the best ways of doing just that.
If you really want them to get to grips with understanding the company's mission, values and culture, assigning them a work buddy as part of their onboarding is a must.
Why the buddy system matters
Strengthens your onboarding process
Many mistakes are made when onboarding new employees. It’s important to remember that the focus of onboarding your new team member shouldn’t simply be about helping them with the duties and responsibilities of their specific role or learning about company policies. A buddy can do so much more.They can help with everything from explaining more about the startup’s mission and long term goals through to helping your new hire learn and understand the ins and outs of the company culture.
They’ll also actually improve the company culture by providing a warm and supportive environment. After all, a buddy can answer all sorts of questions and provide first-hand experience that is a lot more valuable than an employee handbook!
Enhances your new hire’s experience
Providing your new hire with someone who can provide support and guidance, particularly during those first few weeks, can make all the difference in how they settle in. They’ll feel welcomed and will feel reassured that as an employer, you are keen to help them find their feet and have a positive experience from the off.
They’ll also be a lot more comfortable knowing that there is someone there who can answer their questions and who is on hand to help them get up to speed as quickly as possible.
Improves retention
The more you do to provide a welcoming environment for your new team member from day one, the more likely they are to stay. A buddy will help them feel more engaged and will actually boost their confidence too. Whilst it’s only natural for a new employee to feel a tad anxious in those first few days and weeks, having a buddy who can help alleviate that anxiety is key.
Since the support, guidance and insights provided by a buddy will also help complement any other on-the-job training that your new hire receives, they’re more likely to feel content in their new role and less likely to be tempted by pastures new!
Boosts productivity
All new employees, even the most experienced, will need a little time to get fully up to speed with a new role and become productive members of the team. However, a dedicated buddy can help this happen a lot quicker. They can help with many aspects of employee orientation, from answering their questions and showing them how everything works to ensuring that they have all the tools and resources they’ll need to do their job well.
So, now you've decided you're definitely going to implement a buddy system for your new hires, you'll need to ensure that it’s effective!
How to set up a buddy to be a good buddy
Choose the right buddy
Make sure that the buddy you choose for your new hire is friendly, approachable and patient, with a positive attitude and great communication and listening skills. There’s no sense in selecting someone who will get frustrated when asked a question by your new hire or whose social skills are perhaps not their forte.
A buddy should also have a well-rounded knowledge of both the role that your new recruit will be doing as well as the startup as a whole. They should be business savvy, astute and competent in selling the founder’s vision and the startup’s long-term mission and goals. They should also have an innate desire to be a buddy, to welcome and guide a new member of the team and not view the entire process as a nuisance or a chore.
Make their responsibilities clear
Before your new recruit begins, you’ll need to spend some time with the buddy to clarify and outline what their responsibilities will be. You should explain exactly what they will be expected to do as well as what goals and objectives you will be putting in place for your new hire. Remember that the buddy will be there to complement other training and provide additional support to the new hire. They are not there to be a substitute line manager or to take on the role of HR.
It’s important to also give them some guidance on how and when they should give support - whether that means providing additional guidance in those early days or tapering off a little as your new hire finds their feet. The more you clarify what they will be doing in advance, the better as there’ll be less chance of any mixed messages or confusion once your new team member starts. An onboarding buddy checklist that covers everything you expect them to go through would be ideal - from processes and policies to intros to other members of the team.
Ensure they have time
It’s important that the buddy knows what the time commitments are likely to be. Be clear on how much time you expect them to spend with the new hire, bearing in mind that more of their time will be taken up in the early days. Of course, this may also impact who you choose to be the buddy since it will need to be someone who can afford to take the time out to do this, without it having a negative impact on their own role or the business in general.
Be mindful of what will work best for your startup. Remember that the buddy does not need to be a constant companion for your new hire. After all, they are there to help them settle in and become a productive and valuable member of the team and they won’t be able to do that if they are not actually given the space to do so!
It’s not a one-person job!
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the buddy is solely responsible for helping your new team member get settled in. They can provide insights and answer questions and in essence be the first workplace “friend” for your new hire but they shouldn’t do it alone. Remember, they are there to provide additional support and guidance and to supplement other aspects of the onboarding process.
They can help them get used to their new role and new surroundings but the intricacies of the job will still be covered by the line manager. They can make intros to colleagues, facilitate connections and ultimately help the new team member build their own network. Throughout the onboarding they should be keeping the manager in the loop on how things are going too, to ensure that any issues are addressed as they arise and that goals and objectives are on schedule. Having a buddy is an essential and important element of onboarding but if the entire process is to be truly effective, it needs to be a team job!
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Offering personalised, consultative service, at TableCrowd Talent we’re a specialist recruitment agency with our finger on the pulse of the startup and scaleup scene. We are committed to matching graduates, professionals, and C-level executives to exciting startup and scaleup jobs across London, the UK, and Europe.
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