One Technique to Ease Your Onboarding—and Not Make New Team Members Feel Lost

28 Dec 2024 #misc

The first moments show how you’re going to be treated for the rest of the time.

It applies when you go to a restaurant, call a customer service line, or go to a bank. And the same is true when joining a new team as a developer.

The first day I joined my last full-time job was awful.

I was speaking a foreign language for work for the first time. I was working from home for the first time too. My company laptop didn’t arrive that day. I was told to install the software project with long and outdated instructions. I was completely lost.

I got a call from my boss’s boss that day, promising I’d “be in trouble” if I didn’t install that project before the end of the day.

The funny thing is, I didn’t have to work with that project at all in the 5 years I was there.

Instead of making your new team members feel lost, set clear goals for the first day, week, and month.

For the first day, a new team member should:

1. Install the right tools: email, VPN, chat clients, etc
2. Introduce themselves in Slack or company chat
3. Get to know their team lead

For the first week:

1. Have 1-1s with all team members
2. Have the working environment ready
3. Complete a dummy task to understand the project workflow

For the first month:

1. Complete a medium-sized task, with almost no guidance

Make it really easy for new team members to install your project and its dependencies. They should be ready to work by running a single script or pressing a button.

Make it really easy for new team members to follow existing rules and conventions. Don’t rely on outdated documents. Show sample code or work that follows those conventions.

Get your developers “up and running” as quickly as possible. Show them how you’re treating them for the rest of the time.