Mía SalazarI remember how a few months ago I joined the company where I am now. When you are about to change company, you can't help being nervous about the unknown, and in these situations, onboarding plays a very important role.
Onboarding is a set of actions that are carried out when a new person joins the team. All these processes aim to get this person on board as quickly as possible, and also in the most comfortable and least traumatic way.
After my onboarding process was simply perfect, I remembered all the times a new person had joined my team and I didn't know how to make them feel like a colleague from day one. After a lot of thought, I decided it would be very useful to write down what made me feel comfortable, from a technical point of view, those first few days.
First day
When it's your first day, you have 7 heart attacks, so a friendly welcome without a lot of stress helps to make a good first impression, and helps to ensure that no one rushes off. Maybe you usually have a more relaxed pace and just that week you have a deadly delivery that is in a hurry, but you have to try not to make the new person feel that anxiety, as they may get the wrong feeling. Be patient, kind, and empathetic people.
Full organization chart.
When you walk in, you feel very lost. You don't know where you are, or who all the people you are introduced to every day are. That is why it is very useful to have a complete organization chart with names, photos, and positions of the people who are part of a company.
This way, when you are introduced to the staff, if you don't remember who was who, you can consult this document and help you feel less bewildered.
Also, if you work remotely and, in general, do not put the camera on during meetings, it is very convenient that at least for the first few days you can see the faces of your colleagues. When you have just joined and are a bit nervous, being able to see other people's expressions and faces helps a lot and makes you feel closer to others.
A lot of documentation, little code
In the first few days, the person must read more than they program. Taking a look at all the documentation can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it gives a sense of reassurance at the same time. If a company has documented its processes and the way it works, the new hire will be able to get to know how he or she will have to deal with the company's routine.
However, just reading about it can become tedious, so it is a good idea to start doing some tasks, even if they are small. This will make the person feel useful, they will get used to the technologies and architecture, and they will feel less lost as they finish looking through all the documents.
Needless to say, documenting is super important in this world and you have to try to get the important things in writing, and also to keep them up to date.
One step at a time
It is good that we give all the documentation to the person, but don't pretend that everything is assumed all at once on the same day. Let them know that they will be able to read it little by little and that they will probably have to look at it again, or twice, or a hundred times until they fully understand how it all works. There's no rush, the important thing is that you end up fitting slowly and well into the team.
Ask questions and improve
If you already have a standardized onboarding process, document it to make sure it is always done in the same way, and make it available to everyone. This will help people know what they are going to encounter during their first few days and how everything is going to work.
Also, when the process is over, ask questions and take notes on what could be done better, optimize it, and document it or complete the necessary documentation.
Feedback, feedback!
The first few days you don't know the culture of the company well, so giving a lot of feedback (both good and bad) at the beginning is very useful.
On the one hand, telling the person the good things helps reduce their uncertainty and helps them deal better with imposter syndrome. We are human beings, and a little bit of love does a lot.
On the other hand, pointing out points for improvement, always in an assertive way, will help the person to understand more quickly how the team works and to conform to the standards that are followed.
Speed down
When someone new comes in, their performance will be low until they adapt to everything but, in addition, the speed of the team will also slow down since they will have to lend a hand to whoever joins the team. Taking this into account, and letting others know that this reduction is going to happen, makes the new hire feel less pressure. Thanks to this, you will think that you can ask questions and use the time of the other people on the team without feeling guilty.
1to1
Do a lot of 1-to-1 meetings at the beginning to monitor how the new addition feels. The first week, the first month... The first days are super important, and seeing how the person feels helps them resolve their discomforts and doubts. Likewise, meet with the other members of the company so that they can express their concerns to you and thus iron out rough spots and adapt the processes to the new incorporation.
Some meetings
If you have area managers on your team, have those people meet with the new hire and give them a little context of how everything works. Maybe you've hired a new front-end programmer, but it will be helpful if that person knows how everything else works and who they can turn to when they have a problem. Along these same lines, it will also make you feel part of the team and will give face and humanity to others by having a one-on-one conversation.
Conclusion
All of us have been new to a company, so we must be patient, empathetic, and, above all, nice. Being nice doesn't cost that much and it does a lot.
