Onboarding

by Yana Stanchenkova 4 mins read

The first few months are crucial to the success of the new hire. The newcomer will either buy in by investing their time and attention or treat the company as a paycheck printer, working hard enough not to get fired.

Buddies help to make onboarding experience engaging, yet well-organized and structured. Work-related information, served in tiny bits in the issue-tracker, facilitates the smooth transition to work culture of a Hygge company.

Teams

The following teams are usually involved in the onboarding process:

  • IAM Team will be creating accounts and making sure the newcomer has access to all needed resources.
  • Hygge Team’s job is to introduce the newcomer to the team’s culture and to make sure the shift is smooth.
  • Organization Ops Team is tasked with administrative duties like writing contracts, running payroll, and resolving any personal issues. It usually consists of selected members of other teams - legal, accounting, executive, etc.

Templates

The onboarding process starts after the contract is signed. An onboarding issue is created to ping all relevant teams and trigger required processes to get the new team member settled in. Below are a few issue and email templates for a mid-size org, feel free to add/remove tasks based on the size of your team and your needs.

Onboarding issue

Link to the Candidate Processing issue:
Resume/Linkedin:
Personal accounts
  - Email:
  - GitHub:
Onboarding buddy:
Groups to add the person to:

Contract status
- [ ] offer made
- [ ] offer accepted
- [ ] contract sent
- [ ] contract signed

Hiring manager or Hygge Team:

- [ ] create an issue in Personnel Tracker
- [ ] inform assigned buddy and send link to [Buddy Guidelines](https://hygge.work/growing/buddy-guidelines/)
- [ ] move hiring artifacts the future employee might have access to the archive (candidate processing issue, resume, interview feedback, etc.)
- [ ] send a welcome email - this is your official handoff of a successful candidate to other teams

Admin or IAM Team:
- [ ] create a Google Workspace account within the right OU and add it to relevant groups
- [ ] create Personal GitHub Repository
- [ ] add the onboarding buddy and Organization Ops Team to the Personal GitHub Repository
- [ ] invite personal GitHub account (if known) or send an invite to the newly created Google Workspace account to join relevant GitHub groups and the Personal GitHub Repository
- [ ] assign the onboarding buddy to the Onboarding Issue
- [ ] insert the name of the onboarding buddy to the Welcome Kit Issue and add relevant people in the `Meet your team` section
- [ ] email personal address with credentials to the newly created Google Workspace account

Welcome Email

Hello, !

Congratulations on becoming a part of the team!

What is next?

  1. Shortly, you will receive new credentials to your Google Workspace email address. Hooray 🎉 We use the Google suite of products to handle all our operations. Your Workspace account is the key to various platforms you’ll need access to. Make sure you set up 2-step verification, or you will be locked out in 2 weeks.
  2. Your onboarding journey will cover the main practices that we use at work. Take the initiative and remember that you will always have your onboarding buddy (CC’s in this email) to support you.
  3. Watch out for any email notifications from GitHub in the coming weeks - they should lead you to all relevant projects and training resources.

Feel free to reach out to us for any assistance you may need with the onboarding process.

Credentials Email

Hello ,

Below are the credentials to your new Google Workspace account. Simply use GMail to log in. This account will give you access to our weekly calls, team drives, calendars, chat channels, and many other internal resources. Don’t forget to sign up for 2-step verification, so you don’t get locked out in 2 weeks.

Username

Password

Ping me if you need anything!

First Milestone review

The onboarding process doesn’t stop when the newcomer is set up. As they start working and learning more about the team, products, and organization as a whole, their skills might turn out to be useful somewhere else in the company. This is why it is important for the onboarding buddy to find a balance between letting newcomers wander around to see the bigger picture and laser focusing them on completing the initial milestone. At the end of the milestone, Hygge Team sends a milestone/3-month survey form to the newcomer’s key colleagues to get feedback and share it with the Hiring Manager. This feedback serves as a breeding ground to build a roadmap of personal and professional development.