hr bartender

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Hiring and retaining qualified employees is tough work. To do it well, it takes time and resources. The last thing that organizations want is to spend time and resources finding a great employee only to have them quit days, weeks, or even a few months later. 

It reminds me of a survey I read from Korn Ferry a few years ago. 98% of executives surveyed said that onboarding programs were a key factor in employee retention. A great addition to the company’s onboarding process is a new hire buddy program. 

I recently shared with you a series of articles about buddy programs. Today I wanted to bring all the articles together in one place for easy reference. I hope you’ll find it helpful and share it with your organization.

What’s a New Hire Buddy Program and 4 Reasons You Should Have One

We know that onboarding programs help new hires learn about their new role and get set-up for success. New hire buddy programs can help with conveying information and building relationships. And that’s not to say the organization (and the buddy) don’t reap any benefits from a buddy program. Like mentoring programs, not only does the mentee learn but the mentor does too. The new hire benefits from the program and so does the “buddy” – and the organization.

5 Things to Know Before Implementing a Buddy Program

Onboarding programs do two things: 1) welcome the new hire to the company and 2) provide the tools for the new hire to be successful. On some level, giving employees the tools they need to be productive on the job is straight-forward. On the other hand, while it might sound easy, the welcoming part might actually be more challenging. Companies need to decide what welcoming looks like.

3 Activities to Include in a New Hire Buddy Program

The role of a new hire buddy isn’t to replace the responsibilities of HR, training, or the employee’s supervisor. Rather, it’s to help the new hire with 1) acclimating to the work environment and 2) sharing informal information about the organization that’s probably not written down anywhere.

How to Evaluate the Success of Your New Hire Buddy Program

Measuring the results of your onboarding buddy program doesn’t have to be difficult or complex. But it does need to happen. Checking in with the key stakeholders allows organizations to make sure that everyone involved in the program is seeing the results they need. And using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods translates into feedback that all groups will find valuable.

New hire buddy programs can be that extra activity that helps employees feel more connected to the organization and their work. I’m not just talking about the new hire. The person assigned the buddy role can learn and grow from the activity as well. And they can take those learnings to coworkers.

Organizations often have unwritten rules and traditions. I’m not criticizing the practice, just pointing out the reality. New hires need a way to learn about these unwritten practices to acclimate successfully. And let’s face it … a new hire might not want to go to their manager (or HR) to ask. A buddy can help a new employee learn about the unwritten rules. That has a tremendous amount of value. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while grabbing a bubble tea at Kung Fu Tea in Gainesville, FL
The post Bookmark This! New Hire Buddy Programs appeared first on hr bartender.
Go to Source
03/12/2024 – 12:04 /Sharlyn Lauby
Twitter: @hoffeldtcom