Onboarding Technical Talent

Everyone’s been there at some point or another: You’re new on the job, sitting in a meeting with a bunch of people you sort of know, and they’re talking about a project you’re kind of familiar with. But as they dig into the latest project’s details, they might as well be speaking Ancient Egyptian. 

While the interview process can feel like the biggest hurdle to bringing a new member of the team into the fold, getting a new hire up to speed often takes months, and — if mishandled — can leave your newest team member feeling like a perpetual outsider. This is even more important for remote team members who don’t have the advantage of being able to connect with people in person in low-friction, unplanned ways.

In the first two sections of The Ultimate Guide to Building Technical Teams, we covered fostering a developer-centric team culture and creating a more effective approach to hiring developers. Now, it’s time to tackle your developer onboarding process!

On average, it takes about six months for new hires to become productive members of the team. But that doesn’t mean you can’t beat the curve.

There are three key components to a successful technical onboarding: rolling up your sleeves and getting into the code, building connections with the team, and learning to navigate the various tools, people, and processes that are unique to your organization.

Equipping the newest member of your team with a game plan to help them onboard effectively will help ensure that their first few days, weeks, and months are successful. They might still feel like they’re reading hieroglyphics, but at least they’ll have the tools needed to decode them.

Why it’s important

Developers want to build things. The first few days and weeks can be a lot of training sessions, paperwork, and getting-up-to-speed work that doesn’t feel productive. 

Giving them the opportunity to get their hands on the code and start contributing is one of the best ways to make them feel welcome out of the gate.

Why it’s important

Your candidate met a handful of people during their interviews. Now it’s time to really make them feel like part of the group — not just a guest. 

Create space for them to get to know their new team both 1-on-1s and in larger team settings, especially in less structured forums than existing meetings. If you don’t already have regular team lunches, happy hours, or game nights, now might be a great time to start a new tradition!

“Communities of practice play a huge role in assimilating new engineers. Connecting new hires to relevant communities of practice helps to quickly create a sense of belonging and share knowledge.”

Gartner, Inc., “How to Create a Frictionless Onboarding Experience for Software Engineers,” Manjunath Bhat & Thomas Murphy, 17 February 2021

Why it’s important

Visibility into processes, workflows, and historical information makes all the difference between feeling like the “new kid” and an old pro. After all, most folks don’t want to spend their time endlessly searching for information or guessing on the right way to get things done.

Make sure that new members of the team have everything they need to work productively starting on day one.

No matter what role your new hire is onboarding for, there are a lot of moving parts involved in bringing a new person onto your team. Luckily, a clearly documented, well-defined onboarding process can make that transition a little less overwhelming for everyone. 
Every organization’s onboarding processes will be a little different, but there’s a common pathway for success for most technical teams. Check out our Technical Onboarding Playbook — based on the one we use here at Mattermost to onboard new members of the Engineering team — to learn what the first four months can look like for a new developer.

Week 1: Focus on environment setup and introductions

Week 2: Focus on digesting information dump

Weeks 3–4: Focus on solidifying role in the team

Weeks 5–8 (Month 2): Work on your first project as dev owner

Weeks 9–11 (Month 3): Work on more and/or larger projects as dev owner

Week 12: Informal performance evaluation

Weeks 13–16 (Month 4): Act on your performance evaluation and focus on broader engagement

Your newest team member wants to start making meaningful contributions right away, and it’s your job to give them everything they need to hit the ground running. The right tools and onboarding processes are essential to getting people up to speed and working quickly, which helps set the stage for a happier, more productive team in the long run.