HR glossary
Onboarding buddy
An onboarding buddy is an experienced employee paired with a new hire to answer everyday questions and help them settle in.
An onboarding buddy is a peer, not a manager, who helps a new hire through their first weeks. They answer the small questions people feel awkward asking a manager: where to find things, how meetings really work, who to ask about expenses.
Pick someone who has been there at least six months, is on a nearby team, and wants to do it. Give them a short checklist and a couple of hours a week for the first month.
What the research says
The most cited study comes from Microsoft. After a six-month pilot with 600 participants in 2018, it launched a formal buddy program in 2019 and tracked how often pairs met1. Of new hires who met their buddy at least once in the first 90 days, 56% said the buddy helped them become productive quickly. Among those who met more than eight times, 97% said they were more productive1.
These are self-reported answers from one company, so treat them as direction rather than proof. The pattern is still useful: the benefit came from meeting often, and a buddy who is named but never seen does little.
Shuffl · HR by the numbers
Buddy meetings in the first 90 days (Microsoft, 2019)
Buddy meetings in the first 90 days (Microsoft, 2019). 97% of new hires who met their buddy more than eight times said they were more productive. Met at least once: 56% Said the buddy made them more productive, 44% Did not say so. Met 2–3 times: 73% Said the buddy made them more productive, 27% Did not say so. Met 4–8 times: 86% Said the buddy made them more productive, 14% Did not say so. Met more than 8 times: 97% Said the buddy made them more productive, 3% Did not say so. Source: SHRM, August 2022.
An example
An 80-person design agency pairs each new designer with someone from a neighboring team who has been there at least a year. The buddy gets a one-page checklist and blocks 30 minutes twice a week for the first month, then once a week until day 60.
In the first week the buddy walks the new hire through how files are named, which client channels are quiet and which are busy, and who approves time off. At day 60 HR asks both people two questions: was it useful, and would you do it again? Buddies who say yes go on the list for the next hire.
How to set up a buddy program
A buddy program needs very little process, but it does need time set aside.
- Pick volunteers, and count the time in their workload.
- Pair people outside the reporting line so the new hire can ask anything.
- Put the first two meetings on the calendar before day one.
- Give buddies a short list of topics: tools, unwritten rules, who does what.
- Ask for feedback from both sides at the end and drop buddies who didn’t show up.
Common questions
- How long does an onboarding buddy relationship last?
- Usually 30 to 90 days, with the most contact in the first two weeks.
- Is an onboarding buddy the same as a mentor?
- Not usually. A buddy is for day-to-day questions and connection. A mentor focuses on long-term career growth.
Sources
Read on . Numbers change as new studies come out, so check the source before you quote it.
- SHRM, Work Buddies Can Help New Employees Transition into Job, Organizational Culture, August 2022. SHRM article by Kathy Gurchiek reporting Microsoft’s buddy program research: a six-month 2018 pilot with 600 participants and the formal program launched in 2019. Figures are self-reported survey answers from Microsoft new hires. Originally published by Klinghoffer, Young and Haspas in Harvard Business Review, June 2019.