Stress-free onboarding. Why Buddy and Mentors in IT

We stream People+, which makes the working life of IT specialists at Rosbank more comfortable.

Today we will tell you about one of our projects called “Buddy and Mentors”. We launched this project in April 2023 to help new IT employees adapt more quickly during their probationary period.

And it all started, as usual, with shocking content. In our case, it was the result of staff turnover during the probationary period in IT in 2022, which was 26%, and this is one in four hard-to-hire IT specialists.

An impressive figure that we did not agree to put up with! We were able to establish the process and reduce voluntary turnover in IT during the trial period to 12.6% (data for 2023). Interesting? Then we suggest you read on.

Where it all started

We all know what it's like to start a new job. New tasks, new faces and rules, a new corporate culture – all this can be a little or a lot scary. Our team conducted a survey among newcomers on the topic: guys, what’s wrong? We asked the heads of IT teams with the same question.

The survey results showed that most newcomers lack the participation of mentors during the period of entering the role, that there is so much information that you simply get lost and want to run away as quickly as possible.

In fairness, it is worth noting that we had mentors who tried to fulfill their role well. The problem was that mentors became relevant experts in the field of IT, who, as a rule, were loaded with their work tasks and who, in addition to immersing the newcomer in the role, had to talk about the corporate culture, give advice on all organizational issues, and help find the necessary information .

And then a simple solution came to our minds – to divide the role into two, introduce Mentors and Buddies.

As our guys in IT say: “A mentor is the one who explains why your code doesn’t work, and a Buddy is the one who supports you when it turns out that the code doesn’t work because of you.”

And if in scientific terms, then:

Mentors — help to develop the necessary skills, get comfortable with work responsibilities and immerse yourself in the role. They give valuable advice, prevent you from avoiding common mistakes and make the process of getting started less stressful.

Buddy – these are the very colleagues who will help newcomers adapt to the corporate culture. They will tell you how everything works, talk about the traditions and rules of the company and answer questions such as “what is a personal account?” or “where is the delicious coffee?”

We also took very seriously who could play these roles. The rule sounds like this: experienced employees who have the necessary competencies have completed a mini-interview with HR BP and now share their knowledge with new employees. This means that not everyone can become a Mentor or Buddy, but absolutely everyone can develop their skills, learn and come again.

How it works?

Our adaptation process begins not from the first day of work of a new employee, but two weeks before his departure. We do everything to ensure that the first day of work is not like “404 Not Found”. As soon as we decide on a candidate’s release date, the manager selects a Mentor and Buddy for him on the same day.

Colleagues have 2 weeks before the new hire arrives to prepare a step-by-step adaptation plan, with information about where to go, what to see, who to meet, all contact information, links and other useful content. Next, the Mentor helps to understand the role and tasks, gives step-by-step instructions and accompanies in completing the first work tasks. Buddy helps the new employee feel like part of the team, shows how life works in the company outside of work tasks, and helps build social connections.

Where does it live?

As soon as we began to describe the processes and create the binding of the program, questions arose: where to store all this? Excel, of course, is everything to us, but the exchange of forms and manual labor did not inspire us at all. The most optimal solution was Confluence, which provided all the content of the program, including personal pages with checklists to help participants. Checklists are filled with links to various portals, materials and tools that help you quickly get involved in work and get a feel for the company culture.

We also couldn’t ignore the mailing list for Mentors and Buddies. It is automated and tied to the candidate’s release date. Two weeks before day X, colleagues receive an email notification with all the necessary information, instructions and links to Confluence.

About motivation

We now have more than 300 active Mentors and Buddies. There are even “platinum” ones, who managed to be in one role or another more than 10 times in just 1 year! But not everything turned out so rosy right away; colleagues had to be found and involved.

As part of our program, we have provided non-material motivation: regular stories about the program inside and support from managers, highlighting the honor of these roles. In addition, we offer goodies in the form of exclusive collectible merch that cannot be purchased anywhere, won, or received as part of other initiatives. This limited-edition merch is awarded to Buddy and Mentor for each newbie who successfully completes the probationary period. We don’t stop there, we continue to look for new ways of encouragement and recognition.

Conclusion

The Buddy and Mentors program at Rosbank is not just a formality, but an important part of our corporate culture. It helps new employees adapt faster, feel confident and become full-fledged members of our team. And the reduced percentage of voluntary turnover during the probationary period confirms the effectiveness of the program.

Of course, this is not an ideal yet; we set new goals for ourselves and strive to achieve them. If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer them in the comments☺

Author: People+ stream leader Galina Kuptsova.