An onboarding buddy is an experienced coworker paired with a new hire for the first weeks, to answer everyday questions and show how things really work. A buddy is not the manager and not a trainer. They are the person a new hire can ask what they would feel silly asking anyone else.
| Role | Owns | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding buddy | Everyday questions and belonging | Shows where supplies are, eats lunch with the new hire |
| Manager | Goals, feedback, performance | Sets the 30, 60 and 90 day goals |
| Trainer or lead | Skills and procedures | Signs off on equipment use |
| HR | Paperwork, pay, complaints | Completes Form I-9 Section 2 |
See employee onboarding for the full process and 30-60-90 day plan for the manager’s side.
To record clock-ins, breaks and overtime automatically, see EZTime time and attendance software.
A home improvement store assigns every new hire a buddy. Exit surveys from people who left in the first month say the same thing: my buddy was nice but I never saw them.
HR checks the first two weeks of schedules for the last 20 hires. New hires and their buddies were on the same shift for an average of 3 of 10 shifts.
The store changes one rule: the buddy is scheduled on the same shift for the new hire’s first 6 shifts, and the scheduler sees a warning if they are not. Buddies, who are hourly, get a $1 an hour differential on those shifts, which payroll adds to their regular rate in any overtime week. First-month turnover drops from 9 of 40 hires to 4 of 38 over the next two quarters.
Pick buddies for patience and reliability, and ask them rather than assign them. Give each one a short brief: what the role covers, what it does not, how long it lasts, and two or three things to make sure the new hire knows by the end of the first week, such as how to call out, where to find the schedule and who to ask about pay.
Check in with the buddy as well as the new hire. A 5-minute conversation at the end of the first week often reveals problems, such as confusion about a task, that the new hire would not raise with the manager.
A garden center hires 20 seasonal workers in March and assigns 5 experienced employees as buddies, 4 new hires each, all on the same shifts.
Each buddy gets a one-page checklist and 30 minutes of paid time each week for check-ins. By the end of the season, 17 of the 20 complete it, compared with 12 of 20 the previous year without buddies, and 8 ask to return next spring.
Helps a new hire with everyday questions, introductions and how things really work, during their first weeks.
No. A buddy helps someone settle in during the first weeks. A mentor supports longer-term growth.
Usually the first 30 to 90 days, with the most contact in the first two weeks.
Some employers pay a differential or bonus. Hourly buddies must be paid for all time spent helping, and any differential counts toward overtime.
Usually one to three at a time, so the buddy still has time for their own work and for real conversations.
Handle pay questions, collect identity documents, give performance feedback or deal with complaints. Those belong with the manager or HR.
Digital HR forms and e-signatures let new hires finish forms from their phone, and the documents land in their digital employee file.