We've all had that experience of being overwhelmed on Day 1, and wishing we could fast-track to knowing everyone and everything. One of the best things you can do for new hires is to ensure they're meeting everyone they need to know — but it's really hard to think about and make those introductions for everyone coming in the door.
📋 From finding volunteers to collecting feedback, here are the building blocks of great buddy systems.
Enter a connections buddy, a special kind of buddy assigned just to assess who the new person needs to know, and to make those relevant introductions during their onboarding period. A connections buddy isn't a new hire buddy for onboarding or a lunch pal — their sole responsibility is giving the new hire opportunities to build their network internally.
💡 Wondering how other teams run their buddy programs?
Culture Amp, Cockroach Labs, and Cloudbeds share their tips here.
A large-scale study of new employee network dynamics at Microsoft found that new hires often face networking gaps. They start with smaller networks and fewer cross-team or leadership ties, and those gaps can persist over time. Intentional programs that connect new hires to the right people help close these gaps and speed up belonging and productivity.
How to Set Up a Connections Buddy Program in Donut
If your team isn't yet on our Standard or Premium plan:
If your team hasn't selected one of our plans to trial yet, you can learn how to start your subscription here. To learn the difference between our Standard and Premium plans, click here.
Once enabled, visit the Donut Journeys page to begin setting up your new Journey.
Once your Journey has been created, you'll see the Building Blocks button in the upper right-hand corner.
Select Buddy Intro & Reminders to preview the content, and then add it to your template.
Review the messages in your template, and make any customizations you'd like.
If you have any questions, we have more info on Onboarding right this way!
If your team is already enabled for our Standard or Premium plan:
Log into your account, and access our Building Blocks page here.
Select the Connections Buddy Program block, and hit the purple Start button. You'll be prompted to select a template or create a new Journey.
Review the messages in your template, and make any customizations you'd like.
Either Way:
Be sure to customize your settings for how the connections buddy is chosen. You can assign the connections buddy yourself, you can prompt a manager or another point person to select the connections buddy via direct message in Slack, or you can choose a buddy randomly from a dedicated Slack channel.
Don't forget to add new hires via the New Hires tab so that your buddy system can start working its magic!
If you're a buddy who wants to know more about how the buddy program works, click here.
❓Questions? Hit the purple Donut button on the right-hand side of the screen, and we'll be right with you.