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.
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.
💡Internal studies at Google found that making meaningful connections was one of the most important aspects of the new hire onboarding process.
How to Set Up a Connections Buddy Program in Donut
If your team isn't yet enabled for Premium:
- If your team isn't yet enabled for Premium, start your 14-day free trial.
- Follow the Wizard prompts to create your first template.
- Once your template has been created, open it and go to Building Blocks in the upper right hand corner.
- Select Connections Buddy Program 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 and templates right this way!
If your team is already enabled for Premium:
- Log into your account, and select Building Blocks in the left nav.
- Select Connections Buddy Program, and hit the purple Start button. You'll be prompted to select a template.
- 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!
❓Questions? Hit the purple chat button on the right hand side of the screen, and we'll be right with you.