Team Lead! Care about your devs! The research has shown that there's a strong correlation between successful onboarding process and employee retention. This deck explains the importance of a well thought and sound onboarding process for new employees. We will address what are the attributes of a good process and how to structure it for front end developers.

1. Sergey Bolshchikov,
Engineering Manager @ FED Guild
Onboarding Process -
Tips & Tricks
sergeyb@wix.com twitter@bolshchikov linkedin/bolshchikov github.com/bolshchikov

2. Hi.
I am Sergey Bolshchikov
Lithuania
Ukraine
Vilnius
Kyiv
Dnipro
Wix Engineering Locations
Israel
Tel-Aviv
Be’er Sheva

3. I work at Wix for 4+ years
3
Why the hell
bother?

4. During my first year at Wix,
I wanted to leave about 5+ times
4
Why the hell
bother?

5. Why?
Because <here is a huge list>
5
Why the hell
bother?

6. I didn’t leave thanks to one person
who gave a f**k cared
6
Why the hell
bother?

7. By the way,
I’m glad that I didn’t leave
7

8. AGENDA
Why the hell bother?
What’s onboarding?
Wait, we are ok, aren’t we?
What’s important?
How are we doing it now?
8

9. AGENDA
9
Why the hell bother?
What’s onboarding?
Wait, we are ok, aren’t we?
What’s important?
How are we doing it now?

10. AGENDA
10
Why the hell bother?
What’s onboarding?
Wait, we are ok, aren’t we?
What’s important?
How are we doing it now?

11. AGENDA
11
Why the hell bother?
What’s onboarding?
Wait, we are ok, aren’t we?
What’s important?
How are we doing it now?

12. AGENDA
12
Why the hell bother?
What’s onboarding?
Wait, we are ok, aren’t we?
What’s important?
How are we doing it now?

13. Why the hell
bother?
00

14. Why the hell
bother?
A lot of research why
14

15. Why the hell
bother?
onboarding is important
15

16. 56 days to hire 1 developer
16
Why the hell
bother?
Source

17. 17
~⅓ of new hires leave
in first 6 months
Source

18. It’s all about the
experience of
this person
18
Why the hell
bother?

19. If we don’t get it right,
this person will
leave you
19
Why the hell
bother?

20. It’s important to view onboarding
as a continuation of the recruitment process
20
Why the hell
bother?
Source

21. What’s
onboarding?
01

22. Onboarding is...
the process of integrating a new
employee into the organization
and its culture.
22
What’s
onboarding?
Source

23. Onboarding is...
the mechanism of acquiring
1) the necessary knowledge,
2) skills, and
3) behaviors
23
What’s
onboarding?
Source

24. The goal is...
to become effective organizational
members and insiders.
24
What’s
onboarding?
Source

25. Start
day
Finished
learning the
stack
Onboarding Timeline
What’s
onboarding?
End of
onboarding
t
25

26. Start
day
Finished
learning the
stack
Onboarding Timeline
What’s
onboarding?
End of
onboarding
t
1-2 weeks
26

27. Start
day
Finished
learning the
stack
Onboarding Timeline
What’s
onboarding?
This is not
the end
tSign the
contract
pre-boarding
This is the
end
learning the organizationlearning the stack
Can cope
inside the org
alone
27

28. Wait, we are ok,
aren’t we?
02

29. Make your own investigation.
Don’t rely on inner feelings.
29
Why the hell
bother?

30. X
mentors
Y
mentees
30
Wait, we are ok,
aren’t we?
30

31. Ask them the same questions with
Yes/No answers
31
Why the hell
bother?

32. How are we
doing it now?
32

33. Satisfaction
Rate
33
Why the hell
bother?
100%
# of Yes answers
by mentee
# of Yes answers
by mentor

34. Satisfaction rate
~43%-100%
34
Wait, we are ok,
aren’t we?

35. ~43%-100%
is
freaking lottery
35
Wait, we are ok,
aren’t we?

36. What is
important?
03

37. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
37
What’s
important?

38. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Make a call to the new employee before
he/she starts.
38
What’s
important?

39. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Make a call to the new employee before
he/she starts.
Update the team that you are expecting a
new member.
39
What’s
important?

40. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Make a call to the new employee before
he/she starts.
Update the team that you are expecting a
new member.
Decorate the sitting place :)
40
What’s
important?

41. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
41
What’s
important?

42. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
42
What’s
important?
Explain about company products and
values.

43. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
43
What’s
important?
Explain about company products and
values.
Explain about team products and high-level
architecture.

44. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
44
What’s
important?
Explain about company products and
values.
Explain about team products and high-level
architecture.
Explain about the team structure, history
and routines.

45. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
45
What’s
important?
Explain about company products and
values.
Explain about team products and high-level
architecture.
Explain about the team structure, history
and routines.
Show them around the floors, building,
introduce to other teams.

46. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
46
What’s
important?

47. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Explain your expectations from the
onboarding process.
47
What’s
important?

48. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Explain your expectations from the
onboarding process.
Set the clear goals of the onboarding.
48
What’s
important?

49. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Explain your expectations from the
onboarding process.
Set the clear goals of the onboarding.
Provide the means to keep track of the
progress.
49
What’s
important?

50. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
50
What’s
important?

51. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Onboarding is the time and place to learn.
So don’t rush it. The better one learns now,
the easier it will be in the future.
51
What’s
important?

52. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Onboarding is the time and place to learn.
So don’t rush it. The better one learns now,
the easier it will be in the future.
It might take about 3-6 weeks to complete
the onboarding course.
52
What’s
important?

53. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Onboarding is the time and place to learn.
So don’t rush it. The better one learns now,
the easier it will be in the future.
It might take about 3-6 weeks to complete
the onboarding course.
Remember! It doesn’t end there. It takes
about 1 year till the person can be truly
independent.
53
What’s
important?

54. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
54
What’s
important?

55. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
You goal is NOT to give learning material
and leave!
55
What’s
important?

56. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
You goal is NOT to give learning material
and leave!
Identify what a mentee knows and what
not. Adjust the onboarding plan
accordingly.
56
What’s
important?

57. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
You goal is NOT to give learning material
and leave!
Identify what a mentee knows and what
not. Adjust the onboarding plan
accordingly.
Ask questions at the end of each topic. It’s
your job to validate what he/she really
learned.
57
What’s
important?

58. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
58
What’s
important?

59. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Give feedback frequently to give mentee.
59
What’s
important?

60. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Give feedback frequently to give mentee.
They need to know how they are doing and
what’s their progress.
60
What’s
important?

61. It’s important to
Give feedback frequently to give mentee.
They need to know how they are doing and
what’s their progress.
Learn what can be improved.
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
61
What’s
important?

62. It’s important to
▪ Create a feeling of being welcome
▪ Provide context
▪ Set clear goals and expectations
▪ Give time
▪ To be accountable
▪ Give and ask feedback
Give feedback frequently to give mentee.
They need to know how they are doing and
what’s their progress.
Learn what can be improved.
Learn what parts were interesting and
which were frustrating.
62
What’s
important?

63. How are we doing
it now?
04

64. One
template
to rule them all
64
How are we
doing it now?

65. How are we
doing it now?
65

66. How are we
doing it now?
66

67. Refactor your onboarding -
Make your coming devs
happier
67
How are we
doing it now?

68. Onboarding readiness checklist
1. Does it provide a clear context of the environment, e.g. company, department, team.
2. Does it have a clear goals?
3. Do you have a dedicated mentor and they know their responsibilities?
4. Do you have the only essential learning material?
5. Do you have a sound feedback loop?
68
Readiness
checklist

69. Ask questions
sergeyb@wix.com twitter@bolshchikov linkedin/bolshchikov github.com/bolshchikov
69

70. Thank You
sergeyb@wix.com twitter@bolshchikov linkedin/bolshchikov github.com/bolshchikov

71. A: The process is the same. It varies in time and depth.
For the senior it might take less time since he knows basic
concepts, he/she just need to know how we are doing it at Wix.
Students/junior have less knowledge and experience. They can
easily spend weeks on fed-training-kit.
FAQ
Q: How to use it for people
with different professional
levels (seniors/students)?
71