Onboarding buddies are crucial to making the onboarding experience for a new GitLab team-member a positive one. New Job Anxiety is a reality for many people, and the adjustment to GitLab might be particularly challenging for new GitLab team-members who may not be used to our all-remote culture. That's why it's important that all new GitLab team-members be assigned a buddy who is ready, willing, and excited to assist with the onboarding process.
Not only are buddies helpful to someone that has just started with GitLab, but also to a team member transitioning to a new role within GitLab. When someone migrates to a new team / department, it is highly recommended that managers assign a Career Mobility buddy in the issue to help support the team members that are busy migrating.
#new_team_members
or relevant team channel. Encourage them to write a little personal note, and if they're comfortable, include a photo or two!#remote
Slack channel to reach out and answer questions.#git-help
Slack channel to reach out and offer a tutorial.#content
Slack channel to reach out and offer support.In an effort to recognize buddies who go above and beyond to support new / transitioning team members and help them feel welcome, we have implemented a Buddy Program. Once every quarter, the People Experience team will evaluate the onboarding / career mobility buddy feedback provided in the Onboarding Survey or Career Mobility Survey filled out by the team members after their first 30 days at GitLab or 14 days after transition to the new role. To qualify, the buddy needs to receive a score of 3 or higher to be entered into a raffle at the end of the quarter.
The People Experience team will randomly select 3 winners giveaway link to order a prize from our swag collection (approx $25 value).
Buddy assignation is the new team member's manager's responsibility as outlined in the onboarding issue as the very first Before Starting at GitLab
manager task. If you have been at GitLab 3+ months and are interested in participating in the Onboarding Buddy Program, please express your interest to your manager.
Ideally an onboarding buddy:
These guidelines have been developed from the feedback we recieve in the Onboarding Survey and feedback from onboarding buddies. It is not always possible to achieve all of these guidelines depending on the team or location.
This is an example template you can use to introduce yourself to a new team member as their onboarding buddy.
Hi {Name}, and welcome to GitLab!
My name's {Buddy name} and I'm your Onboarding Buddy! I wanted to introduce myself and explain what my role will be in terms of your onboarding. We're really excited to have you join us.
{Talk about some of the things you've worked on at GitLab, a bit about your role and what you do for fun! Link to your personal README if you have one.}
This welcome email is one of my first onboarding buddy tasks. It is sent to your personal email address because your GitLab email is meant to be accessible to you starting on your first day only. Also, sometimes a new hire may have questions that they would feel more comfortable asking their onboarding buddy versus their manager or recruiter. Other than this instance and thread, I will not send you any other messages to your personal email address, as we truly believe in a healthy work/life balance at GitLab!
On the morning of your first day, whenever you wish to start (there is no required start time!), you will find a welcome email from GitLab in your personal email inbox. It should have been sent around 6am local time in your country. Please check your spam folder if you don't see it right away. The email will start:
Hi {Name},
Welcome to GitLab! We're so excited that you've joined our team!
To ensure the seamless setup….
Please follow all steps in this email. There is a video that you will be asked to watch to better explain all steps to get started.
Once you have logged in and accessed your GitLab Onboarding "issue" (your onboarding checklist) on your first morning, feel free to email me and we can have our first Zoom call! Join the call with your personal Zoom account, since configuring your GitLab Zoom account is something you'll do on Day 2. I'm in the {Buddy time zone}, so I'll be free any time you are free to chat during your first morning.
During your onboarding I will be your point of contact for any questions you have about onboarding, your role, or where to find information that you might need.
I can also help with any technical issues like setting up the GitLab Development Kit. {Delete this line if new starter is not in Engineering Division}
I'll also point you in the direction of some fun social channels in Slack to help you meet as many people as possible! (My personal favourites are #dog, #dad_jokes and #all-caps.)
In preparation for your first day, here are a few handbook pages that are very useful:
- Guide for starting a remote job
- {Any other applicable links}
Don't hesitate to ask any questions that you might have before your start date. I'm happy to help and thrilled to have you joining us!
Looking forward to meeting you and working together!
That's all there is to it! Thanks for your help welcoming the newest GitLab team-member to the team and getting them on board. If you have questions that are not answered on this page, please reach out to People Ops!
Onboarding Buddy Raffle Names
spreadsheet in Google Drive for the respective quarter and add the relevant onboarding buddy names.Gift & Flower Vendors
- Printfection Onboarding Buddy Prize Link