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The Three Stages To Onboarding Software Engineers
Spoiler alert: Don’t let them touch code on Day 1.
Onboarding is one of the foundations that companies and managers need to get right for new software engineers to become productive, loyal, and engaged employees.
We all know this: First impression matters. The first impression for a new software developer starts the moment they join the company, and that impression lasts for a long time, sometimes for the duration of their tenure with the company. Set the bar high by making them feel valued and setting them up for success.
The three stages of onboarding new software engineers
There are three main stages to onboarding software engineers. They are:
Stage I: The Big Picture
Stage II: The Process
Stage III: The Code
As you can see, learning about and writing code is the last stage, which is for excellent reasons. As an engineering manager onboarding a new software engineer, you will need to guide the engineer, so they don’t get tempted to start coding right away. They need to understand the big picture and know about the processes so that they don’t encounter landmines that will slow down their progress later.
Let’s take a look at what to cover at each stage of the onboarding journey.
Stage I: It’s About the Big Picture
The goal of stage 1 is for the engineer to understand three critical pillars — the company, the product, and the role. On the company pillar, they need to know the culture and values, the dynamics, and how things get done.
On the product pillar, it’s recommended that they play around with the product and use the features as a typical customer would. Doing this will build their customer empathy and accelerate their efficiency when they start writing code.
The role pillar ensures they understand what’s expected of the role. This includes how they work with their peers, stakeholders, and colleagues. What they need to deliver in the role is critical to their success.
