Onboarding buddy responsibilities

The buddy helps the employee navigate the organisation: where information lives, which colleague knows an answer and how the team works together. That includes practical questions that might otherwise interrupt a first meeting or remain unanswered.

Drawing on remote-onboarding research at Microsoft, Microsoft Research describes a buddy as someone who helps a new hire find resources and connect with colleagues. It distinguishes that support from a technical mentor’s specialist help.^[1]

Start with availability. Ask the prospective buddy and their manager whether they can make time for introductions and recurring conversations. A knowledgeable colleague with no space in their calendar cannot provide the support you have promised.

Choose someone who understands the organisation and wants to help. They should be approachable and comfortable finding the right owner when they do not know an answer. Consider interests and ways of working that could make the first conversation easier.

Choose a colleague who is not the new employee’s direct supervisor. Keep that distinction clear in the brief: the manager owns expectations and work decisions, while the buddy helps the person navigate the workplace.

Introduce the buddy by name and explain what they can help with. Give both people a way to contact each other. Ask the buddy to share the practical information the employee needs to arrive or join the first call.

The buddy can explain where the team works, how to find colleagues and what to expect from introductions. A virtual tour may help a remote employee put names and places into context. Coordinate it with the wider preboarding plan.

Keep equipment and account questions with their responsible teams. The buddy can point the employee to an owner and check that someone will reply. They should not be left to resolve preparation work they cannot control.

Make introductions, explain everyday routines and give the employee a place to ask follow-up questions. Invite them to an informal coffee or lunch if that fits the team. Agree how and when they can contact the buddy between meetings.

When the employee is learning a task, the buddy can share what they know and explain where to find further help. Give role-specific learning to the person who can provide the right instruction. Keep the manager involved when a question concerns expectations or priorities.

Use check-ins to close practical gaps. If someone still cannot find the right information, agree whom to ask and when to follow up. That is a more useful record than marking the meeting complete while leaving the question unanswered.

Copy and adapt this brief with the manager and buddy before introducing the pair. Share the agreed contacts with the new employee. Keep confidential concerns in the appropriate private channel.

Schedule the first introduction, then agree a contact pattern the two people can keep. Review it as the employee’s questions change.

Start with a question about the employee’s experience. What information have they struggled to find? Whom do they still need to meet? Which team routine needs another explanation? Give them time to raise their own questions.

Finish with an agreed action where needed. Record the owner and follow-up date in your team’s plan. Keep sensitive concerns out of a shared tracker and help the employee find the appropriate confidential contact.

In a fictional fintech infrastructure company, a new Support colleague asks the buddy which product explanation they should use. The buddy helps locate the current approved material and introduces its owner if an explanation is missing.

If the question requires a product or customer decision, the buddy connects the colleague with the responsible specialist or manager. They do not approve an answer simply because they are the buddy. The fintech infrastructure page explains the broader onboarding and learning context.

Choose an available colleague, complete the brief with their manager and book the first introduction. Give the employee the buddy’s name and a clear description of the support they can expect.

Use our preboarding tips for contact before arrival and the employee onboarding checklist template for the wider plan.