Imagine the excitement and anticipation of a new hire joining your Software and Infrastructure Engineering team. They’re eager to contribute their skills and make a difference. However, your onboarding process is a critical part of new hire success.
80% of new hires who receive poor onboarding plan to quit—especially if they’re remote workers.
As a leader, you play a crucial role in shaping a new hire’s journey from day one. A well-executed onboarding and integration process can significantly impact a new hire’s long-term performance, engagement, and retention. In this article, we will discuss several strategies to ensure the success of new hires in the Software and Infrastructure Engineering field and provide actionable tips to help them excel from the moment they join your team.
Technical Onboarding and Knowledge Sharing
- Develop a structured technical onboarding program focusing on the specific tools, languages, and frameworks commonly used in your organization.
- Arrange knowledge-sharing sessions with experienced team members to help new hires quickly ramp up on the technology stack and best practices.
Atlassian is an example of a company that does this step well. They have a comprehensive onboarding program for its engineering hires, which focuses on providing new team members with a deep understanding of the tools, languages, and frameworks they will be working with. Their onboarding process includes a mix of self-paced learning, live training sessions, and hands-on activities to accommodate different learning styles.
Additionally, Atlassian organizes knowledge-sharing sessions, called “brown bag” sessions, where experienced team members present on various technical topics, including the company’s technology stack, best practices, and recent innovations. These sessions not only help new hires quickly ramp up on the technology stack but also foster a culture of continuous learning and collaboration among team members.
Code Reviews and Pair Programming
Encourage new hires to participate in code reviews and pair programming sessions with more experienced engineers. This collaborative approach can help them better understand the company’s coding standards and improve their own coding skills more quickly.
According to Drovio, “Pair programming is an agile technique that comes with many benefits. During a pair programming session, two brains are employed instead of one on the same coding problem. As a social methodology, it forces the most introverts of us, developers, to convey our mind out loud and articulate it on the go. The underlying purposes are many, from sharing technical and domain knowledge with your team to improving overall code quality.
Introducing Agile Methodologies
- Provide training and resources on Agile methodologies, such as Scrum or Kanban, to help new hires understand and adapt to the organization’s project management approach.
- This can facilitate smoother integration into the team’s workflow and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
Agile methodologies help your organization serve the needs of the clients by forming cross-functional teams of technology professionals and delivering state-of-the-art software and data engineering services.
Access to Developer Communities and Resources
Share information about relevant developer communities, online forums, or industry-specific resources to help new hires expand their network and stay updated on the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in the field of Software and Infrastructure Engineering.
An example of a company that does this well is Google. Google supports its new hires by providing them with access to internal resources and platforms, like Google Tech Talks and other internal discussion forums, where they can learn from their colleagues and share their own expertise. The company also sponsors memberships to external developer communities and conferences, such as the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), IEEE Computer Society, and various open source project communities.
Hands-on Training with Real-world Projects
Assign new hires to work on smaller, real-world projects during their onboarding process. This hands-on experience can accelerate their learning and help them gain a deeper understanding of the organization’s development and infrastructure processes.
The onboarding and integration process is a vital component in determining the success and long-term retention of new hires in the Software and Infrastructure Engineering field.
As a leader, your responsibility lies in creating an environment that supports their growth and development from day one. By implementing the strategies discussed in this article, you can set your new hires on a path to success and ensure their seamless integration into your team.
Looking for executive-level new hires to bolster your tech team? Contact us here.
Share
About Spinnaker Group
Spinnaker Search Group is dedicated to cultivating meaningful relationships that grow companies and advance careers. We strive to provide value in every interaction and are driven to be viewed as a trusted recruiting partner by our clients. Our team is fueled by our desire to exceed expectations in all that we do.
