| In addition to training
from the supervisor, the new employee should be paired with another staff
member who is a veteran employee and is interested in being a buddy. A "buddy"
is someone who partners with a new employee during their first three months
of employment. The buddy offers advice and guidance to help foster and promote
the professional development of a new employee. This person should be a
superior performer in his or her own right and have good people skills.
The buddy knows the ropes, so to speak, and can be an effective source of
advice and encouragement. The buddy can offer seasoned experience in the
form of training and socializing the new employee to the work place. The
buddy should have a personal presence that will impress and persuade the
new employee that the staff member is someone the employee can trust. Part
of this role is to allow for a comfortable, more informal environment in
which the employee can ask and receive information about the office culture
and norms and those everyday, mostly unwritten, procedures and policies
that help to explain how things really work. An element of the buddy’s responsibility
is to help establish a sense of belonging for the new employee. With an
effective buddy, a new employee will quickly become a contributing member
to his or her new department. |
| |
| Buddy Selection
Criteria |
- Demonstrates high
performance.
- Is given time to
be accessible to the new employee.
- Is skilled in the
new employee’s job.
- Is proud of the
organization.
- Is a peer of the
new employee.
- Has patience and
good communication and interpersonal skills.
- Wants to be a "buddy."
- Is a positive role
model (well regarded and accepted by current employees).
- Preferably, has
been employed more than one year.
|
| |
| Buddy Responsibilities |
- Be an informational
resource for the new employee on policies, procedures, work rules, norms,
etc.
- Help socialize
the new employee.
- Assist in training
the new employee.
- Be a tour guide.
- Identify resources.
- Provide introductions.
|
| |
| What a New Employee
Expects from his or her Buddy |
- General advice.
- Guidance.
- Encouragement.
- Positive attitude
from the buddy.
- Shared information
is kept confidential.
- Honest feedback.
- Clear information.
- Help in understanding
the culture of an organization and finding out how to get things done.
- Assistance in building
networks and insight into how to make them effective and productive.
- Establishment of
the best form of communication -- e-mail, telephone, in-person.
|
| |
| Tips for Buddies |
- Don’t worry about
being perceived as the "expert." Your experience is important
to the new employee.
- Be patient and
positive. It takes time to develop a relationship. Don’t try to cover
everything right away. Buddies need to allow enough time for growth.
- Don’t try to force
a relationship.
- Look for a preferred
style of communication and/or cultural identification
- Don’t try to turn
the new employee into your clone. That person may have a different style
from yours. Let the new employee develop.
- Listening may be
more important than giving advice.
- Don’t be judgmental.
- Don’t lose heart
because of a new employee’s failures. You cannot always ensure success,
but you can help that person to begin again more intelligently. You
can help them see a failed experience as valuable by honestly identifying
where it went wrong. Buddies can often prevent failure from happening
to a new employee a second time.
- Keep a good attitude
and stay in a teaching spirit.
|
| |
| Buddy Benefits |
- Give something
back to your Department.
- Share accumulated
knowledge and experience.
- Gain a better understanding
of yourself through helping others.
- Maintain or create
a fresh perspective.
|
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