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Designing aBuddy ProgramYour simple guide to designing andlaunching a successful “Buddy Program”Powered bywww.zenhr.com
What is the “Buddy Program”?Who is the “Buddy”?The Buddy Program is a great tool that helps youenhance the onboarding process of your new hires.By matching a new employee with a ''buddy'', youwill be able to accelerate the onboarding process ofyour new hires while equipping them with the toolsneeded to deal with any issues that they may faceearly on in their jobs.A “Buddy” is usually an existing employee who has been workingat your company for a while and has a certain degree ofknowledge about your company culture and orientation needs.Characteristics of a Good Buddy: Is an experienced employee who has been at the company for aminimum of 1 year. Is well regarded and accepted by current employees. A Buddy can be from a different department of the newemployee.a basic understanding of the new hire’s role. Has patience, as well as strong communication and interpersonalskills. Has the willingness, the ability and the passion to mentor others. Has the willingness to involve the new employee in socialactivities, such as lunches, coffee breaks and informal outings.Why Introduce a “Buddy Program”?Building relationships is key to fostering a healthy and productive workenvironment, and by introducing the Buddy Program your company andemployees will enjoy multiple benefits: The new employee will be able to add value more quickly, leading toincreased confidence and self-esteem. Improved business performance, profit and staff morale. Orientation doesn’t cover everything. Through the Buddy Program, newhires will be able to learn more about the company’s unwritten rules. It has been proven that having friends at work increases engagementand retention.page 1www.zenhr.com Demonstrates a strong performance in their existing role, and has
What's the difference between aBuddy, Coach and Mentor? A mentoring program aims to help theemployee with their development, on both thepersonal and professional levels. A coaching program aims to increase theemployee’s job-related skills.www.zenhr.com A buddy program is all about providing aone-point of contact to learn all about theoperationally necessary information. In brief, thedevelopment of the individual is not the mainexpected output.Suggested Buddy ProgramImplementation Plan:1Create a Simple - Yet Formal - BuddyProgram DocumentAs a first step you need to create a simple andformal document that outlines what the BuddyProgram is and what the role of the buddy is allabout.2Select your Potential “Buddies”Once you select the potential staff member toassume the buddy role, you need to share thatdocument with him/ her to ensure that theprogram will be as smooth as possible. Yourbuddies need to be fully responsible for theirrole and they should treat it as a job-relatedresponsibility.page 2
Provide a checklist of the topics the buddyshould cover with the new employeeSample “Buddy Program” ChecklistBefore the New Employee Starts: Prepare the workplace of the employees in terms of:desk, phone, employee ID, stationary etc. Learn more about the new employee by reviewing his/her CV.First Few Weeks Introduce the employee to his/ her coworkers as thismight take more than one day to cover everyone. Explain briefly each employee’s role to the newemployee. Show him/ her around the office where the employeewill be working as well any outdoor facilities such asemployees’ parking, ATM, bathrooms, exits, kitchen etc. Include the new hire in group lunches, coffee breaks andinformal outings. Help the new hire with ordering equipment and anyother office supplies. Highlight and explain your company benefits.First 6 MonthsDay 1 Greet the new employee and introduce yourself as his/her “Buddy”. Provide your contact information to the new employee. Conduct an introductory tour around the office so thatthe new employee can meet everyone. For 6 months, each month the Buddy along with the HRmanager will be sitting with the employee to see howthings are going and to hear out the new employee’scomments, ideas, and updates. If the new employee has certain concerns or issues thatneed to be addressed, the Buddy must inform the HRdepartment to look into the matter and take the neededaction if necessary.page 3www.zenhr.com3
Encourage knowledge sharingThe new employee comes with a wealth ofinformation and previous work experiences. As thebuddy explains company methods and style of workat your organization, he or she can make a point toask the new hire how he/ she managed the sameprocesses in their previous positions.5Evaluate and debrief the buddy andthe new employeeAt the end of the buddy relationship, the hiringmanager should ask both the buddy and the newemployee to complete a brief survey aimed atimproving the Buddy Program. To evaluate the buddyrole in the orientation, you can use a variety ofmethods, such as: Interviewing both new employees and buddieswho have gone through the process.Sample Evaluation Questions: How is your job going? Any issues? If yes, what? How has your buddy been helpful (or not)? Do you suggest any changes to the buddy program? Do you need any additional work tools? Is there anything you feel out of the loop about? Do you need anything that you don’t have accessto?Sample “Buddy Program” Satisfaction SurveyMy Buddy met with me regularlyand/or communicated changesnecessary that affected meetingsscheduled.12345My Buddy consistently assistedwith identifying and setting goalsfor my growth.12345Our meetings were relevant,focused, and meaningful.12345My Buddy is conscientious aboutsafeguarding confidentiality.12345My Buddy provides adequatesupport in helping me learn andgrow.12345The buddy program had positiveside effects on me.12345Please enter any comments / suggestions to help us improvethe Buddy Program: Sending a questionnaire to the new employeespage 4www.zenhr.com4
It’s good to talk!About ZenHR:https://www.zenhr.com/en/start trialhttps://www.zenhr.com/en/start trialRequest a Demo on ZenHRhttps://www.zenhr.com/en/start trialFor any additional questions about creatingyour own Buddy Program, feel free to email us:ZenHR is a cloud-based Human ResourcesManagement System (HRMS) that isspecifically designed to serve everyonefrom SME to Enterprise customers in theMENA market.ZenHR is completely localized to the MENAmarket, including all labor laws, expatregulations, and social security & tax laws.sales@zenhr.comwww.zenhr.comCopyright 2019 ZenHR. All rights reserved.
Before the New Employee Starts: Prepare the workplace of the employees in terms of: desk, phone, employee ID, stationary etc. Learn more about the new employee by reviewing his/ her CV. Day 1 Greet the new employee and introduce yourself as his/ her "Buddy". Provide your contact information to the new employee.
