Successfully onboarding a developer working remotely

In this unprecedented period that's pushing us to learn how to live "differently," a critical question comes up: how do you bring a new colleague into an ambitious project without ever meeting them in person?

We learn as we go, and we've noticed that some companies have solved this problem long ago. Drawing on those examples, we offer here a non-exhaustive recap of the best practices that will let the most confident among you keep moving forward despite the lockdown and the isolation.

To get to it: you've found your new hire after running your process brilliantly. Now it's time for onboarding. What are the goals — and the ins and outs — of a good onboarding, and how do you adapt it during full-remote lockdown? Unsurprisingly, attention to detail, care, creativity, and personal closeness all turn out to be the watchwords. And it seems every company should pursue three major goals to integrate a new colleague well, while respecting six core principles that maximize the chances a remote onboarding will go as smoothly as possible.

The three goals of onboarding a new team member

Enable a quick adaptation to the company culture and to daily tasks: tools, technologies, organization, workflow, methods, the company DNA, jargon, product vision, projects in the short, medium, and long term, etc.

Quickly clarify the behavioral and professional expectations within the company: ground rules, rituals, specific norms of conduct, etc.

Allow the new hire to feel quickly integrated and at ease (despite the distance) in their role, in their department, and in the company.

The 6 fundamental principles for successfully onboarding a developer fully remotely

Preparation:

Onboarding is one of the phases that shapes the developer's first impression of their company and their job — and "you don't get a second chance to make a first impression." It's essential that the new hire feels "expected," and that you show everything was prepared ahead of their start date. This careful preparation reassures the new "arrival" that they're joining a serious, well-organized team that takes the comfort and well-being of its people seriously, from day one.

Closeness:

The precious time invested at the very beginning of a working relationship pays off in the years that follow. The Tech Lead, or the Engineering Manager, often at the heart of the process, has to dedicate significant time to the new hire: the watchword is personal closeness. Even more so when remote. And the inherent tension in the tech hiring market means you have to take great care of the talented developers you've just managed to attract to the project. The goal, then, is to build trust and strong relationships. It's critical for the CTO or the Lead to multiply interactions and conversations, whether one-on-one or in collective moments like backlog grooming or the stand-up.

Curiosity:

While the new "arrival" obviously needs to acculturate to the company, it's also indispensable to acculturate to the new arrival, and to take an interest in their personality and identity. It's fundamental to be curious and ask all kinds of questions about what makes them happy, their story, their strengths, their ideas, and the moments they've felt best at work. This started during the hiring phase, but it must absolutely continue during the first weeks of working together — so you can adapt, at least in part, to what truly inspires the new hire.

Openness and transparency:

You also have every interest in being transparent about all the challenges the company is facing, even when the new hire's job description seems on its face removed from certain topics. When they have a global view of the company, the members of a broader product team are more engaged and feel better integrated ("we're all in the same boat"). It's important that the developer understands all the functions of the company, that they take part in as many calls as possible, and that end users are at the heart of the conversation as often as possible. That lays the foundations early for a methodology that's "user-centric" and "in love with the problem, not the solution."

It's also important for juniors to be transparent about the difficulties they're facing, so they don't get bogged down stuck alone on a technical problem.

Friendliness:

One of the big drawbacks of full remote is that team members only schedule meetings to talk about work and operations — whereas in person, breaks, meals, gatherings around the coffee machine are all moments of warmth and cohesion. Even with less spontaneity, you have to schedule, and even ritualize, those moments — especially when a new person joins the product team.

The more the new "arrival" enjoys themselves and integrates in a playful way, the more quickly they get a feel for the role, and the more easily they'll memorize the key information. We suggest below a list of online activities based on cooperation and team cohesion. They can smooth the new hire's arrival into their team, and encourage informal exchanges between your different feature teams, who'll have the chance to create fun, playful interactions — and so balance out the "work, work, work" side of full remote.

A culture of writing:

Distance has one huge advantage, especially for startups looking to scale: it forces every team to put what they're doing in writing, so information can be shared asynchronously (more on this in another article). It's therefore indispensable to formalize processes and give as much visibility as possible into the progress of the various features on the roadmap that the teams are working on. This also helps break down silos, share most of the information, and shine a light on the progress of various projects with maximum cross-functionality and transparency.

Conclusion

In short, after analyzing the most advanced and relevant tech players when it comes to fully remote onboarding, it turns out that the best practices everyone seems to agree on are ultimately full of common sense. They do still require a great deal of care, to maximize the chances that the new developer's remote integration goes as smoothly as possible.