Onboarding with a buddy at Le Tote

What is a buddy?

A buddy is someone who partners with a new employee during his/her first month of employment. While primarily responsible for offering advice and guidance regarding the day-to-day aspects of working at Le Tote, the buddy may also offer encouragement and knowledge resources, as they help introduce the new employee to the Le Tote culture.

Why have a buddy?

The purpose of new employees being assigned a buddy is to help welcome employees and reaffirm their decision to join Le Tote. It provides new employees with a reliable, motivated, single point-of-contact for their basic questions regarding their work experience at Le Tote. It also helps establish orientation as a process, rather than a single learning event. Other advantages of having a buddy include:

• Build on the knowledge obtained in the New Employee Orientation and department orientation
• Enable new employees to become knowledgeable about department practices and organizational culture in a shorter period
• Ensure that routine queries regarding basic operational issues are dealt with expeditiously
• Reduce the initial confusion and uncertainty faced by all new employees.
• Increase the new employee’s self-confidence allowing him/her to focus on adding value to the organization and help them getting acclimated to our culture, values and improving their overall experience

Buddy Responsibilities

• Contact and meet with the new employee on Day 1
• Establish rapport with the new employee
• Have lunch with the new employee at least 1 time. WE anticipate a 30 day window to partner with the new hire. Also try and set up a coffee in the 30 day window. if possible.
• Act as an informational resource on policies and procedures
• Help socialize the new employee to Le Tote’s guidelines, norms and culture.
• Answer general/routine questions
• Make introductions
• Follow up with the new employee on a weekly basis- 5–15 minutes upto the 30 day period.

Tips for Buddies

• Don’t worry about being perceived as the expert. Focus your attention on the new employee
• Be patient: It takes time to develop a relationship. Don’t try to cover everything right away. think about all our first 30 days in any new job :).
• Try to identify the new employee’s personality and communication style and adapt accordingly
• Simply offer feedback
• Maintain a good attitude and a teaching spirit. Try and be a little patient along the way. For a lot of us this may be a first experience being a buddy.