Developing A Knowledge Sharing Onboarding Program

In 2017, I was working as an HR consultant for a client company. It was a mid-sized company. We were going through a period of rapid growth, and our team was constantly hiring new employees to keep up with the demand. Amidst this, I noticed that despite our efforts to integrate new hires, many of them were struggling to feel connected and engaged. One afternoon, I received an email from a recently hired software engineer who felt isolated and unsure about his role in the company. This email was a wake-up call for me. I realized that our onboarding process, while efficient, lacked a personal touch. Determined to address this, I initiated a new program called "Buddy System." Each new hire was paired with a more experienced employee who would act as their mentor and friend. The buddies were encouraged to have regular check-ins, share lunch, and participate in team-building activities together. The results were incredible. New employees started feeling more welcomed and supported, and their integration into the team became smoother. Employee engagement scores improved, and our retention rates increased significantly. From this experience, I learned several key lessons: 1. Personal Connection Matters: Beyond the formal onboarding process, fostering personal connections can make a huge difference in how new employees feel about their workplace. 2. Mentorship is Valuable: A buddy or mentor can provide guidance, support, and a sense of belonging, helping new hires navigate their new environment more confidently. 3. Continuous Improvement: Always be open to feedback and willing to make changes. What worked yesterday might not work today, and there’s always room for improvement. 4. Employee Engagement is Key: Engaged employees are more productive, happier, and less likely to leave. Investing in programs that enhance engagement pays off in the long run. In the fast-paced corporate world, it's easy to overlook the human aspect of HR. But remember, the success of any company lies in the well-being and engagement of its people. #EmployeeEngagement #Onboarding #HRManagement #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeRetention

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞) A recent study published in Frontiers in Organizational Psychology explored how newcomers learn during onboarding by looking at three key learning forms:  • 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (structured training, onboarding plans)  • 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (peer conversations, job shadowing)  • 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(goal-setting, reflection, proactive follow-ups) The findings reveal something powerful: Onboarding is most effective when organizations move beyond rigid training programs and create opportunities for self-directed, informal, and interactive learning. New hires who actively shape their onboarding—asking questions, seeking feedback, reflecting on progress—adjust faster, feel more connected, and stay longer. So, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞?  • 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Poor onboarding is one of the top reasons for early turnover.  • 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐩-𝐮𝐩: Structured and self-directed learning accelerates role clarity and confidence.  • 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Informal learning helps newcomers integrate socially and culturally, which is often overlooked in formal training. What can I/O Psychology and L&D practitioners do?  • Design onboarding that blends 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬(e.g., mentorship, peer learning, shared breaks).  • Incorporate 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 like reflection prompts, learning goals, and follow-up checklists.  • Map onboarding activities to 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬—compliance, clarification, connection, and culture—so learning is intentional and complete.  • Use data to 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 with both formal and informal learning pathways, not just training completion rates. Onboarding should be a co-created learning experience, not just a process to get through. When we empower new hires as active participants in their learning journey, everyone wins—newcomers, teams, and the entire organization. #WorkplaceEngineer #IOPsychology #LearningThatSticks #TrainingAndDevelopment #Onboarding #EmployeeExperience #LeadershipDevelopment

From Knowledge Hoarding to Knowledge Sharing: The Culture Shift L&D Needs. 💡 Companies don’t have a knowledge problem. They have a knowledge-sharing problem. Think about it—when an expert employee leaves, does their knowledge stay? Or does it leave with them? 📌 Why is knowledge hoarding a problem? 🚫 Employees don’t share what they know because they fear becoming "replaceable." 🚫 Teams work in silos, making cross-functional collaboration difficult. 🚫 Companies rely on outdated documentation that doesn’t capture real insights. 🔥 How some organizations solved this: One company, struggling with high dependency on senior employees, built an internal Knowledge Exchange System where employees: 1. Recorded their expertise through short video walkthroughs. 2. Created open forums for sharing best practices and lessons learned. 3. Integrated peer mentorship programs, where employees taught each other. 🚀 The impact? ✔️ Faster onboarding for new employees. ✔️ Less reliance on single experts—knowledge was accessible to all. ✔️ Teams collaborated more effectively, breaking down silos. 💡 What’s one way your company promotes knowledge-sharing? Drop your insights below! 👇

Imagine arriving at the airport – but all the signage is gone. No directions No guidance No staff You're left to figure out which gate your flight is at just by guessing and picking up hints from your surroundings. You can ask random people passing by, but they don’t pay much attention to you and somehow seem to know where they're going -- it's intimidating! That's what it's like for new hires in companies that don't have proper training—they're lost, confused, and left to navigate unfamiliar territory on their own. So why are you hiring people without an onboarding? Here's how to put together your first new hire program -- even if you have no idea where to start: 1 | Ask your people what they want: ↳ what would they have wanted when they were new? ↳ what was missing that would've saved them time? ↳ how is the current material helping them? 2 | Take a look at what you already have: ↳ recognize that you have a ton of material already ↳ organize your material into buckets (the ones I use over & over are: company, product, tools, skills) ↳ figure out what’s missing, fill in those blanks ↳ don't overcomplicate, write in simple terms ↳ cut out anything that would add confusion 3 | Upload to one central location: ↳ upload material to your learning system of choice ↳ if you have no system, shared folders work for now ↳ follow the categories you organized earlier 4 | Test & tweak ↳ test it out with a small group ↳ trust their feedback, make tweaks ↳ launch it & use it with your newest employees! ↳ learn what works & keep iterating -- it's never "done" This is how I create first-time onboarding programs -- especially for companies that have no training department and no idea where to start. (♻️ Repost for someone who needs to hear this) (And if you find these steps easier said than done, send me a note – I’d love to create your version 1) P.S. Are you hiring people but not really onboarding them? -- In case you missed it: I'm posting 100 times and tracking as I go, without fixating on perfection or results → 45/100

There ya have it... When your all wrapped up looking out for the new guys. To train new employees effectively, focus on creating a structured onboarding process, providing clear expectations, and offering ongoing support and feedback. This includes pre-boarding activities, a buddy or mentoring program, and a mix of training methods like hands-on experience and interactive sessions. Elaboration: 1. Pre-boarding and Onboarding Plan: Start before day one: Send a welcome pack with schedules, dress code, and other important details. Create a structured plan: Develop a roadmap with clear expectations and milestones for the first 30, 60, and 90 days. Use a checklist: A new hire checklist can help ensure all necessary steps are taken during onboarding. 2. Clear Expectations and Training: Set realistic goals: Ensure new hires have achievable milestones in the early weeks. Communicate company culture: Introduce the new hire to the company's values and work environment. Provide hands-on experience: Allow new hires to practice real tasks and gain practical skills. 3. Support and Feedback: Assign a mentor or buddy: Pair new hires with experienced team members for support and guidance. Offer regular feedback: Provide constructive feedback to help new hires improve and develop. Check in frequently: Regular check-ins can help address any challenges early on and ensure the new hire is adapting well. Encourage open communication: Create a supportive environment where new hires feel comfortable asking questions and seeking help. 4. Continuous Learning and Development: Encourage continuous learning: Provide opportunities for ongoing training and development, such as workshops or online courses. Utilize technology: Consider using a learning management system (LMS) to provide personalized learning experiences. Make training fun and engaging: Use interactive sessions, games, and real-world examples to keep training engaging.

Stop “welcoming” new hires. Give them a win in 30 days instead. When I first hired 8 years back, I thought the best onboarding was all about making new hires feel at home. I was wrong. New hires actually struggle with: → Understanding the business and their role. → Aligning with company culture and expectations. → Getting that first “win” to build momentum. → Building relationships with colleagues. I’ve now completely changed our onboarding process. The only goal is to get new hires to their “first win” fast. Instead of generic training, we work backward from their first big achievement. Here’s the framework: Step 1: Define the “first win” (within 30 days) Every new hire gets a specific, meaningful milestone. 1. It should be important enough that not doing it has a business impact. 2. Something that pushes them but is achievable with team collaboration. 3. It should give them real insight into how we operate. Our new Demand Gen Marketer’s first win was securing Market Development Funds (MDF) from a partner. To do this, they had to: - Work with our internal team. - Engage with a partner manager. - Propose a campaign relevant to both companies. This wasn’t just a task (it was a meaningful contribution). Step 2: Provide context (without overloading them) Most onboarding programs drown new hires in endless presentations. We limit training to what they need for their first win. 1. A 45-minute deep dive on the company’s journey, priorities, and challenges. 2. Targeted learning on only what’s relevant for their milestone. 3. Hands-on guidance instead of passive training. For the Demand Gen hire, we focused on: - Who the partner manager was and their priorities. - How the partnership worked. - What MDF campaigns typically get approved. Step 3: Align them with our work culture Culture isn't learned in a handbook. It’s experienced. Every new hire is paired with a mentor to guide them through: → Quality Standards → What "good" looks like in our company. → Processes & Tools → How we work and collaborate. → Feedback Loops → How we review, iterate, and improve. The result? New hires achieve something meaningful within their first month. They feel pride, momentum, and confidence (not just onboarding fatigue). Great onboarding isn’t about information. It’s about impact. 💡 How do you set up new hires for success?

Last year, a client came to me with a frustrating employee onboarding problem. Their new hires were taking 4-6 months to reach full productivity, and turnover within the first year was sky-high. I remember our first meeting clearly. The CFO looked exhausted, showing me spreadsheets of declining performance metrics and exit interview data. → "Our managers are spending too much time hand-holding." → "We're losing talent before they even get started." → "Something has to change." When I assessed their onboarding program, I found the issues: → Zero peer mentoring → Minimal feedback loops → No structured learning path → Information overload in the first week Together, we rebuilt their program from the ground up: → Created a 90-day roadmap with clear milestones → Developed role-specific training modules → Implemented a buddy system → Established regular check-ins The results? Time to productivity dropped. But here's what really matters: Their new hires now feel supported, engaged, and clear about their path forward. Their retention rate has improved by 40%. Remember this: Onboarding isn't just about paperwork and procedures. It's about creating confidence, connection, and clarity. When you invest in your people's first steps, they'll go the distance with you.

I have been coaching a good amount of revenue leaders as of late. Heads of sales, vp's of sales, chief revenue officers and founders who are wearing the sales hat because they are pre-seed or seed. I ask them all this question early on in our journey together. "Can you tell me the details behind your last 5 deals closed?" They typically know the answers. But, it is all in their head or their reps head. I then ask them this question. "Does everyone in the organization know the details behind the last 5 deals closed? I'm talking, marketing / product / legal / finance / IT / HR. Everyone!” They typically say, no. People know we won deals but not the details. This is wear I push them to implement my "win story" framework as it pertains to onboarding. OMG, a sales leader working with HR & People Ops..... Yep! Step 1: Actually get to know your people team and not just when issues come up. Step 2: Walk through some recent win stories with them. Step 3: Tie ROI to why you want to have an onboarding session with everyone hired that talks about "win stories." If you need help here. Use this. "Sarah! All employees are "customer facing" these days, especially in the world of social media. It is important for them to know why we exist other than our mission, vision and values. They need to know WHY the last 400K deal signed with us, like the deep reasons. Example, ABC org partnered with us because of a succession action plan. They had a lot of processes in place and were tying performance to pathing but coaching was missing, that is where we came into play. To take that critical talent and prepare them for future V - C Suite opportunities!" Something like that. Step 4: Be organized. Have all of your "win stories" in one location so you can point new hires to a specific area to read and study. Step 5: Make the meeting very short. Typically a Q&A due to their study and then share one recent win and go into everything from deal size to lead source to revenue to mutual action plans to expansion hopes. Step 6: Be sure you work with whoever owns your slack or teams environment and loop in your rev ops person to ensure that any time a "closed won" deal happens, an update goes to each person on the team! Can have a channel just titled "win stories." Here is what will happen when you implement this, seen it time and time again! Revenue will go up. Why? Because you will have the entire team thinking about the WHY behind the organization and how you are making your customers and future customers life easier. And if you want to get real real crazy? Have every other leader in the org implement something similar about their day to day wins and actions, CTO / CMO / CHRO / CPO / and everyone else! PS-In a remote world, we have sort of lost touch with this type of stuff. We no longer hear Jamal or Ashton running down the hall talking about a deal they just closed or Sam or Larissa talking about their new feature release while talking to the SE team.

“Tribal Knowledge” is a ticking time bomb threatening your tech startup. Here’s why (and how to avoid it for smooth, steady growth) ”Tribal Knowledge” is: → Information → Processes → Skills Which exist only in the minds of certain employees. (Versus being formally documented and shared) It becomes a major liability when: → Key employees leave, taking that critical information with them. This can grind operations to a halt. → The knowledge is incorrect or outdated. Leading to inconsistency, errors, and inefficiencies as it gets passed down informally to new employees. → It's difficult for new hires to get up to speed quickly. Without access to a centralized knowledge base, onboarding can drag on. → Siloed tribal knowledge hinders collaboration and scalability as the startup grows. Because staff lack access to the information they need. Let’s defuse this bomb (by making knowledge management a priority from early on). → Hold monthly “knowledge capture” sessions to document insights and best practices. Build a centralized, accessible digital knowledge hub with key resources. → Make knowledge-sharing a performance indicator to promote participation. Assign clear owners for each knowledge domain to ensure accountability. TL;DR: Document, Centralize and Disseminate critical knowledge. Get it out of heads and down on paper. That way you’ll: → Drive consistency in execution → Preserve business continuity → Enjoy faster employee onboarding → Position yourself to scale smoothly ”Tribal Knowledge” has its place, but you can’t afford to over-rely on it. ____________________________ Hi, I’m Richard, a 3x Entrepreneur, and Venture Capital Investor Early-stage Tech Founders: I can help turn your startup into a VC magnet. I've opened up 3 slots for my Tech Startup Launchpad Program. Send me a DM to see if you qualify for hands-on guidance to nail your niche and wow investors.