Ask HN: Best practices for onboarding new employees?
This is how I've seen it done in very small companies:<p>1. Greet the new person and ask them what they are doing there? Are they a vendor? client? someone who accidentally walked in? Oh, they're a new employee.<p>2. Ask them if they know what their job is supposed to be. If not, find them a spot to sit down while you ask around.<p>3. Ask IT to get them a laptop. If they don't have one, send out to get one from best buy. When they ask what type say "good, but not too expensive"<p>4. Ask them how their day is, if they want coffee<p>5. Get back to work, forget about them.<p>6. Go back and realize that no one knows what they are supposed to do.<p>7. Randomly assign them various tasks.<p>Whatever best practices are must surely be the opposite of this.<p>At large companies I have seen:<p>1. 12 binders full of details about healthcare, policies, what happens if you pass away and other remote events<p>2. Orientation that feels like an abstract business school course<p>3. On day 1, you are asked to do something really simple to get your bearings.<p>4. Day 2, you are asked to do something really massive because by now you must surely know your way around.