The main tenet of design thinking is empathy for the people you’re trying to design for. Leadership is exactly the same thing – building empathy for the people that you’re entrusted to help. – David Kelley, Founder of IDEO
First step: If you haven’t already, read The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. Even skimming a summary can help.
Let’s face it. The tech industry moves fast, and most people won’t stay at the same company for their entire career. This makes onboarding critical for both the company and the individual. If onboarding doesn’t go well, all the time and money spent on hiring feels wasted. For new hires, it’s the time to quickly prove your adaptability so your manager doesn’t second-guess their decision.
After my own onboarding experiences—and onboarding others—I’ve gathered some tips worth sharing. These are especially important in remote environments, where creating natural connections can be extra challenging.
For New Team Members
You’ve already gone through the tough job search and interview process to get here. Even if you made a great impression in interviews, your team and manager don’t really know you yet. The first three months are your opportunity to assess the situation and show what you are capable of.
When onboarding goes well, you’ll earn autonomy and be recognized as a high-potential team member, opening doors for growth. If not, your manager might start questioning whether they made the right hire.
Dos:
- Use your “newbie” status to ask questions and gather as much information as possible.
- Based on your analysis of the situation, create a plan to achieve small but meaningful wins for both your team and manager.
- Discuss and align this plan with your manager and key partners to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Don’ts:
- Don’t say yes to everything that comes your way without considering your capacity.
- Avoid judging the situation too quickly—focus on listening and observing.
- Don’t wait for someone to hand you perfectly organized tasks—take initiative.
For Managers
Hiring great talent is just the start. Your new team member still needs to understand how things work in your organization. Be clear about your expectations and give them the support they need.
After refining my approach, I now personalize the onboarding experience, mixing materials and team rituals. Here’s how I usually structure it, especially for UX Research and Design individual contributors:
- Week 1: Company onboarding (usually handled by HR), with a few introductions
- Week 2: Get to know the UX team and processes
- Week 3: Dive into the Scrum team
- Week 4: Draft and present the 90-day plan to the team and partners
This checklist can include resources such as documentation on the product development cycle, the “definition of done” for design, and research artifacts like personas and customer segments. Senior team members, PMs, and tech leads contribute domain-specific content to ensure new hires get the knowledge they need. The key is to break down key information gradually, rather than overwhelming new hires all at once. I approach onboarding as if I’m designing learning content, starting with high-level concepts before diving into details. Repetition and frequent Q&A sessions are essential to reinforce understanding and ensure clarity.
When I onboarded, getting written narratives from my leaders was incredibly helpful. Now my plan is to combine an onboarding checklist with a welcome narrative to provide both structure and content.
While onboarding process can be adjusted based on the new hire’s needs, I set clear expectations upfront to keep them focused during the first month. Their first project is usually to draft a 90-day plan, tailored to what the team needs.
Without specific deliverables, onboarding can turn into light conversations or just checking off generic tasks like watching online trainings. It’s important to assign one or two small yet tangible goals that let new hires demonstrate their skills early.
Once the 90-day plan is aligned with the manager, team, and partners, the new hire will have a clearer sense of responsibility and focus—even in ambiguous situations. This also helps managers evaluate whether their new hire is truly a good fit for the team and organization.
FAQ:
- What if the plan needs to change? Stay open and flexible. Share ideas and update the plan as needed.
- What’s the best way to structure 90-day milestones? There are multiple ways. I personally recommend using an OKR format (Objectives and Key Results). This helps set clear goals and success measures. For instance, “Finish online onboarding course from HR” isn’t a great milestone. Instead, something like “Audit a relevant user flow and propose improvements” is more specific. This not only benefits the team but also gives the new hire a chance to demonstrate their skills in a tangible way. The key is to create objectives that allow new hire to show what they’ve learned, rather than just checking boxes.
Summary
For those onboarding, focus on analyzing the situation and looking for opportunities to show off your skills. While this isn’t the time to tackle a huge project, aim to accomplish something concrete. Even drafting a simple one-page plan for the next two months, with a clear rationale, can go a long way. Put on your research hat and get some organizational research done to identify areas where you can bring value.
For managers, think of onboarding like designing a customer experience. Start with empathy: if you were in the new hire’s shoes, what would you need to know? Provide a clear narrative of expectations and a flexible onboarding checklist. Get input from other team members, and most importantly, gather feedback from the new hire to continually improve the process.
For companies, collaborate across departments to ensure a productive onboarding experience. Make sure online resources are up to date, and if possible, host in-person sessions where teams can introduce themselves and field questions. These sessions can be invaluable, and the fresh perspective of new hires often sparks important conversations.
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