The onboarding buddy fills a gap that managers and HR cannot fill on their own. New hires have a constant stream of minor questions that feel trivial to ask their manager: Where do I get lunch? What does the office culture feel like at 5pm? How formal are the all-hands meetings? Is it normal for the CTO to respond to Slack messages? Who is the go-to person in finance for expense questions? A buddy provides a safe, informal channel for all of this without the new hire worrying about how they will be perceived. Research by Microsoft found that new hires who met with their buddy five or more times in the first 90 days reported feeling significantly more productive and engaged than those who met once or not at all.
Buddy programme design involves several key decisions. Selection: buddies should be experienced enough to know the organisation well (typically at least one year in) but close enough to the new hire's level that they feel approachable rather than intimidating. They should not be the new hire's direct manager - the relationship must be distinct from the management relationship to encourage candid conversation. Function: ideally from the same team or a closely related one, so the buddy understands the new hire's day-to-day context. Voluntary: buddies who are assigned unwillingly rarely make good buddies. The best buddies are those who volunteer because they remember what it felt like to be new and genuinely want to help.
Buddy responsibilities should be clearly defined and time-bounded. A typical buddy commitment is four to six weeks of regular contact, with a structured initial meeting in the first week, a check-in at two weeks, and then ongoing availability at the buddy's discretion. Providing buddies with a simple guide - here are the kinds of things you should cover, here are the questions to ask, here is how to flag concerns to HR - gives structure without scripting the relationship into something artificial. Buddies should not be expected to be performance coaches or to address technical skill gaps - that is the manager's role. Their value is social integration and cultural navigation.
Remote and hybrid workplaces require more deliberate buddy programme design than co-located environments. Without the organic social connection of shared physical space, new hires can go weeks without meaningful human interaction beyond scheduled video meetings. Buddy check-ins should be protected in the calendar, not treated as optional extras that can be deprioritised when other work demands attention. Virtual coffee meetings, co-working sessions and informal video calls that replicate the serendipitous conversations of office working must be deliberately scheduled rather than hoped for. Organisations that invest in virtual buddy programme infrastructure for remote hires consistently see better 90-day retention and faster productivity than those that apply co-located buddy approaches without adaptation.
Key Points: Buddy System
- Purpose: Provides informal guidance on unwritten rules and day-to-day questions that new hires feel awkward raising with their manager.
- Selection: Experienced (1+ year), close in level to the new hire, from the same team, and voluntary - not the direct manager.
- Duration: Typically four to six weeks of structured contact, with defined initial and check-in meetings.
- Microsoft research: New hires meeting buddy 5+ times in first 90 days report significantly higher productivity and engagement.
- Remote adaptation: Virtual buddy programmes require scheduled deliberate connection to replace incidental office interaction.
How Buddy System Works in Treegarden
Buddy System in Treegarden
Treegarden's onboarding module includes buddy assignment functionality. HR teams match new hires to buddies before the start date and notify both parties automatically. A structured buddy guide and first-week conversation template are included. Buddy check-in completion is tracked, and HR can see which new hires are engaged with their buddy and which may need additional support.
Related HR Glossary Terms
Frequently Asked Questions About Buddy System
A buddy provides short-term, practical, day-to-day support during the onboarding period - typically four to twelve weeks. The focus is on cultural integration, navigating the organisation and answering immediate questions. A mentor is a longer-term relationship (typically six to twelve months or more) focused on professional development, career navigation and broader skill building. Mentors are usually more senior than the mentee. Buddies are closer in seniority and role to the new hire. Both relationships are valuable but serve different purposes at different stages of the employee lifecycle.
Effective buddy programmes combine three elements: careful matching (skills, personality fit, genuine willingness), clear role definition (a written guide covering what the buddy should do, for how long, and what to escalate), and accountability (HR tracks whether buddy meetings are happening and follows up with buddy pairs who have not connected). Recognising and thanking buddies for their contribution - through team acknowledgement, a note to their manager, or a simple thank-you - reinforces the value of the programme and makes future volunteers more likely.
Most buddy programmes are voluntary and unpaid, treated as a professional and social contribution rather than additional work. However, the time commitment should be acknowledged by the buddy's manager - typically two to four hours over four to six weeks. Making buddying visible to the buddy's manager ensures it is counted as a valuable contribution rather than a distraction. Some organisations include buddying as a positive factor in performance reviews or recognition programmes. Financial compensation for buddying is unusual and risks changing the relationship from a genuine human connection to a transaction.