Buddy System

A buddy system is an onboarding approach that pairs a new employee with an existing one. The buddy’s role is to help the new joiner settle in during their first weeks or months, answering questions, sharing context about how things work, and providing a point of contact that feels less formal than going to a manager or HR.

A good buddy system has some structure behind it. Written guidelines help clarify what the buddy is expected to do, what topics to cover, and over what timeframe. Without that, the relationship tends to be inconsistent across the organization.

Beyond the practical orientation, the relationship can go both ways. New employees often bring fresh perspectives, skills, and approaches from previous roles. A buddy system that encourages genuine exchange, rather than just one-way information transfer, can surface ideas that benefit the wider team.

The other thing a buddy provides is informal candor. New employees often have questions they don’t feel comfortable raising in official channels, about culture, unwritten norms, or how the onboarding process is actually going. A trusted peer is better placed to answer those than most formal structures.