More companies today hire developers who work remotely. Follow these steps for an efficient remote onboarding process for devs, from a tech on-ramp to cross-org team interaction.
Many developers are accustomed to working remotely, but it still can be a challenge to transition into a new job on a remote basis. Companies and employees must be clear and intentional in their onboarding efforts to progress a new developer hire to well-integrated team member in hybrid and remote work environments.
These tips help smooth the onboarding process for remote developers so they don't feel isolated and alone, even at companies that are themselves remotely organized.
A 6-step process for onboarding remote developers
The onboarding process should be as frictionless as possible, said Dana Lawson, CTO at Netlify, a developer enablement platform provider in San Francisco. This is especially true in companies with entirely remote operations, where staff can feel isolated and alone.
Jayson Phillips, senior director of product engineering at observability tool provider Honeycomb in San Francisco, has managed remote teams since 2017. In his view, the ideal process for onboarding remote developers provides a place to learn and get to that first step of "this is how we pull out the code, understand a piece of it [and] ship it to users."
This individual introduces a new-hire remote developer to the organization on a cross-functional basis; helps them understand how things work in the company, particularly within software development; and helps them build companywide networks. In a remote environment, these efforts rely on tools such as Slack and Zoom.
Jayson Phillips
Establish desired outcomes
This can include what the new recruit's first 90 days covers, the expectations they must meet to be successful in their role and what they must accomplish to progress to the next level in the hierarchical chain. "Giving someone an idea of what to expect and what's expected of them allows them to own their career growth," Phillips said.
Provide technical on-ramps
When an engineer walks a new hire through the company's architectural stack, this should spark a technical connection in their work -- an aha moment of how they'll contribute. "[For] every engineer that comes in, the goal is always, 'How can I prove my value? How can I show my impact?'" Phillips said.
Such revelations likely start small but become cumulative. Give remote developers a few minor tasks on day one through which they can see the entire process from idea to production. Some examples are the following:
Learn how to access different environments.
Become familiar with how work is deployed.
Observe a change made in the software running in the system or in a remote system.
Seeing one's work in production for the first time is a major moment and provides a sense of accomplishment for developers, Phillips said.
Offer opportunities for new recruits to feel like they belong
Demo days are a prime opportunity for developers to demonstrate their skills in a relatively relaxed environment and to be celebrated by their peers. Such events also contribute to team building and a sense of "you're now one of us, you've gone through everything we've gone through," Phillips said.
In DevOps and developer enablement and building products specifically for that, you can't have a terrible onboarding experience. Then, you're inadvertently saying, 'This is what we want our customers' experience to be.'
Dana LawsonCTO, Netlify
However, it can be challenging to support remote developers in a demo day environment. New recruits who work on-site may already know their peers, which can ease concerns about presenting their work to that audience. "When demoing remotely for the first time, it's important to remember that this may be the first time the new engineer has seen or met many of their peers, and it's on a conference call," Phillips said.
Meet with leaders across the business
New hires should meet with their leadership chain, such as their manager's manager or the senior leader of their group. They also should connect with directors and other leaders from other areas of the organization with whom they'll work, such as engineering and design, Phillips said. It's a good idea to introduce them to top company management as well: the CEO, COO, CTO or engineering executive.
Phillips advised organizations to pool such sessions with other new hires across the company to build cross-functional relationships and expand their individual and collective understanding of how their work impacts the overall business. Again, inclusion of remote developers in these meetings likely requires virtual collaboration and video conferencing.
Let new recruits give feedback
A good onboarding process encourages new team members to discuss challenges they face in their early days on the job, as well as successes.
Managers should be available to hear about any issues the onboarding developer has run up against while trying to execute tasks or problems with the remote onboarding experience itself. For example, perhaps they received instructions that they believe were unclear.
Taking ownership of your remote onboarding process
The details of a remote onboarding process differ from company to company. Startups, for example, still may be working out the kinks in the process, while larger enterprises with more time and resources have refined how they onboard new employees.
Regardless, new hires can proactively engage with their integration into a new organization. Phillips encouraged developers to build their own social networks within the company. Like an onboarding buddy, these peers can offer advice when you come up against any challenges.
Dana Lawson
Also, construct an online profile with a headshot and a brief bio. "Reach out to other developers at your company on social media platforms," Netlify's Lawson said. "People are really proud to show where they work."
If the organization has employee resource groups, new hires should join them. Honeycomb has an affinity group for developers who took alternative journeys into tech, Phillips said -- instead of formal schooling, for example, they learned their trade through boot camps. This community provides support and the opportunity to share experiences, challenges, and tips and tricks for success.
"It's another way to pull people in and make them feel included, especially because we don't have physical spaces where we'd have these conversations around the watercooler," he said.
Slack channels are another way to create the virtual watercooler experience and unite people. "If someone has a Slack channel where they talk about their role or the things they experienced, make sure those are as public as possible [so] people see how other people go about their work, and they can understand how that might apply to their role," Phillips said.
How to turn around a poor remote onboarding experience
Even some of the best-intentioned organizations lack established remote onboarding practices. If you encounter this, speak up -- to HR, your frontline manager or both, Lawson said.
"Say, 'Hi, I'm so excited to join the team, but it's been really rocky. I'd like to give you some feedback because I care,'" she said. Making this effort demonstrates a desire to contribute in a meaningful way.
For companies that set a goal to enable employees to do their best work, leadership and management should be open to this feedback.
"Our job is to remove friction for developers so they can be successful," Lawson said. "In DevOps and developer enablement and building products specifically for that, you can't have a terrible onboarding experience. Then, you're inadvertently saying, 'This is what we want our customers' experience to be.'"
Carolyn Heinze is a Paris-based freelance writer. She covers several technology and business areas, including HR software and sustainability.
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