A guide for buddies: First 90 Days
How to help a new colleague settle in during their first 90 days.
What this guide covers
What this guide covers
What this guide covers
Why it matters
Newcomers do better when they fit in
Knowing the role, feeling able and feeling accepted lead to better work and staying.
A buddy, not a mentor
You are a buddy, not a manager
You explain how things work here, and the manager sets the work.
- Manager tasks, goals, reviews
- Buddy people, tools, the unwritten rules
- Mentor, if they have one career and growth
Unwritten rules
Share the rules nobody writes down
Help from coworkers was linked to newcomers learning the job, the team and its politics.
- Who really decides what
- Which meetings matter
- How fast people expect a reply
- How people ask for help here
Five short meetings
Five short meetings in 90 days
Fifteen minutes each, all booked in the first week.
- Week 1 What surprised you so far?
- Week 2 Who have you not met yet?
- Week 4 What do you still not get?
- Week 8 What would you do differently now?
- Week 12 What should the next newcomer know?
Safe questions
Make every question safe to ask
People hold back questions because they fear looking incompetent.
- No question is too small this month. Ask me first. Gives permission.
- I asked the same thing when I started. Takes the shame out.
Introductions
Introduce three people in week one
Pick people they will need, and say why each one matters.
- Someone in the team knows how the work really runs
- Someone in another team they will work with often
- Someone who fixes things IT, facilities or office help
What goes to the manager
Pass some problems to the manager
Workload, conflict or performance worries go to the manager, with the newcomer’s knowledge.
- Too much or too little work
- A conflict in the team
- Unclear goals after the first month
- Harassment or a safety risk: straight to HR
Mentornity in Claude and ChatGPT
Use Mentornity from Claude or ChatGPT
Ask in your own words; your assistant plans meetings, fills in tools and drafts messages.
Connect it once
Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.
Ask in your own words
Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.
A preview before every change
The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.
Disconnect any time
It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.
Connect it once
Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.
Ask in your own words
Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.
A preview before every change
The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.
Disconnect any time
It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.
Your goals and the Academy
Set goals, learn, earn a badge
Track your goals in My development and learn in Mentornity Academy, in your language.
Set your goals
Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.
Badge courses for mentors
Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.
Guides for mentors and mentees
Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.
Add your badge to LinkedIn
Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.
Set your goals
Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.
Badge courses for mentors
Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.
Guides for mentors and mentees
Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.
Add your badge to LinkedIn
Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M. & Tucker, J. S. (2007) Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 707-721
- Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. & Wanberg, C. R. (2003) Unwrapping the organizational entry process: Disentangling multiple antecedents and their pathways to adjustment Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 779-794
- Brooks, A. W., Gino, F. & Schweitzer, M. E. (2015) Smart people ask for (my) advice: Seeking advice boosts perceptions of competence Management Science, 61(6), 1421-1435
Book all five meetings today
Fifteen minutes each, in weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12.