Your best onboarding knowledge exists in the heads of experienced mentors who train newcomers. When these mentors leave or move to different roles, that onboarding knowledge can disappear.
Systematic capture ensures onboarding knowledge survives staff changes.
Identifying who holds onboarding knowledge
Some people are natural mentors. They train a disproportionate number of newcomers and do it well. These people hold critical onboarding knowledge.
Identify your best mentors and capture their knowledge before they change roles or leave.
Key takeaways
- Experienced mentors hold critical onboarding knowledge that should be captured before they leave
- Structured interviews and observation capture how effective mentors onboard new staff
- Documented onboarding training ensures consistency and survives mentor departures
- Testing captured onboarding knowledge ensures it effectively prepares new hires
Structured interviews about onboarding practices
Ask experienced mentors about their onboarding approach. What do they teach first? What sequence works best? What mistakes do newcomers typically make? What makes people succeed?
Record these interviews and convert them to documented onboarding training.
Hands-on observation of mentoring
Observe experienced mentors working with newcomers. Watch what they explain, what examples they use, what they emphasize. Shadow their approach.
Direct observation captures nuance that interviews alone might miss.
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Testing captured onboarding knowledge
After capturing onboarding knowledge, test it by having new hires follow the documented training. See whether it prepares them adequately. Iterate based on feedback.
Testing ensures captured knowledge actually works for onboarding new people.
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