Give a new teammate a practical buddy session

A buddy session gives a new teammate somewhere to ask the questions that rarely appear in formal documentation. It should reveal how work happens, not test whether the newcomer memorized the welcome page. Choose a small task and let the person explain where the process remains unclear.

Prepare a bounded invitation

Name the buddy, the meeting place, the purpose, and the expected duration. Provide a written fallback if the newcomer cannot enter the office or use the planned call. Share the task in advance so they can check access without an audience waiting.

For example, ask them to locate a project brief and identify where questions about its scope should go. Use non-sensitive material. A buddy should help navigate the process without granting permissions that belong to another owner.

Let the newcomer lead a step

After a short introduction, ask the person to find the document or explain how they would contact its owner. Watch for unclear names, missing links, and access failures. Correct the instructions instead of treating hesitation as a lack of initiative.

Show one ordinary example of asking for help: a concise question, relevant context, and a link to the work. Explain when to use a live conversation and when a written request is more considerate. These are team conventions, not rules the office automatically enforces.

Explain unwritten boundaries

Cover interruptions, optional gatherings, and where confidential subjects belong. Make it clear that visible presence is not a guarantee of immediate availability. Invite questions about declining a call or asking for clarification.

A buddy is a helpful first contact, but should not become the only route to information. Point to the maintained documentation and the actual owners of recurring questions. This keeps support useful when the buddy is away and prevents one colleague from carrying an indefinite onboarding duty.

Leave one next action

End with a small task the newcomer can attempt independently and an agreed way to report a blocker. Record any broken instruction you discovered so the next new teammate does not encounter the same problem.

Ask the newcomer which part was still confusing and whether the pace worked for them. If the session mostly demonstrated controls, plan the next visit around a real piece of work. The useful result is confidence in finding the next person or source, not a complete tour of every room.