The quantifiable business impact of a buddy program
If it takes two quarters to ramp up a new rep, three to four quarters before they’re productive, and six or seven quarters before they’re cut, it’s time to rethink what effective onboarding looks like.
We all know that a new hire’s speed to productivity is critical. Your company likely has a program in place to support it—from company onboarding to sales enablement materials and shadowing opportunities. And then, before long, the new hire is expected to get out there and sell. Is it enough?
At Numentum, we don’t think so. We advocate for companies to create an extra layer: A buddy program. This helps new hires understand the organizational processes required to do their job and bridges the social connections they need to succeed. The result is a much faster ramp to productivity and successful employees.
The benefits of buddy programs
With a buddy program in place, you’ll get more from new hires faster. This can be understood in terms of three core developmental areas: networks, satisfaction, and knowledge.
Stronger internal networks
Assigning a buddy to a new recruit allows them to build their own internal network more quickly. They’ll know who to go to with different questions when obstacles arise with internal systems or processes, or when issues come up externally with customers or buyers. This gives them a meaningful role in the revenue engine faster.
Higher levels of job satisfaction
A sense of belonging is critical to retaining employees. It’s a combination of helping employees to look the part (think branded swag on day one), helping them feel like they’re part of something, and empowering them to feel comfortable in their job. A buddy plays an important role in helping new hires find satisfaction and a sense of belonging in the company.
Faster access to organizational knowledge
A buddy program gives new hires a reliable and single point of contact for information about their role and the organization. It also helps them to pick up and start acting on cultural norms of the company, which is critical for cohesion. For instance, the preferred channels and tools for the different types of internal communication.
Three best practices for an effective buddy program
Executives and senior leaders should work with sales leaders to implement a program meeting their organization's unique business needs. Numentum’s experience working with hundreds of companies around the world indicates that a new hire should be paired with a peer for the onboarding process and two subsequent quarters.
These recommendations cover some of the key considerations during that time:
1. Establish a clear structure
An objectives-based structure can help to prevent sellers from losing interest in the buddy program.
Outline the time period and commitment. A weekly 1-on-1 meeting over a period of 9-12 weeks works well. This is supported by research from Microsoft, which found that the more times a new hire met their buddy, the faster they reached productivity. Harvard Business Review reported:
“56% of new hires who met with their onboarding buddy at least once in their first 90 days indicated that their buddy helped them to quickly become productive in their role. That percentage increased to 73% for those who met two to three times with their buddy, 86% for those who met four to eight times, and 97% for those who met more than eight times in their first 90 days.”
Sales and HR should work together to outline high-level goals for each meeting (with wiggle room for the participants to adjust based on their needs). For example, during the scramble of the first few early days, the buddy should come prepared to help the new hire get set up. This might include administrative support, how to get started on the CRM, or where to find the most up-to-date marketing collateral.
Buddies represent the conduit to knowledge across the rest of the organization. Later in the onboarding program, a new hire may sit through a session on marketing’s latest campaign. The buddy can direct them to the sales enablement that turns the messaging into deal-winning assets.
During the final weeks of the buddy program, the focus should shift to sales calls. The buddy can listen live or to recordings and give the new hire feedback based on their greater knowledge of the product and the organization. Solutions like Gong and Chorus.ai make capturing, sharing, and drawing insights from customer and buyer interactions easy.
2. Make it mutually beneficial
Very few employees will participate in a buddy program of this duration if there’s nothing in it for them. Pitching the program by clearly articulating what both parties stand to gain is important.
For the new sales hire, the quicker they reach peak productivity the quicker their paycheck goes up. That’s not a hard sell. But for a buddy, the benefits can be trickier to define.
Some may be motivated to learn from a new person coming into the organization. That person will bring best practices from previous experience and a new perspective that could be advantageous. Others will be keen to leverage the new person’s relationships to start or accelerate commercial opportunities in their own customer or target accounts. If budget allows, offer training on mentoring skills that can help buddies pave their way to future managerial roles.
Finally, sales and HR leaders are responsible for regularly assessing how beneficial the program is to the new hire and the mentor. This is key to making sure the program remains relevant. Listen, iterate, and improve—Numentum customers eventually get to a place where their buddy program is a competitive differentiator in their talent acquisition strategy.
3. Focus on networks
When an individual starts somewhere new, they want to feel a part of something. Yet hybrid and remote work has made that a harder promise for companies to deliver. A buddy program brings the company culture—in a compassionate way and on a human level—to the new starter.
Our philosophy is that your network is your most valuable asset for opening the door to potential buyers and ultimately closing deals. Every new hire brings their own network to the organization. Combining that with the network of the team has the potential to transform the pipeline and accelerate deals.
The right buddy program gives new hires the foundation of knowledge and support to accelerate productivity. The sooner this happens, the sooner they can play a role in the Connected and Empowered Enterprise—and start positively impacting the buyer experience.
Revenue Forward
Numentum is a B2B enterprise sales training company that integrates social selling into existing sales processes to engage today’s hyper-informed buyers. Our programmatic approach maximizes the utility of brand, marketing assets, and sales technology to generate predictable pipeline and revenue. We partner with forward-thinking brands to bring focus, routine, and accountability to their sales teams. Our customers include SAP, Workday, Vodafone Business, Verizon Business, Broadcom, and RELX.
Follow us on LinkedIn for more strategies and tactics that drive revenue forward.
