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What Is an Onboarding Buddy?

An onboarding buddy is an established colleague who helps a new hire settle in during their early days.

An educational definition from the HR glossary. Explore related terms below, or jump into the resource center to go deeper.

Definition

An onboarding buddy is an established colleague who helps a new hire settle in during their early days.

Why it matters

A buddy provides connection and a low-stakes source of help.

Examples

Illustrative example. Pairing a new hire with a buddy is a common onboarding practice.

For the practical detail behind this term, follow the related metric, template and resources below.

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For informational purposes only. This is an educational, plain-language definition — not legal, tax, financial or compliance advice and not an official definition. Terms and obligations vary by organisation and jurisdiction. Numeric examples are simple, placeholder-based illustrations, not data. Confirm specifics with qualified professionals.
Related concepts

Related glossary terms

Keep exploring the HR vocabulary.

Glossary

Onboarding

Onboarding is the structured process of bringing a new hire from offer to fully contributing, typically across the first 90 days.

Open Glossary

Mentoring

Mentoring is a developmental relationship where a more experienced person guides another’s growth.

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Measure it

Related metrics & calculators

HR metric

New-Hire Retention

New-hire retention measures how many recent hires are still employed after an early-tenure window.

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HR calculators

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Open Hub

HR metrics hub

How HR measures are defined and read.

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Put it into practice

Related templates

Template

Employee Onboarding Checklist Template

Good onboarding is structured, not improvised.

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Go deeper

Related resources

The clusters that put this concept into practice.

Lifecycle

Employee lifecycle

The full employee journey, stage by stage.

Open Operations

Employer operations

Run the workforce as a repeatable system.

Open Planning

Workforce planning

Strategy and organizational design.

Open Compliance

HR compliance

Documentation, records, data and policy.

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HR templates

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Open Playbooks

HR playbooks

Step-by-step plays for people processes.

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HR technology

Automation, analytics and systems.

Open Funnel

Recruitment funnel

Sourcing through to accepted offer.

Open Reporting

HR reporting & dashboards

Turn people data into clear views.

Open AI for HR

AI for HR

Where AI assists HR, responsibly.

Open Resource center

HR resource center

The central map of every cluster.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is Onboarding Buddy?

An onboarding buddy is an established colleague who helps a new hire settle in during their early days.

Why does Onboarding Buddy matter?

A buddy provides connection and a low-stakes source of help.

How is Onboarding Buddy measured?

It connects to the HR metric linked on this page, where you can find the formula and how to read it. This glossary entry is an educational definition, not a data source.