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Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.10,0:00:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,KATE HEDDLESTON: Hi everyone.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.30,0:00:00.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Welcome to my talk. I'm Kate Heddleston
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.50,0:00:00.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is Technical Onboarding,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.70,0:00:00.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Training and Mentoring.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.90,0:00:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'm a software engineer out of San Francisco.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.10,0:00:01.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I do mostly contract work now. Full stack,\Nweb
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.30,0:00:01.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,apps. And I work with a lot of really
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.50,0:00:01.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,early-stage start ups. And this was originally\Nwritten as
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.70,0:00:01.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a co-presentation with Nicole Zuckerman. She's\Na software engineer
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.90,0:00:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at Eventbrite. And she couldn't be here today\Nbecause
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.10,0:00:02.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she is vacationing in Italy. So I feel not
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.30,0:00:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bad for her at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.50,0:00:02.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right. So she's the one on the right.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.70,0:00:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm the one on the left. And, and Nicole
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.90,0:00:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attended a Code Academy called Hack Brite\NAcademy, which
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.10,0:00:03.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I teach at one day a week. And we
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.30,0:00:03.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came together to write this talk because we\Nwork
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.50,0:00:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at separate companies and had experiences\Nat these separate
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.70,0:00:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,companies that were fairly similar.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.90,0:00:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, when I was right out of college, I
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.10,0:00:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,joined a small start up. I was the sixth
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.30,0:00:04.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineer, twelfth person, and I worked there\Nfor a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.50,0:00:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,time and it grew a lot, and after awhile,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.70,0:00:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I reached a certain level of proficiancy.\NI looked
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.90,0:00:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,back and I thought, I could have gotten here
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.10,0:00:05.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot faster with just a little bit of
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.30,0:00:05.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,help and a little bit of structure.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.50,0:00:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, I turned around and created the Onboarding
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.70,0:00:05.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,program at my company. And Nicole had a similar
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.90,0:00:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,experience at Eventbrite, and so she has been\Ndoing
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.10,0:00:06.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of work there with onboarding. So we
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.30,0:00:06.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wrote this presentation and submitted it.\NIt's important to
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.50,0:00:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,note that this presentation was written specifically\Nwith junior
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.70,0:00:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers in mind. However, about 90 to 90%\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.90,0:00:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what I say can very, very easily be adapted
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.10,0:00:07.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to people who are more experienced.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.30,0:00:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right. What is onboarding? So for the\Npurposes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.50,0:00:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of this talk, onboarding is the process of\Ntaking
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.70,0:00:07.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,someone from outside of the group, outside\Nthe company,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.90,0:00:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,outside the team, and making them a productive,\Nindependent
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.10,0:00:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and confident member of the team.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.30,0:00:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I picked these three characteristics because\NI think
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.50,0:00:08.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're, they're incredibly important. Productivity\Nseems a bit self-explanatory.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.70,0:00:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It seems kind of like, the goal that we're
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.90,0:00:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,focusing on. Like, of course we would like\Nproductive
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.10,0:00:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers. And it's about creating efficient\Nemployees.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.30,0:00:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Independence, and another word for independence\Nis autonomy, is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.50,0:00:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about creating engineers that can operate\Nin your organization
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.70,0:00:09.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without needing a ton of oversight, that can\Nmake
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.90,0:00:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,decisions and understand your company structure\Nwell enough to
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.10,0:00:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not have the overhead of having to go ask
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.30,0:00:10.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,four levels of management for something.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.50,0:00:10.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, independence and autonomy speaks to\Nthis, this need
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.70,0:00:10.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we have to have some control over our
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.90,0:00:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,own destiny. I was reading an article recently\Nand
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.10,0:00:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was talking about the need for autonomy,\Nand
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.30,0:00:11.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was citing inmates in prisons. So, in a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.50,0:00:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lot of prisons, inmates are allowed to choose\Nthe
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.70,0:00:11.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,channel. They're allowed to rearrange their\Nfurniture. And they
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.90,0:00:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,found that this drastically reduced rebellions\Nwithin prisons. So,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.10,0:00:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,independence is important, cause you don't\Nwant your engineers
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.30,0:00:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to rebel. But it's also important because\Nfeeling independent
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.50,0:00:12.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and autonomous helps people feel motivated\Nand invested in
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.70,0:00:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they're doing.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.90,0:00:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finally, confidence I think is the most important\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.10,0:00:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the three. Confidence is about creating employees\Nwho believe
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.30,0:00:13.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they are valuable. It's not about the\Nactual
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.50,0:00:13.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,act of creating employees that are valuable.\NThe study,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.70,0:00:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is at, the links are at the bottom
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.90,0:00:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually, that I was reading about recently,\Nthey split,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.10,0:00:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this was a gendered study, but what they found
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.30,0:00:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't really have to do with gender.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.50,0:00:14.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They split the participants into six groups.\NThree groups
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.70,0:00:14.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of men, three groups of women. So there was
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.90,0:00:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a control and two test groups for each gender.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.10,0:00:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, for one of the groups of men, they
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.30,0:00:15.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,told them, they're doing some sort of spatial\Nreasoning
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.50,0:00:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,activity, they told them, men are really good\Nat
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.70,0:00:15.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spatial reasoning. You should be good at this\Ntask.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.90,0:00:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That group performed significantly better\Nthan the control. The
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.10,0:00:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,next group of men they told, men are really
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.30,0:00:16.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bad at spatial reasoning. You'll be bad at\Nthis
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.50,0:00:16.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,task. And that group performed significantly\Nworse than the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.70,0:00:16.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,control. And they found the exact same thing\Nwith
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.90,0:00:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,women.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.10,0:00:17.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so what this means is that confidence\Nactually
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.30,0:00:17.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,affects how well people perform. So confident\Npeople will
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.50,0:00:17.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,perform better in a measurable way.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.70,0:00:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So why do you care? I assume that everyone
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.90,0:00:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,here cares because you came to my talk. But
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.10,0:00:18.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would like to convince you that you should
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.30,0:00:18.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,care now. You should care immediately, and\Nthat you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.50,0:00:18.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,should start building an onboarding program\Nat your company
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.70,0:00:18.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as soon as possible.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.90,0:00:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm gonna talk about four things in this
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.10,0:00:19.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,session. I'm gonna talk about the individual\Nwho's joining
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.30,0:00:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the company, the company that they are joining,\Nthe
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.50,0:00:19.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,specific team within the company that they\Nare becoming
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.70,0:00:19.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a member of, and then there's a bonus category,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.90,0:00:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is diversity.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.10,0:00:20.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the individual. What can go wrong if you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.30,0:00:20.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't have onboarding? Or basically if you\Ndon't have
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.50,0:00:20.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,investment in your employees?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.70,0:00:20.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Attrition is something that most companies\Nand most of
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.90,0:00:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,us are terrified of. And for a good reason.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.10,0:00:21.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Attrition can cost thousands of dollars per\Nemployee. Up
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.30,0:00:21.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to 1.5 to 2x their salary. And it's not
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.50,0:00:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that people quit specifically because your\Ncompany does or
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.70,0:00:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not have onboarding. People quit for a meriad\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.90,0:00:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reasons. The number one is actually that they\Nare
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.10,0:00:22.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dissatisfied with their managers. But onboarding\Ncan address a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.30,0:00:22.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lot of the issues that people ultimately quit\Nfor,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.50,0:00:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or quit because of, and it can address them
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.70,0:00:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really early.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.90,0:00:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So getting someone up to speed so that they're
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.10,0:00:23.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,confident, they have this upward trajectory,\Nthey're building their
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.30,0:00:23.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,skill set early, is going to set them up
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.50,0:00:23.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for success in the long term, so that eight
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.70,0:00:23.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,months to twelve months down the road, they\Naren't
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.90,0:00:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaving because they never felt like they\Nwere part
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.10,0:00:24.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the team. Or they never felt like they
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.30,0:00:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were contributing. Address this early at onboarding\Nis one
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.50,0:00:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the best ways to do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.70,0:00:24.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For the company. Companies care hugely about\Nthe productivity
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.90,0:00:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of their employees. This is a graph of productivity
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.10,0:00:25.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,decreasing as you add new engineers to the\Nteam.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.30,0:00:25.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, anecdotally, this actually happened at\NLinkdIn not too
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.50,0:00:25.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,long ago. Every engineer that they added to\Ntheir
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.70,0:00:25.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,team decreased their overall productivity\Nand ultimately affected the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.90,0:00:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,company's bottom line.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.10,0:00:26.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, when their new SVP of engineering came\Non
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.30,0:00:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,board, Kevin Scott, he had to do a whole
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.50,0:00:26.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bunch of work revamping their organization,\Nbuilding onboarding. And
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.70,0:00:26.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is, I mean, LinkdIn is thousands of people
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.90,0:00:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at this point. So this is a huge amount
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.10,0:00:27.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of work. To try to get the graph to
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.30,0:00:27.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,look like this. To try to get each new
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.50,0:00:27.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,employee to add value to the company. And\Nthis
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.70,0:00:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doesn't have to do with the employees. It's\Nnot
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.90,0:00:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like they're hiring engineers that are then\Nnegative in
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.10,0:00:28.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their value. It has to do with their process,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.30,0:00:28.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and onboarding is one of the great ways to
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.50,0:00:28.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make sure that you're taking a good look at
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.70,0:00:28.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your process.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.90,0:00:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This speaks to something I like to call team
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.10,0:00:29.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,debt. How many of you have heard of the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.30,0:00:29.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,concept of code debt? A lot of people. Yeah,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.50,0:00:29.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we talk about that a lot as engineers. How
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.70,0:00:29.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you build something fast and don't think\Nabout
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.90,0:00:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it, you accrue this code debt, and over time
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.10,0:00:30.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have to go back through your code base,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.30,0:00:30.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take a look at things, rewrite them, and ultimately
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.50,0:00:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,address that.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.70,0:00:30.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, the same thing happens with people.\NSo if
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.90,0:00:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you aren't doing a good job investing in your
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.10,0:00:31.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,employees, if you're not onboarding them,\Nif you're not
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.30,0:00:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,training them, you're going to accrue team\Ndebt. And
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.50,0:00:31.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've seen this a lot. I've talked to a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.70,0:00:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lot of companies that are starting to get\Ninto
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.90,0:00:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the hundreds of people range. They're starting\Nto hit
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.10,0:00:32.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a hundred engineers. And they're like, oh\Nmy goodness,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.30,0:00:32.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we need onboarding. We need, we need to get
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.50,0:00:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these people up to speed. And at, at four
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.70,0:00:32.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hundred people, I mean, yeah. You've accrued\Na huge
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.90,0:00:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,amount of team debt.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.10,0:00:33.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every person that you add and try to onboard
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.30,0:00:33.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is going to be increasingly difficult. Your\Ncode base
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.50,0:00:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is quite large at that point. You have a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.70,0:00:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lot of teams. And so going and making all
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.90,0:00:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of those onboarding materials at a hundred\Npeople is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.10,0:00:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,way harder than starting when you're smaller\Nthan a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.30,0:00:34.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hundred people and then maintaining it incrementally.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.50,0:00:34.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third aspect is the immediate team that\Nthe
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.70,0:00:34.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineer joins. So there's a saying that you\Ndon't
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.90,0:00:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,know something until you teach it. And this\Nis
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.10,0:00:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,absolutely true for your company's culture\Nand code process.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.30,0:00:35.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if you don't know how to explain to
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.50,0:00:35.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a new engineer what your company's culture\Nis or
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.70,0:00:35.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how you ship code or how you decide what
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.90,0:00:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,features are built or who approves things,\Nwho reviews
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.10,0:00:36.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things, then you don't actually know it yourself.\NAnd
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.30,0:00:36.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's a massive red flag for your company\Nif
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.50,0:00:36.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can't explain your process.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.70,0:00:36.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Additionally, when people join small teams,\Nsmall teams fundamentally
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.90,0:00:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,change every single time you add a new person
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.10,0:00:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to them. So iterating your team's process\Nto the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.30,0:00:37.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new engineer is not just important for them,\Nit's
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.50,0:00:37.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also important for your existing engineers,\Nso that you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.70,0:00:37.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get something that looks a little bit more\Nlike
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.90,0:00:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this, where everyone is on the same page.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.10,0:00:38.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And because the team changes every time you\Nadd
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.30,0:00:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people to it, you're gonna have to reiterate\Nthis
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.50,0:00:38.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to everyone pretty much every time you add\Na
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.70,0:00:38.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new employee.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.90,0:00:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, something about me, I love sports anecdotes.\NI
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.10,0:00:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,played sports for most of my life. And when
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.30,0:00:39.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was done playing sports, I coached JV girls
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.50,0:00:39.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,water polo at a high school nearby. And I
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.70,0:00:39.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used to have these really deep, philosophical\Nteam meetings
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.90,0:00:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with them, and I'd come in with these posters,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.10,0:00:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one day I came in with this, a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.30,0:00:40.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,poster with this written on it. They always\Njust
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.50,0:00:40.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sat there and kind of rolled their eyes at
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.70,0:00:40.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,me, like.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.90,0:00:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, I was trying to explain to them that
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.10,0:00:41.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their ability to win games was not wholly\Ndependent
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.30,0:00:41.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their skills. These girls were beginners.\NThey didn't
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.50,0:00:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really know how to throw. They didn't really\Nknow
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.70,0:00:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how to swim. They basically didn't have the\Nskill
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.90,0:00:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,set necessary to play water polo. But, they\Nwere
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.10,0:00:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,playing all these games. And so I wanted them
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.30,0:00:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to understand that their skill set was important,\Nbut
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.50,0:00:42.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,team work was more important, so they could\Nactually
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.70,0:00:42.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,beat teams that were theoretically more skilled\Nthan them
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.90,0:00:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but didn't work together as well as they did
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.10,0:00:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if they all banded together, because teamwork\Nis a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.30,0:00:43.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,multiplication factor.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.50,0:00:43.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is true in engineering as well. Your
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.70,0:00:43.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,productivity as an engineering team is the\Nsum of
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.90,0:00:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the engineering talent that you have multiplied\Nby how
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.10,0:00:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well you work together. So if your team is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.30,0:00:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,working well together, that's great. If not,\Nyour team
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.50,0:00:44.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can actually pull itself apart. And, anecdotally,\Na lot
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.70,0:00:44.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of, a lot of products have been built by
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.90,0:00:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,teams that are less than ten or five people.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.10,0:00:45.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Gmail is a really great example. It was
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.30,0:00:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,built by a team of less than five. And
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.50,0:00:45.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,now that it's successful it's maintained by\Na team
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.70,0:00:45.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of over four-hundred, I think.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.90,0:00:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So our bonus category, diversity. How many\Nof you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.10,0:00:46.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have read Dr. Seuss's book about sneetches?\NYeah? It's
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.30,0:00:46.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a great, it's a childrens' poem, like all\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.50,0:00:46.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his books are. But it's about this community\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.70,0:00:46.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sneetches. And sneetches are what I have drawn\Nthere.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.90,0:00:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And at some point, some sneetches start developing\Nstars
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.10,0:00:47.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their bellies. And it's the story about\Nkind
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.30,0:00:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the rifts that happen in the community\Nas
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.50,0:00:47.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a result of some sneetches having stars on\Ntheir
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.70,0:00:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bellies and some sneetches not.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.90,0:00:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I like to use sneetches to represent diversity,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.10,0:00:48.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cause diversity can mean a lot of things.\NIt
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.30,0:00:48.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can be gender diversity, it can be racial\Ndiversity,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.50,0:00:48.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it can be introverts versus extraverts as\Nfar as
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.70,0:00:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,diversity goes. So communication styles. But\Nthe idea is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.90,0:00:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that onboarding is gonna be really critical\Nif you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.10,0:00:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,want to hire people who are different from\Neach
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.30,0:00:49.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other in any way.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.50,0:00:49.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is pretty typical in tech. Companies\Nare started
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.70,0:00:49.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a small group of people, and it's homogenous.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.90,0:00:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The phenomenom is called homophaly. We tend\Nto associate
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.10,0:00:50.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and like to be around people who are like
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.30,0:00:50.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ourselves. So companies tend to get started\Nas homogenous
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.50,0:00:50.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.70,0:00:50.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you don't have any onboarding, the people\Nwho
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.90,0:00:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are most likely to be successful joining your\Norganization
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.10,0:00:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are people who are like the existing group.\NThis
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.30,0:00:51.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is because they likely share similar communication\Nstyles, interests
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.50,0:00:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and hobbies. There might be tacit acceptance\Nbecause they
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.70,0:00:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,look the same as the rest of the group.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.90,0:00:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what you're doing is you're relying on\Nhomopholy
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.10,0:00:52.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the existing social structure for peoples'\Nsuccess at
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.30,0:00:52.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the company and onboarding.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.50,0:00:52.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what you don't want to have happen is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.70,0:00:52.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something like this. You hire someone new\Nwho's different,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.90,0:00:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they feel socially ostracized upfront.\NNot for any
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.10,0:00:53.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particular malicious reason, but just because\Nthey're different. They
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.30,0:00:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,communicate differently. And so what you want\Nis you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.50,0:00:53.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,want an explicit onboarding structure that\Nhelps bring people
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.70,0:00:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the fold, that helps people become a\Npart
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.90,0:00:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the team in some sort of systematic way
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.10,0:00:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that everyone who joins, no matter how\Ndifferent
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.30,0:00:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they are from the existing group, has a solid
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.50,0:00:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,chance at being successful.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.70,0:00:54.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, hopefully now you guys are all convinced\Nthat
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.90,0:00:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,onboarding is super important.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.10,0:00:55.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who at your company can onboard?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.30,0:00:55.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So anyone of your team can onboard. This is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.50,0:00:55.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not a, senior engineers have to be paired\Nwith
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.70,0:00:55.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,junior engineers. They can learn the most.\NIn fact,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.90,0:00:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going back to sports analogies, some of your\Nbest
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.10,0:00:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people to onboard are going to be people,\Nkind
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.30,0:00:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of like if a freshman athelete were to join
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.50,0:00:56.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a team, the sophomore athletes might be the\Nbest
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.70,0:00:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people to help them out.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.90,0:00:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is because they have the most empathy\Nfor
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.10,0:00:57.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they're going through. They also experienced\Nit the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.30,0:00:57.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most recently, so they have relevant information\Nand stories.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.50,0:00:57.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So your sophomore engineers might be some\Nof your
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.70,0:00:57.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,best onboarders at the company, in addition\Nto the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.90,0:00:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,expertise of your senior engineers.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.10,0:00:58.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.30,0:00:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So onboarding can start as soon as an offer
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.50,0:00:58.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is accepted. I'm going to talk about an onboarding
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.70,0:00:58.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,plan coming up soon, and we're gonna talk\Nabout
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.90,0:00:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the start date to what I call reliable
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.10,0:00:59.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,independence, which is where this person can\Nbuild things
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.30,0:00:59.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and build features to an adequate level and\Nbe
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.50,0:00:59.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,left on their own to the same degree as
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.70,0:00:59.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other engineers on the team.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.90,0:01:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right. How?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.10,0:01:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the how category I'm gonna talk about\Nsome
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.30,0:01:00.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,concepts to think about, when you're thinking\Nabout how
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.50,0:01:00.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to onboard others. And then I'm gonna launch\Ninto
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.70,0:01:00.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a four-week plan that goes through some of\Nthe
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.90,0:01:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,specific things that you can do with engineers.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.10,0:01:01.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, first off, the concepts. It's pretty straight\Nforward.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.30,0:01:01.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You want to maximize your return on investment.\NYou
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.50,0:01:01.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't really want to be putting more into\Nengineers
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.70,0:01:01.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than you're getting out of them. And most\Npeople
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.90,0:01:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't really want more put into them than\Nthey're
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.10,0:01:02.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,giving back. That's kind of a strange dynamic.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.30,0:01:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, a really inefficient but really common\Nway that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.50,0:01:02.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people try to onboard is this, like, hand-holding\Nmodel.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.70,0:01:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,New onboarding mentors are really prone to\Nthis. They
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.90,0:01:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,think, I'm gonna be the best onboarding mentor\Never.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.10,0:01:03.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're gonna do everything together. We're\Ngonna do all
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.30,0:01:03.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of these code tutorials. They're gonna watch\Nme code
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.50,0:01:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every day, and by the time we're done with
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.70,0:01:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,three months, they're gonna know everything\Nthat I know.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.90,0:01:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, in addition to being inefficient, because\Nthis is
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.10,0:01:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a huge time sink, it's also unrealistic. People\Ndo
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.30,0:01:04.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not become senior engineers in three months.\NYou need
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.50,0:01:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,time. You just, you just do. And so this
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.70,0:01:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,burns people out and also disappoints them.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.90,0:01:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A more efficient way to think abou things\Nis,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.10,0:01:05.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my example is bumper bowling, which is pretty\Nmuch
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.30,0:01:05.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the only way I should be allowed to bowl.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.50,0:01:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, you set up an environment that's constrained,\Nwhere
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.70,0:01:05.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're able to play freely. They're able\Nto go
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.90,0:01:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,off and do what they want, come back and
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.10,0:01:06.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ask questions. But you don't have to handhold\Nthem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.30,0:01:06.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through things.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.50,0:01:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so the way you do this with a
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.70,0:01:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,technical environment is automation is huge.\NSo, automating the
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.90,0:01:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,development environment, automating deploy.\NHaving a lot of testing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.10,0:01:07.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for your code base, however you decide to\Ndo
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.30,0:01:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that. Whether it's TDD or not. Will help these
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.50,0:01:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,junior engineers have a safe space to learn\Nand
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.70,0:01:07.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,grow and play.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.90,0:01:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the important things to think about,\Ntoo,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.10,0:01:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when setting up this environment is that scoping\Nis
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.30,0:01:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,critical. One of the tenants of expertise\Nis the
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.50,0:01:08.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ability to scope. So, if you're an expert,\Nyou
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.70,0:01:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,understand the landscape incredibly well.\NSo you're able to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.90,0:01:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,set these really well-defined boundaries.\NJunior engineers, by definition,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.10,0:01:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not good at scoping because they don't\Nknow
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.30,0:01:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the landscape.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.50,0:01:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, when you're thinking about giving them\Nprojects and
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.70,0:01:09.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're thinking about setting up their environment,\Nmake sure
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.90,0:01:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to set boundaries for them and then slowly\Nmove
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.10,0:01:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them out as they know more about what's going
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.30,0:01:10.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on. Because they won't be able to set those
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.50,0:01:10.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,boundaries for themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.70,0:01:10.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, kind of three onboarding categories that\Nmap to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.90,0:01:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the productive, independent, confident thing\NI was talking about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.10,0:01:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,earlier are technical knowledge, company knowledge\Nand process, and
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.30,0:01:11.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,personal development. I mention this because\Npeople think that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.50,0:01:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,onboarding has to do with technical knowledge.\NThey seem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.70,0:01:11.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to think that that's 90% of what's going on.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.90,0:01:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd say it's actually about a third, and it's
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.10,0:01:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually the easiest third, because you can\Ngo to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.30,0:01:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the internet and find a ton of tutorials on,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.50,0:01:12.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on Ruby and how to learn Rails and how
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.70,0:01:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use Rails and blog posts about how to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.90,0:01:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,use any number of technology out there.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.10,0:01:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The harder category, which is another third\Nof what
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.30,0:01:13.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they need to know, is the company knowledge\Nand
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.50,0:01:13.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,process. And this is really, really important\Nfor them
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.70,0:01:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being independent. They can't be independent\Nif they don't
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.90,0:01:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,know how to operate within the company's infrastructure.\NThis
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.10,0:01:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is harder because most companies don't write\Nthis down.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.30,0:01:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's in someone's head somewhere, and the\Njunior
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.50,0:01:14.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineer, or the new engineer, is tasked with\Ngoing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.70,0:01:14.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and extracting it from whoever on the team\Nknows
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.90,0:01:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this. So the more explicit you can be about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.10,0:01:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your company knowledge and process, the better.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.30,0:01:15.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then third, personal development. That\Nhas to do
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.50,0:01:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with confidence, career trajectories. Again,\Nthis is, this is
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.70,0:01:15.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,important because confident people are willing\Nto reach. They're
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.90,0:01:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,willing to be outgoing and they're willing\Nto try
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.10,0:01:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new things. They also perform better.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.30,0:01:16.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK. So now I'm gonna talk about a fairly
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.50,0:01:16.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,specific plan. This was written with junior\Nengineers in
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.70,0:01:16.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mind. So some of the tasks are very specific
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.90,0:01:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to junior engineers, as is the time frame.\NA
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.10,0:01:17.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lot of these things will be relevant for people
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.30,0:01:17.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with more experience. The time frame just\Nmight be
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.50,0:01:17.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more condensed.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.70,0:01:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, for week one for a junior engineer, it's
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.90,0:01:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all about shipping code and kind of getting\Nto
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.10,0:01:18.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,know their immediate team. So dev environment\Nsetup is
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.30,0:01:18.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,critical for anyone joining an engineering\Nteam. The last
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.50,0:01:18.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,person who joined the company is going to\Nbe
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.70,0:01:18.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the best person to get them up to speed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.90,0:01:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their dev environment, because they are\Nthe one
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.10,0:01:19.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who knows the most about how to set up
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.30,0:01:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a dev environment. Someone who started two\Nyears ago
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.50,0:01:19.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is probably not going to know the ins and
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.70,0:01:19.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,outs of getting started.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.90,0:01:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Additionally, you should have a goal about\Nhow quickly
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.10,0:01:20.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you want someone's dev environment to be set\Nup
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.30,0:01:20.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that they can reasonably ship code. So\Nlike
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.50,0:01:20.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a config file, for example, or something static.\NA
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.70,0:01:20.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,great goal is the first week. An awesome goal
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.90,0:01:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the first day. And, if you want to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.10,0:01:21.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,try to match, I think it's Debian in the
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.30,0:01:21.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,opensource world, their goal is five minutes,\Nwhich is
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.50,0:01:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,probably a little bit of a reach. But I'd
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.70,0:01:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,say the first day is a fantastic goal. If
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.90,0:01:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,someone can be set up with their dev environment
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.10,0:01:22.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and able to ship a config file the first
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.30,0:01:22.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,day, that means that you have pretty great\Nautomation
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.50,0:01:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a really great onboarding process.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.70,0:01:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The next thing is shipping code. You should\Nship
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.90,0:01:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,small changes and you should teach junior\Nengineers to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.10,0:01:23.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ship small changes as early as possible. So,\Ngive
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.30,0:01:23.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them a task as soon as they've got their
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.50,0:01:23.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dev environment set up and they're ready to\Ngo.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.70,0:01:23.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe have them fix a bug or rewrite tests
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.90,0:01:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a small feature that's really well-scoped,\Nso that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.10,0:01:24.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they can ship something and be productive\Nand part
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.30,0:01:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the team as soon as possible. This is
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.50,0:01:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,great both for your onboarding process, but\Nalso it
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.70,0:01:24.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,helps them feel valuable, which, as we talked\Nabout
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.90,0:01:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,earlier, is really key.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.10,0:01:25.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Journaling and note-taking. People will naturally\Ndo this. We
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.30,0:01:25.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't memorize all of the commands that we\Nneed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.50,0:01:25.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to know, and so we'll write them down. Just,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.70,0:01:25.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just give them a central place to do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.90,0:01:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Talk to them about it. Ask them about three
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.10,0:01:26.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things they learned that day or that week.\NJust
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.30,0:01:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of put a communication structure around\Nthe fact
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.50,0:01:26.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they're probably already taking notes.\NIt will help
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.70,0:01:26.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you understand what's confusing for them and\Nit will
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.90,0:01:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,help them remember things.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.10,0:01:27.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then, finally, have a social event. And\Ndo
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.30,0:01:27.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this for any engineer that joins your team.\NNo
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.50,0:01:27.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one should join a company and sit off in
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.70,0:01:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the corner alone, not knowing their immediate\Nteam mates.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.90,0:01:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Have some sort of coffee. Have everyone sit\Ntogether
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.10,0:01:28.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at lunch. Go out for dinner or drinks. It
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.30,0:01:28.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doesn't matter what it is. They just need\Nto
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.50,0:01:28.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put names to faces and feel comfortable asking\Nquestions
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.70,0:01:28.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of, at least, their immediate team. Like,\Nyou know,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.90,0:01:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the five people that they work with. If they
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.10,0:01:29.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,want to ask someone where a pen is, or
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.30,0:01:29.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the bathroom, or they don't know something\Nreally simple
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.50,0:01:29.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they feel uncomfortable asking, that's\Ngonna be a
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.70,0:01:29.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bad experience right off the bat. And this\None
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.90,0:01:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is so easy. It's just a gimme.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.10,0:01:30.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right. Week two. Week two is more about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.30,0:01:30.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the context of the company, and also starting\Nto
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.50,0:01:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have them shadow and, and learn from more\Nsenior
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.70,0:01:30.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers. So, you should tell them the history\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.90,0:01:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your company. The history of your company\Nhopefully is
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.10,0:01:31.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a pretty interesting story. The history of\Nyour company
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.30,0:01:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is also something they're not really gonna\Nbe able
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.50,0:01:31.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to absorb the first week. They aren't gonna\Nknow
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.70,0:01:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the characters in, in the story as well as
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.90,0:01:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they will the second week. So who are the
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.10,0:01:32.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,founders? Why did they make this company?\NWho are
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.30,0:01:32.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people that were hired early on? It actually
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.50,0:01:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is probably gonna tell you a lot about your
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.70,0:01:32.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,process and your culture as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.90,0:01:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Additionally, a team map is fantastic. So\Nif you
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.10,0:01:33.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have some place where you can put everyone's\Npicture
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.30,0:01:33.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and name, generally what they do and what\Nthey
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.50,0:01:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,work on, if you can make it a seating
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.70,0:01:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,chart, even better, or put their names above\Ntheir
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.90,0:01:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,computers. People are gonna forget someone's\Nname. They're gonna
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.10,0:01:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forget that that guy they talked to five times
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.30,0:01:34.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is Andy. And they're gonna be embarrassed\Nto ask
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.50,0:01:34.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just like I always am when I forget someone's
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.70,0:01:34.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,name after talking to them for five times.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.90,0:01:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Code labs and shadowing. So code labs are\Nsomething
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.10,0:01:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Eventbrite started doing, and this is\Na really
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.30,0:01:35.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,awesome idea. It's basically a safe space\Nfor an
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.50,0:01:35.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hour once, twice, three times a week, however\Nmany
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.70,0:01:35.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,times, where they can ask someone that's more\Nsenior
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.90,0:01:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any kind of question they want. So you can
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.10,0:01:36.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a code lab for an hour that's on
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.30,0:01:36.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,frontend development. Or a code lab for an\Nhour
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.50,0:01:36.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on dev ops. And the most important thing about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.70,0:01:36.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these code labs is actually not the topic.\NIt's
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.90,0:01:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it's safe. So when you're thinking about\Npicking
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.10,0:01:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers to run these code labs, think about\Npicking
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.30,0:01:37.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers who are going to create a safe space
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.50,0:01:37.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for these junior developers to ask questions.\NFeeling stupid
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.70,0:01:37.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when asking questions is pretty typical, especially\Nwhen you're
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.90,0:01:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new. You want some place where they don't\Nfeel
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.10,0:01:38.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that way.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.30,0:01:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Shadowing is also a great way to get people
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.50,0:01:38.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up to speed. This actually is a great thing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.70,0:01:38.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to do at any level. But pair them with
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.90,0:01:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,someone who's more senior. Have them sit with\Nthem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.10,0:01:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for an hour a day or a week. And
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.30,0:01:39.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just watch their process. How do they build\Ncode?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.50,0:01:39.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How do they get things done? What tools do
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.70,0:01:39.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they use? One of the things to think about,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.90,0:01:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,though, when pairing people for shadowing,\Nis that we
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.10,0:01:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will forgive a lot of bad habits in more
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.30,0:01:40.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mid-level or senior engineers that we won't\Nforgive in
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.50,0:01:40.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,junior engineers.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.70,0:01:40.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I've seen this happen a lot where junior
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.90,0:01:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers are following someone who's more\Nsenior, and they're
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.10,0:01:41.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doing a great job, actually, of picking things\Nup.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.30,0:01:41.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're learning a ton. And some of the things
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.50,0:01:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're learning are not so good. And so they
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.70,0:01:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,end up getting punished for these habits that\Nthey
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.90,0:01:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,learned directly from a senior engineer. So\Nmake sure
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.10,0:01:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you take a look, whenever you see someone
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.30,0:01:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doing something, who's new or young, take\Na look
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.50,0:01:42.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at where they learned that from. If they learned
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.70,0:01:42.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it from someone else, try to just encourage\Nthem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.90,0:01:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go in the right direction.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.10,0:01:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's nothing worse, when you're new, than\Nspending all
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.30,0:01:43.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this time following someone, learning something,\Nand then later
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.50,0:01:43.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being told that you're doing it wrong. You're\Nlike,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.70,0:01:43.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well then why did I follow this person around?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.90,0:01:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right. Week three is a lot about communication.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.10,0:01:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Goal-setting. Feedback. Presentations. So\Nfor a junior engineer, at
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.30,0:01:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this, up to this point, you've probably been\Ndoing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.50,0:01:44.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of high-touch interactions. You've probably\Nbeen working
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.70,0:01:44.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with them fairly constantly. By week three\Nyou can
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.90,0:01:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,start scaling back. Give them more independence.\NGive them
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.10,0:01:45.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more free time. But set up weekly one-on-ones.\NThis
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.30,0:01:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a structured, expected thing where they\Ncan give
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.50,0:01:45.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you feedback. Maybe they can spend ten minutes\Ntalking
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.70,0:01:45.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about something they learned this week. You\Ncan start
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.90,0:01:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doing goal-setting.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.10,0:01:46.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which, by week three, hopefully they have\Na better
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.30,0:01:46.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,idea of what they want to do next. Maybe
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.50,0:01:46.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not what they want to do with their whole
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.70,0:01:46.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,life, but maybe next they want to focus on
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.90,0:01:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,frontend. They want to get really, really\Ngood at
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.10,0:01:47.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,implementing features for users. Or maybe\Nthey absolutely love
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.30,0:01:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dev ops and infrastructure and they want to\Nwork
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.50,0:01:47.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more on that.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.70,0:01:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you can start setting these short and long-term
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.90,0:01:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,goals so that they feel like they're moving\Nforward.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.10,0:01:48.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Feedback is also really important. Give feedback\Nearly. Give
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.30,0:01:48.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feedback often. Some of the biggest complaints\Nthat people
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.50,0:01:48.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have about their managers is that they don't\Nget
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.70,0:01:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any feedback from them. So, as engineers,\Nwe tend
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.90,0:01:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be fairly critical and a little bit cynical,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.10,0:01:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which I think is healthy. But when you're\Ngiving
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.30,0:01:49.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feedback to someone, especially if they're\Njunior, remember, they
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.50,0:01:49.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't know what they're doing well, either.\NThey actually
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.70,0:01:49.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't, they don't really have a good idea\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.90,0:01:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they're doing that's good or bad.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.10,0:01:50.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'll give you another sports analogy.\NWhen I
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.30,0:01:50.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was coaching, so I'm coaching beginners. Absolute\Nbeginners. And
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.50,0:01:50.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm standing on the pool deck, kind of yelling
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.70,0:01:50.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things at them. And they'd go to do, like,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.90,0:01:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they'd go to throw the ball, like they'd go
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.10,0:01:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to shoot and they'd drop their elbow, and\NI'd
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.30,0:01:51.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yell don't drop your elbow! And it look like
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.50,0:01:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these kids hit a brick wall. They would just
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.70,0:01:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stop and sink in the water and look at
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.90,0:01:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,me. Which I realized was exactly not the behavior
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.10,0:01:52.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I wanted from them. What I wanted them
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.30,0:01:52.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to do was I wanted them to keep their
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.50,0:01:52.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,elbow up.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.70,0:01:52.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I thought about this for awhile, and then
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.90,0:01:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I decided to just start yelling at them all
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.10,0:01:53.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the things that I wanted them to do. So
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.30,0:01:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I took the words no and don't out of
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.50,0:01:53.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my vocabulary, which is a really, really fun\Ngame,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.70,0:01:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if anyone wants a hobby. So I started yelling
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.90,0:01:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things at them like, keep your elbow up. Keep
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.10,0:01:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your hips up. And I saw the most amazing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.30,0:01:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thing happen. They all started doing exactly\Nwhat I
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.50,0:01:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wanted.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.70,0:01:54.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They started, they started moving forward\Nfaster. They were
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.90,0:01:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,excited. They felt confident. And there was\Nno, there
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.10,0:01:55.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was nothing except that I just took all of
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.30,0:01:55.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these negative words and negative phrases\Nout and told
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.50,0:01:55.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them what I wanted and they did it. So,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.70,0:01:55.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when you're thinking about yelling things\Nat your junior
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.90,0:01:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers, try yelling at them what you want\Nthem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.10,0:01:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to do as opposed to what you don't want
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.30,0:01:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.50,0:01:56.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Presentations are also really great for communication.\NWe don't
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.70,0:01:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,program in vaccuums. We often work on teams.\NWe
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.90,0:01:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,need to be able to communicate technical concepts\Nto
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.10,0:01:57.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other people in a really clear and concise\Nway.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.30,0:01:57.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So make them practice. Give them a topic once
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.50,0:01:57.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a month, a technical topic, maybe it's regexes,\Nmaybe
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.70,0:01:57.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's the ORM layer, and have them give a
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.90,0:01:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,five to ten minute presentation to the rest\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.10,0:01:58.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the team on it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.30,0:01:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Week four. Week four, you're gonna continue\Nscaling back.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.50,0:01:58.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You want them to be independent. You want\Nthem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.70,0:01:58.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be autonomous. So you're gonna continue\Ntaking yourself
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.90,0:01:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out. Review concepts. Check in regularly in\Nyour one-on-ones.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.10,0:01:59.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can start to tell them things like, if
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.30,0:01:59.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you hit a bug, I want you to research
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.50,0:01:59.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things for an hour before you come talk to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.70,0:01:59.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,me. So set really clear expectations, but\Nhave them
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.90,0:02:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go off on their own. Have them do research
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.10,0:02:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their own. Have them get used to that
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.30,0:02:00.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feeling of hitting your head up against a\Nwall
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.50,0:02:00.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you're super frustrated with a problem.\NThis is
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.70,0:02:00.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,good. They need to learn those things.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.90,0:02:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, make shadowing elective. Let them choose\Nwho they
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.10,0:02:01.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,want to shadow and when. So start off-loading\Ndecisions
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.30,0:02:01.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about what they do to the engineer. Also,\Nhave
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.50,0:02:01.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them start co-piloting a larger project with\Nsomeone else.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.70,0:02:01.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The concept is kind of like drivers' ed in
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.90,0:02:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the U.S. In drivers' ed in the U.S., you're
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.10,0:02:02.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,paired with an instructor who actually has\Na break
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.30,0:02:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their side, so if you decide to careen
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.50,0:02:02.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a cliff or something, they can hit the
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.70,0:02:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,breaks and stop you. So pair them with someone
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.90,0:02:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who still has enough control that they can\Nstop
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.10,0:02:03.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them from doing anything that's really dangerous,\Nbut they're
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.30,0:02:03.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also working on bigger projects now and learning\Nfrom
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.50,0:02:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,someone who's more senior.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.70,0:02:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beyond. So, keep checking in on goals. Keep\Ntalking
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.90,0:02:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to them. Make sure you have really structured\Nchannels
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.10,0:02:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for communication. Start tailoring their projects,\Ncode labs, et
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.30,0:02:04.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cetera to their progress. And this is the\Npart
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.50,0:02:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where you can start doing things like informal\Napprenticeships
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.70,0:02:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and assessing their progress. Although you\Nshould be assessing
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.90,0:02:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it this whole time.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.10,0:02:05.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Apprenticeship is a concept that has worked\Nfor many
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.30,0:02:05.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of years in many, many different\Ntrade industries.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.50,0:02:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, blacksmithing, roof-thatching, I don't\Nknow. But at this
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.70,0:02:05.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,point, they should know more specifically\Nwhat they're gonna
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.90,0:02:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,want to work on long-term. So have them be
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.10,0:02:06.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an apprentice to someone who's more senior\Nat this.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.30,0:02:06.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if they want to do dev ops, they
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.50,0:02:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can go work on the dev ops team with
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.70,0:02:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a more senior engineer, and they might do\Na
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.90,0:02:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lot of grunt-work tasks. They might do a lot
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.10,0:02:07.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the things that no one else wants to
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.30,0:02:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do at this point. But they're learning. And\Nas
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.50,0:02:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they learn and they grow they get more involved
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.70,0:02:07.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tasks, and they get to solve more exciting\Nproblems.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.90,0:02:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Assessment. So you're gonna see wildly different\Ntrajectories with
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.10,0:02:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people. And hopefully the more systematic\Nyour process gets,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.30,0:02:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more you're able to deal with this. But
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.50,0:02:08.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some people are just gonna take off running\Nand
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.70,0:02:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're gonna be fine. Other people are gonna\Nhave
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.90,0:02:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ups and downs. And so you're gonna want to
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.10,0:02:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have some sort of way of assessing how they're
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.30,0:02:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doing. And when someone's not doing the way\Nyou
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.50,0:02:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,expect, the answer isn't always they're a\Nbad programmer.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.70,0:02:09.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, we came up with five assessment categories.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.90,0:02:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Confidence, code quality, communication, judgement,\Nand technical knowledge. And
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.10,0:02:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is just a start. If someone is afraid
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.30,0:02:10.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to ship code, they might lack confidence.\NAnd so
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.50,0:02:10.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,helping to bolster their confidence will see\Nhuge results.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.70,0:02:10.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Additionally, if they're building features\Nthat don't make sense,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.90,0:02:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they might lack judgment. And in order to\Nhave
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.10,0:02:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,good judgment, you need a lot of context about
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.30,0:02:11.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who uses your product and why. So maybe they
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.50,0:02:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,should go spend more time working with customer\Nsupport
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.70,0:02:11.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and answering support tickets so that they\Ncan learn
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.90,0:02:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how people use the product so they have better
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.10,0:02:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,judgement. Sometimes they just need to learn\Nmore about
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.30,0:02:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a particular tool, and that one's pretty easy.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.50,0:02:12.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK. Hopefully you guys have had a fair number
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.70,0:02:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of take-aways. Hopefully you now know about\Nthe concept
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.90,0:02:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of team debt. You're thinking about doing\Nan onboarding
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.10,0:02:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,plan now. But, if you take away only three
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.30,0:02:13.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things, I hope you take away these three things.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.50,0:02:13.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First off, the goal of onboarding is to make
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.70,0:02:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people confident, productive, and independent.\NReliably independent. And so
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.90,0:02:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that can have to do with their level. But
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.10,0:02:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's not about making someone into a senior\Nengineer
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.30,0:02:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,overnight.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.50,0:02:14.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Second, onboarding benefits everyone in the\Nlong run. It
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.70,0:02:14.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,benefits the individual joining, it benefits\Nyour company's bottom-line,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.90,0:02:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it benefits the productivity of the team,\Nand it's
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.10,0:02:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also great for diversity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.30,0:02:15.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And finally, anyone at your company can be\Ninvolved
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.50,0:02:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in onboarding. So, as I said before, some\Nof
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.70,0:02:15.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your best onboarders are not gonna be senior\Nengineers.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.90,0:02:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're gonna be the people who were just\Njunior
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.10,0:02:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.30,0:02:16.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK. So, start improving your onboarding process\Nnow. There's
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.50,0:02:16.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually a code repository, or not code, but\Njust
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.70,0:02:16.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a GitHub repository that has some assessment\Nrubrics. It
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.90,0:02:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has the plan in a lot more detail. It
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.10,0:02:17.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also has some tools for, for learning, like,\Nonline
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.30,0:02:17.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tools for learning Ruby and Rails. And if\Nyou
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.50,0:02:17.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have questions, feel free to ask them now.\NIf
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.70,0:02:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you are terrified of yelling questions out\Nin a
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.90,0:02:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pubilc forum, which I absolutely am, you can\Ncome
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.10,0:02:18.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,find me later. I'll also be around for the
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.30,0:02:18.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rest of the conference. So thank you.