3 ms·

I would also add ineffective onboarding. Two places I showed up 'we will not have your computer for at least 2 weeks'.

hinkley 3y ago
Oh I haven’t had that happen in such a very long time. Like CI, onboarding is a process we get better at by doing. If I work some place that hires consistently, I’ll make sure to sit with a new engineer at least once a year to 18 months and observe them going through the documented process. Save them when they get stuck, and rephrase that part of the documentation. I’ll also prompt them to make changes as well, for one very particular reason: when you encounter a jargon term for the first time maybe the first half dozen times, you still have Beginner’s mind. You can still explain it to someone below you on the ladder. Senior staff can get trapped in circular definitions and unspoken assumptions. Generally speaking, I find that the people who hate ramping up new engineers have made a mess that they don’t like to think about, and onboarding makes them look at it.
- cylentwolf 3y ago
  I find that for most seniors, you should follow the documentation with check ins from current employees. If the documentation is obtuse then have the new hire correct it so that the next new hire having the same information at that point will understand what to do better.
  - hinkley 3y ago
    Yes, but double check their work. If they’ve made a mistake that is visible in the documentation, you can fix it now and also have a teachable moment. But as I said above: resist the urge to rephrase what they’ve said unless it’s factually wrong. When I’m onboarding people, fixing bugs in the docs is the first task they complete. It helps everybody, and it keeps them from having to jump into fixing bugs in code they don’t understand at all yet for just a little while longer, while they build their 10,000 foot view.
    - sumtechguy 3y ago
      Last one I was at they ordered the computer my first day... You KNEW I was showing up 3 weeks ago...
nradov 3y ago
Ha ha, that happened to me years ago at a small startup. I spent the first day scavenging spare parts around the office and was able to build a working desktop PC. Similar thing happened to a friend who joined a large defense contractor. They had stacks of new computers sitting in a storeroom but the workforce was partially unionized and only union electricians were allowed to plug in new computers. Totally crazy, but he had to wait a couple weeks until they got around to it.

Oh I haven’t had that happen in such a very long time. Like CI, onboarding is a process we get better at by doing. If I work some place that hires consistently, I’ll make sure to sit with a new engineer at least once a year to 18 months and observe them going through the documented process. Save them when they get stuck, and rephrase that part of the documentation. I’ll also prompt them to make changes as well, for one very particular reason: when you encounter a jargon term for the first time maybe the first half dozen times, you still have Beginner’s mind. You can still explain it to someone below you on the ladder. Senior staff can get trapped in circular definitions and unspoken assumptions. Generally speaking, I find that the people who hate ramping up new engineers have made a mess that they don’t like to think about, and onboarding makes them look at it.

cylentwolf 3y ago
I find that for most seniors, you should follow the documentation with check ins from current employees. If the documentation is obtuse then have the new hire correct it so that the next new hire having the same information at that point will understand what to do better.
- hinkley 3y ago
  Yes, but double check their work. If they’ve made a mistake that is visible in the documentation, you can fix it now and also have a teachable moment. But as I said above: resist the urge to rephrase what they’ve said unless it’s factually wrong. When I’m onboarding people, fixing bugs in the docs is the first task they complete. It helps everybody, and it keeps them from having to jump into fixing bugs in code they don’t understand at all yet for just a little while longer, while they build their 10,000 foot view.
  - sumtechguy 3y ago
    Last one I was at they ordered the computer my first day... You KNEW I was showing up 3 weeks ago...

nradov 3y ago

Ha ha, that happened to me years ago at a small startup. I spent the first day scavenging spare parts around the office and was able to build a working desktop PC. Similar thing happened to a friend who joined a large defense contractor. They had stacks of new computers sitting in a storeroom but the workforce was partially unionized and only union electricians were allowed to plug in new computers. Totally crazy, but he had to wait a couple weeks until they got around to it.