Developing Self and Others

While working at an IT firm, I was responsible for onboarding new joiners to the team. While a standard process was in place, I felt it missed important elements and set out to improve it.

I listed the activities carried out by the team and the general and specialist skills required to deliver these, then compared to the skills delivered through the basic training. I spoke to recently-joined colleagues to get their feedback on the process and what could be improved, as well as members of the team who acted as buddies for new starters.

I noticed gaps in the onboarding and began identifying ways to fill these. I also, however, made a discovery about the team itself. The responsibilities for one of the most experienced members had changed and they were now covering two areas. Another colleague had taken over some technical work but had not received formal training and was struggling in silence.

I discussed this with the manager who immediately addressed the situation. This highlighted, however, that the team was too dependent on individuals with specific skills. Over the coming months, therefore, I worked with the experienced team member to develop training for the team and capture their knowledge in documents that could be referred back to in the future.

As a result, not only did the onboarding process improve, but the training needs across the team were addressed in a more structured way. My manager recognized the impact my work had on improving the team’s capability.

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