What makes a great engineering onboarding experience

I have seen onboarding make or break an engineer’s success in a team. Some companies do it well, giving new hires the tools, guidance, and space to ramp up confidently. Others drop them into a chaotic environment with little direction, expecting them to “figure it out.” The difference between those two approaches is retention, productivity, and overall team morale.

When onboarding is treated as an afterthought, new hires struggle. They hesitate to ask questions, waste time searching for answers, and feel disconnected from the team. When done right, onboarding is not just about setting up accounts and handing over documentation. It is about helping engineers integrate smoothly, understand how things work, and feel like part of the team as soon as possible.

Why onboarding matters more than teams realize

Some managers assume that onboarding is just an admin process. Set up their laptop, add them to Slack, send them a link to the company wiki, and let them get to work. But onboarding is not just about tools and access. It is about how quickly and effectively an engineer becomes productive.

I have seen teams where engineers take months to contribute, not because they lack skill, but because no one gave them a clear path forward. They waste time searching for the right information, wondering who to ask, and second-guessing whether they are doing things the right way. A slow start does not just affect the new hire, it puts extra pressure on the rest of the team, who now have to fill in the gaps.

A poor onboarding experience does not always show its effects immediately, but it is one of the biggest reasons engineers leave within their first year. When onboarding is disorganized, people feel lost. If they do not feel valued or set up for success, they start looking for other opportunities.

The biggest mistakes in engineering onboarding

I have made mistakes in onboarding before. Everyone does. The biggest lesson I learned is that a lack of structure creates uncertainty. When there is no clear plan, new hires either move too slowly because they are afraid of making mistakes, or they rush ahead blindly and end up doing things wrong. Neither is good.

Another common mistake is throwing too much information at once. I have seen teams overload new engineers with documentation, system overviews, and meetings in the first few days, expecting them to absorb it all. The reality is, most of it goes in one ear and out the other. Engineers do not need to understand everything immediately. They need a gradual introduction to the way things work.

A more subtle mistake is focusing only on the technical side of onboarding. Engineers are not just joining a codebase, they are joining a team. If they do not feel comfortable asking for help, if they are not introduced properly to teammates, or if they do not understand the decision-making culture, they will struggle more than they should.

A good onboarding structure: the 30-60-90 day plan

Over time, I have found that the best onboarding approach is structured but flexible. I want engineers to have clear expectations, but I also do not want them to feel rushed or pressured to perform at full speed immediately. That is why I like to use a 30-60-90 day approach to break onboarding into three phases.

The first month is all about learning. I expect engineers to observe, absorb, and ask questions. They meet the team, attend key meetings, and get familiar with our systems. There is no pressure to deliver anything big. They are encouraged to set up their development environment, explore the codebase, and shadow teammates to understand how things are done.

The second month is about making their first meaningful contributions. I like to give new hires small but real tasks early on, so they do not feel like they are just watching from the sidelines. By this point, they should start forming opinions about what is working well and what could be improved in our codebase and workflows. This is where they begin to understand technical debt, team priorities, and how decisions are made.

The last month is about ownership. At this point, they are expected to be fully contributing: writing code, participating in pull request reviews, and handling tasks independently. They also review the onboarding process itself. Every new hire brings fresh eyes, so I ask them to update documentation, improve onboarding guides, and share what was unclear for them. The goal is not just to integrate them into the team but to make onboarding better for the next person.

Each phase ends with a formal follow-up meeting. At 30 and 60 days, we check in to see how they are progressing, clarify expectations, and address any challenges. At 90 days, we make things clear: either we celebrate the end of their probation, or we have an honest conversation about whether this is the right fit.

Why an onboarding buddy changes everything

One of the best additions I discovered was the onboarding buddy system, where every new engineer is paired with a more experienced team member who is there to answer questions, provide guidance, and make the transition smoother.

The buddy is not a manager or someone evaluating them. They are simply a go-to person for all the little things that are not written down anywhere (how the team actually works, what tools people prefer, who to ask for what,..). It removes the hesitation of “is this a dumb question?” and makes new hires feel supported. The buddy benefits too. Teaching someone else how things work reinforces their own understanding. More importantly, it builds a stronger team culture, where engineers help each other succeed.

What engineering managers need to do to improve onboarding

A great onboarding experience does not happen by accident. Engineering managers need to take responsibility for making it structured, repeatable, and constantly improving.

I ask for feedback on onboarding every time a new engineer joins. If something was unclear, we fix it. If documentation was outdated, I make sure it gets updated. Onboarding should evolve, not stay static.

Another key responsibility is protecting onboarding time. I have seen teams that immediately pull new engineers into urgent tasks before they are ready. It is a mistake. Rushing onboarding only creates more work later when mistakes happen or when the engineer feels overwhelmed. Giving them space to learn properly pays off in the long run.

A company that does not invest in onboarding is setting itself up for failure. A bad onboarding experience means slower productivity, disengaged employees, and higher turnover. A strong onboarding experience shortens the ramp-up period, increases retention, and helps engineers integrate faster.

New hires should never feel lost or uncertain about what is expected of them. They should feel like they are part of the team from day one. When onboarding is done well, engineers do not just adapt to the company: they make it better.