Onboarding vs. training
Developer onboarding and training are fundamental factors in managing new talent. A company’s initial impression sets the stage for a performance that will unfold in the coming months. After securing the best developer in the market, it is important to ensure that your new hires adjust with ease to the dev team.
As maintaining the developers’ satisfaction and retention are the primary goals of any software company, understanding the interplay between employee onboarding and training helps in improving HR practices. Successful onboarding of new hires is what brings HR efforts to fruition.
Developer onboarding
Onboarding is the first step on the ladder of a new career as a developer. By providing new developers with essential guidelines and resources, onboarding ensures a smooth transition for the new hires as they adjust to the dev team. A meticulously designed onboarding plan directly impacts the new developers’ performance and productivity by making sure that any of the new job’s stress and anxiety triggers are curbed, while simultaneously instilling a sense of belonging. With the advent of COVID, virtual onboarding has also gained popularity in recent times.
Stages of Onboarding
The onboarding process greatly varies across software companies, depending on factors such as the work culture and the size of the company. A typical onboarding process covers 4 stages:
Pre-boarding
This is the stage where the new hire has just signed the offer letter. In order for a smooth start, preboarding ensures that the new employee has signed the necessary documents and submitted all the required statements for their company profile.
Orientation
Orientation marks the first day at the company. New developers are expected to be present during the orientation. The HR department usually prepares a number of activities to welcome new hires and sustain their enthusiasm. Orientation offers a chance to meet your managers and other members on the team.
Training
While the first two stages mark the beginning of the onboarding process, training marks the start of the later stages and typically extends over several months. Training covers a series of stages necessary for the development of certain skills for the specific role.
Integration
By this stage, the new developer has been fully incorporated into the company culture. The developer sees himself as part of the company and sees through the company’s vision, values, and strategy.
Curious about the stages of software developer onboarding? Read on!
Why is developer onboarding important?
A comprehensive onboarding plan yields numerous benefits:
Ensures developer retention
Encourages developer satisfaction
Promotes a positive working environment
Introduces the new developer to corporate culture
Fosters collaboration between the new hires, managers, and team members
Developer training
Developer training is the process of educating new developers about the ins and outs of their roles along with the workings of the company. It is a part of the overall onboarding process for the new hires. Training usually begins a few after the initial onboarding and then continues for months on end. Until the new developers have fully acclimated to the company culture, they remain in the training period. The goal of developer training is to fully equip the new developer with sufficient knowledge, necessary resources, and the right tools to become their leader.
Stages of developer training
There are no standard stages of developer training, and the stages generally vary depending on the requirements of a specific job. For a typical role in a dev team, the training includes four stages:
Assessment
In the first stage of the training, new developers are evaluated based on their current skill level. This stage identifies any gaps in knowledge or any lack of necessary skills for a particular role. Once this is complete, goals and objectives are drafted to formulate a path for the new developer to address those gaps.
Development
At this stage, the results from assessments are considered a reference point for crafting a training packet covering the content, material, and strategies. The training packet functions as a guideline for all the activities that will commence in the coming months.
Delivery
The third stage initiates the actual training. The new developers receive a plan with instructions for the activities designed for them. The activities can vary, from code reviews, hackathons, or even code debugging. The aim of this stage is to provide a hands-on learning experience for the developers so that the actual job does not come as a shocker.
Evaluation
Evaluation is the final stage of training. This is where the new developers’ performance is judged against the previously decided criteria. Managers deliver feedback and suggest ways to improve.
Why is developer training important?
Developer training has numerous benefits:
Cultivates a culture of continuous learning
Promotes a growth-oriented mindset
Facilitates collaboration across teams
Enhances both personal skills and overall team performance
Developer onboarding and training: key differences
Developer onboarding and training are both equally important in assisting new developers. While there’s surely an overlap, the two are quite distinct from one another, with the following key differences:
Onboarding | Training |
A process on its own | Part of the onboarding process |
Short term (3-6 months) | Long-term (it can last from 6 months to a year) |
Wide range of activities for employee engagement | Tasks specific to the job |
For the integration of new employees | For skills development and addressing gaps in knowledge |
Final word
Developer onboarding and training are pivotal in welcoming new developers to the software company. While onboarding is essentially an induction process for developers new to the company, training is a learning process for the new developers to get more acquainted with their roles and responsibilities. Onboarding is incomplete without training — hence the two processes aim to accommodate new hires with ease.
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