This week marked the end of Jenni’s first two weeks, so we took a moment from a hectic week to see how things are going and how we can improve. I’m a big fan of regularly scheduled retrospectives and checkins. Not only do they ensure a team is thinking big picture, it gives a safe space for giving feedback. Whether a team is doing great or unexpectedly poorly, a regularly scheduled checkin gives a chance for team members to voice complaints or thoughts for improvement.
I kept the checkin informal to allow the conversation to go wherever it needed to go. The goal was to get Jenni’s opinion on how onboarding is going, fill in any missing puzzle pieces to solidify her knowledge, and identify risks to meeting her 30-day onboarding goals. Below are my conversation-starters that you could use in an onboarding checkin too. For all of them, be sure to ask “Why?” to get the most out of them.
- What one word best describes your onboarding experience?
- What’s been your favorite moment so far?
- Has your onboarding matched your expectations for being a Product Manager?
- What’s still confusing in what you’ve learned?
- Have you met anyone that you aren’t sure what they do?
- Are you feeling confident in meeting your 30-day onboarding goals?
I expect to have such checkins at least every two weeks to continually improve Jenni’s onboarding experience.