Raise your hand if you’ve never felt disoriented during your first days at a new company ✋.
The first few weeks at a new company can be a whirlwind of emotions and challenges. Between new colleagues to meet, processes to learn, and projects to tackle, feeling a bit lost is perfectly normal. To ease the onboarding of new team members, at SparkFabrik we have devised several initiatives, among which the Core Skills program stands out.
What exactly is the Core Skills program and why is it so important to us?
When we talk about Core Skills, we refer to that set of fundamental technical competencies common to all practitioners, regardless of whether they work in software development or Cloud Engineering.
Every professional we welcome at SparkFabrik, although selected based on their skills, will inevitably need to learn at least the fundamentals of collateral concepts that are common to every project.
These are technical concepts that, depending on seniority level, the new hire may already be familiar with: terminal usage, a proficient use of git and our branching model, cybersecurity basics, and the most common DevOps/Cloud Native tools and practices.
Regardless of one’s initial background, familiarity with these topics is bound to grow throughout their professional journey at SparkFabrik. However, we noticed that, especially during the first months, the disparity in skills among new colleagues could generate discontinuities and organizational obstacles, not only in the early days but also in the medium term.
We therefore decided to invest in creating a training program that supports new colleagues from onboarding through to full productivity. A program that can be completed during the onboarding period and is capable of providing a solid foundation to facilitate the new colleague’s integration into the company’s productive fabric.
The main objective is therefore to accelerate learning, relieving teams from the task of identifying gaps and filling them along the way, and to develop a common language within the company that enables smooth and unambiguous communication from the very first days on the job.
Good communication is at the heart of team cohesion, project success, and individual employee growth.
How are foundational skills developed?
The Core Skills program is introduced to new employees on their first day at the company.
Within the following two days, the assigned team leader or buddy assesses the new colleague’s confidence level on these topics through an assessment in order to customize the study path and define a plan of dedicated hours. A personalized self-training program is then drawn up, to be completed by the end of the probation period.
This approach not only provides new employees with the tools they need to succeed in their role, but also allows the team to set the right communication register and calibrate their expectations toward the new entry.
New team members have access to training resources provided by the company from day one, including during the probation period. On the other hand, the company has immediate visibility into the commitment of new employees to improving their skills, thus enabling the monitoring of not only professional but also educational development.
We introduced this program primarily for new entries, but we are encouraging everyone, from more senior colleagues to those who wish to apply for a technical position, to invest some time in studying these competencies.
Who was involved in this process?
The analysis and collection of training materials were managed by SparkFabrik’s Platform Team, which identified the key competencies and produced detailed documentation within the company playbook. The HR team handles the rollout of the initiative to new hires, ensuring that the training program is integrated into the onboarding experience.
A series of training resources were identified that offer an interactive, guided, and predefined path which, in addition to ensuring foundational competencies, provides starting points for further in-depth study. Completing the entire Core Skills program requires approximately 40 hours.
The involvement of both departments is essential to ensure effective implementation and a valuable initiative.
What have the results been so far?
Although it requires an initial investment of time and personal effort, the 7 new colleagues who have accessed the program to date have recognized the added value in better understanding company expectations and acquiring a solid foundation of essential competencies. The training investment has become more evident, and new hires have demonstrated faster acquisition of the foundational skills required for their role.
Teams that welcomed new colleagues have benefited from a clear understanding of initial skill levels and have been relieved from the burden of repeatedly teaching the same foundational concepts whenever the need arose.
How do we keep training resources up to date?
Regarding future developments, we have planned to implement a monitoring system to evaluate the program’s effectiveness. We collect feedback from teams and from the new employees themselves, so that we can make improvements based on their needs and the challenges encountered.
Furthermore, to keep training resources up to date, we encourage contributions from all colleagues. If a sparker believes they have useful additions to the training resources, they are encouraged to propose them by opening a pull request on our Playbook, so that it can be reviewed by HR and the Platform Team, in order to ensure that the program remains within the correct time budget and that these resources integrate well, without ambiguity or overlap, with those already in place.
Finally, we intend to broaden the training offering by including competencies complementary to the technical domain. We recognize the importance of cross-functional skills such as processes and methods, effective communication, and time management, and we want to create a comprehensive set of competencies for professional and personal success.
In conclusion, the Core Skills program is one of the most important initiatives implemented by SparkFabrik to facilitate the onboarding process for new employees. We will continue to monitor and improve this program to ensure it meets the ever-evolving needs of our teams. At SparkFabrik, we are committed every day to providing an inclusive and supportive work environment where everyone has the opportunity to grow and continuously evolve.
