005. Onboarding

An employee's first day of working for you determines how engaged they feel every day afterwards.

This is especially true for software developers. An engaged developer finds pride in their mission, helps out their teammates, and wants to go the extra mile to produce high-quality work. A disengaged developer... doesn't.

The onboarding experience is a highly underrated yet vital part of building a strong technical team. Not only does it determine how a new team member feels about working for you, but how they approach every other position they'll hold in the future — especially if it's early in their career.

A great first day can demonstrate culture and good habits that successful teams aspire to achieve every day afterwards. Here's how to make day one amazing.