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Buffer

Remote and distributed

Company process account

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Public research summary, not an official company process

This page reports only what was observed in the cited public sources. It does not imply endorsement, and something absent from those sources may still exist inside the company.

Summary

What the sources describe

Checked 2026-09-25

Buffer, a remote company, described in 2020 how it rebuilt onboarding after each team had been onboarding its own hires differently. Each new teammate now has three supporting people: the hiring manager, a role buddy and a culture buddy.

Before start

After giving hires one large information dump, Buffer switched to five timed pre-start emails and a central onboarding document with a day-by-day checklist. S05
Login emails go out no more than two days before the start, and laptops and welcome packs are sent well in advance. S05

First day

Past day-one failures it lists: laptops arriving days late, login emails expiring, no one online to welcome the hire, and start dates on a team holiday. S05

First weeks

The role buddy, usually a peer on the same team, talks with the hire once or twice a week. The culture buddy, from a different team, chats weekly for the first six weeks. S05
A daily email drip of onboarding tasks was tried and dropped after it became “white noise”; buddies now follow up on key tasks instead. S05

First months

After each 30-day period, the buddies and manager meet to discuss progress, and the manager then talks it through with the hire. S05
Hires give feedback during onboarding and receive a survey after three months. S05

Program design

Buffer used to run a 45-day “bootcamp” in which new hires started as contractors without standard benefits. It was dropped because hires felt under a microscope and it added paperwork. S05

Not found in these sources

Absence here does not mean Buffer lacks it; the reviewed sources simply do not say.

Whether this 2020 process is still in use
How buddies are trained or given time for the role
Any measured effect on retention or time to productivity

WeekOne adaptation

What to borrow, and confirm locally

Split support between a same-team buddy for the work and an other-team buddy for norms and context.
Send pre-start information in a few timed messages rather than one long welcome pack.
Turn your own past day-one failures into checks: equipment delivered, logins valid, someone online to greet the hire.

These are our suggestions, not Buffer’s practice. Do not copy company-specific dates, tools or rules without checking they fit your organisation.

Related WeekOne blueprints

Sources and provenance

Read the evidence in context

S05Checked 2026-09-25

The Evolution of Onboarding at Buffer: How We Welcome New Teammates

Buffer · Company process account · 2020-04-10

Hiring manager plus a role buddy (same team) and a culture buddy (another team); 30/60/90-day goals and feedback.

Limits: 2020 account; Buffer describes dropping its earlier 45-day contractor "bootcamp", so do not copy that model.

Open source

Not found in a document is not proof the organization has no such process. All task schedules, completion rules and blueprints here are original proposed adaptations. Never infer legal duties, actual policies, licensed tools or production permissions.

Your document, your decisions

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