The Facebook onboarding program is designed to help new employees get up to speed quickly at the company. It provides training, resources, and support to integrate new hires into the company culture and set them up for success in their roles.
What does the Facebook onboarding program consist of?
The Facebook new employee onboarding program typically lasts around 6 weeks and consists of several components:
Orientation
At the start of the onboarding program, new Facebook employees go through orientation. This covers logistics like paperwork and system access as well as an introduction to Facebook’s culture, values, and business operations.
Bootcamp
After orientation, new hires participate in an intensive multi-day bootcamp. This provides training on Facebook’s products and technologies, collaboration tools, data infrastructure, and other key areas. There are also sessions on Facebook values, strategy, and culture.
Team onboarding
In parallel with bootcamp, new employees go through onboarding with their specific teams. This consists of training and ramp-up plans tailored to the employee’s role. They learn about their team’s goals, processes, systems, and projects.
Mentorship
New hires are paired with mentors who are more experienced Facebook employees. The mentor provides advice, answers questions, and helps guide the new employee through onboarding and beyond.
Buddy system
In addition to mentors, new employees are assigned “buddies” who are peers that started at Facebook around the same time. Buddies provide social support, collaboration, and camaraderie.
Onboarding resources
Facebook provides ongoing onboarding resources through a dedicated website/portal. This includes onboarding checklists, training materials, org charts, social events, and more.
What are the goals of Facebook’s onboarding program?
Facebook’s onboarding program aims to achieve the following key goals:
- Get new hires productive and contributing quickly – Typically within 6 weeks
- Immerse employees in Facebook’s culture and values
- Provide the training needed for employees’ specific roles
- Help employees build connections and feel welcomed
- Set clear expectations and position new hires for success
- Reduce early turnover by making sure new employees are engaged and satisfied
Why is Facebook’s onboarding important?
A strong, structured onboarding program provides important benefits both for new employees and for Facebook as a company, including:
For Employees
- Helps new hires feel prepared, supported, and part of the team
- Provides faster ramp-up time to productivity
- Reduces stress and frustration that can come with starting a new job
- Sets clear expectations around goals and responsibilities
- Ensures employees have training needed to execute their roles well
For Facebook
- Boosts new employee retention
- Enables new hires to deliver results faster
- Reinforces company culture and values
- Reduces recruiting and retraining costs associated with turnover
- Provides structure to ensure consistent, positive experience across new hires
Given how mission-critical onboarding is for engaging employees and facilitating strong performance, Facebook is willing to invest significant time and resources into the onboarding experience.
What topics are covered in Facebook’s new employee training?
Facebook’s onboarding training and bootcamps cover a wide range of critical topics, including:
Technical Topics
- Facebook’s codebase and technical infrastructure
- Data architecture and analytics tools
- Product and engineering processes
- Ad systems and optimization
- AI and machine learning foundations
Business and Strategy Topics
- Facebook’s business model, products, and revenue streams
- Advertising, sales, and partnerships
- Governance, legal, privacy and regulatory practices
- Content policy and moderation
- Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
Culture and People Topics
- Company values, principles, and norms
- Leadership, communication and management styles
- Making decisions at Facebook
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Staying motivated and managing stress
Tools and Systems
- Communication and collaboration platforms
- Productivity software and workflows
- Corporate databases, networks, calendars, etc.
- Administrative processes and tools
Beyond these broad topics, the training is also highly specific to individual roles, teams, and needs.
What does Facebook’s onboarding week by week look like?
While the details may vary for specific roles and teams, a typical onboarding schedule at Facebook spans about 6 weeks and follows this general structure:
| Week | Focus | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Orientation |
|
| Weeks 2-3 | Bootcamp |
|
| Weeks 4-5 | Team onboarding |
|
| Week 6 | Completion |
|
There are onboarding checkpoints and supplemental training throughout to ensure new hires are on track.
What training methods are used during onboarding at Facebook?
Facebook uses a variety of modern, engaging training techniques to educate new hires, including:
- Instructor-led classes – Bootcamps incorporate live workshops, demo presentations, panels and lectures.
- Peer learning – New employees collaborate and learn through group projects and team exercises.
- Self-paced online learning – Employees are given access to online training modules, resources and videos.
- Simulations and gamification – Interactive onboarding tools use leaderboards, badges and scenarios.
- Job shadowing – Employees directly observe and learn from teammates already in their roles.
- Documentation – Checklists, guides, wikis and handbooks provide detailed onboarding information.
- Discussion forums – Employees engage in online chats and knowledge sharing.
- Assessments – Quizzes and tests measure progress and supplement learnings.
These methods provide variety, engagement, and opportunities for hands-on practice during onboarding.
How are managers involved in Facebook’s onboarding program?
Managers play an essential role in the onboarding experience at Facebook. Key ways managers are involved include:
- Setting clear goals and expectations for new hires’ roles
- Co-creating onboarding plans tailored to individuals’ needs
- Introducing new employees to the team and key stakeholders
- Providing ongoing coaching and feedback
- Working with mentors and buddies to support new hires
- Helping new employees apply learnings and get up to speed
- Advocating for training opportunities and resources
- Checking in regularly on progress and morale
- Celebrating onboarding milestones and wins
Managers are equipped with training and resources to optimize their role in the onboarding process.
How do new hires provide feedback during and after Facebook onboarding?
Facebook gathers feedback from new employees during and after onboarding in a few key ways:
- Pulse surveys – Short feedback surveys at major milestones of onboarding.
- Exit tickets – Questions collected after training classes and events.
- Onboarding interviews – 1-on-1 discussions with program managers.
- Focus groups – Targeted discussions with new hire cohorts.
- Online feedback forms – Anonymous survey forms on the onboarding portal.
- Manager check-ins – Conversations during 1-on-1s.
This continuous feedback loop helps Facebook refine and improve the new employee experience.
How does Facebook measure onboarding program success?
Facebook uses the following metrics to gauge the effectiveness of its onboarding for new hires:
- Program completion rates
- Employee satisfaction scores
- Manager satisfaction ratings
- Time to productivity
- Ramp-up speed vs. goals
- Training module completion rates
- Assessment scores
- 30/60/90 day retention rates
- Long-term retention and internal mobility
The onboarding team monitors these metrics to identify opportunities to iterate and enhance the onboarding experience over time.
How long is the entire onboarding process at Facebook?
The comprehensive onboarding process at Facebook lasts about 6 weeks from start to finish. This includes:
- 1 week for orientation
- 2-3 weeks for core training bootcamps
- 2-3 weeks for team-specific onboarding
- 1 week for wrap-up and transition to regular workflows
While onboarding formally ends after 6 weeks, employees continue to receive ongoing training, mentorship, and support past this timeframe as well.
What are some unique aspects of Facebook’s onboarding approach?
Some special attributes that set Facebook’s onboarding program apart include:
- Bootcamp model – Multi-day immersive bootcamps facilitate rapid onboarding.
- Focus on culture – Extensive training engrains company values early on.
- Peer mentoring – A robust buddy system supplements manager and mentor relationships.
- Ongoing resources – The onboarding portal and tools provide long-term support.
- Specialized technical training – Deep dives into Facebook’s complex engineering landscape.
- Networking – Bonding with fellow new hires through group activities and events.
- Global coordination – Customized but consistent onboarding worldwide.
Facebook pours substantial investments into onboarding design and delivery to reflect its people-centric culture.
What are some challenges faced in Facebook’s onboarding process?
At the scale of Facebook, even a robust onboarding program faces some challenges, such as:
- Maintaining quality while onboarding thousands of employees globally every year
- Keeping training materials constantly updated for fast-changing products and tech
- Providing consistent experiences across different locations and roles
- Quickly ramping up niche employees with specialized expertise
- Balancing corporate onboarding with team-specific needs
- Facilitating relationship building remotely in some roles
- Collecting and incorporating feedback from many different sources
Facebook puts considerable effort into monitoring results, gathering feedback, and iterating onboarding to overcome these obstacles over time.
How has Facebook’s approach to onboarding evolved over time?
Facebook’s onboarding program has changed significantly as the company has grown, including these key evolutions:
- Expanding from a simple orientation to intensive multi-week bootcamps
- Adding more structure and consistency across the organization
- Incorporating more instructor-led training in addition to self-paced learning
- Implementing more assessments, surveys, and metrics to track results
- Integrating a wide variety of training delivery methods for diverse learning styles
- Leveraging technology like online platforms and simulations
- Customizing content for more specialized roles
- Adapting a global program while retaining culture and values
Facebook will likely continue evolving its onboarding as the company grows and changes.
What are best practices Facebook has implemented for onboarding?
Some best practices that make Facebook’s onboarding program so successful include:
- Executive and manager buy-in for onboarding priorities
- Setting expectations ahead of time with managers and new hires
- Thorough orientation to company vision, values, and culture
- Formal mentor and buddy assignments for support and networking
- Mix of personalized and consistent onboarding content
- Interactive, multimedia delivery methods for engagement
- Hands-on training through simulations, projects and job shadowing
- Checklists and schedules to track onboarding milestones
- Emphasis on onboarding as a long-term process beyond 6 weeks
- Continuous feedback loops and program improvement
Other companies looking to improve onboarding should consider benchmarking against these best practices at Facebook.
Conclusion
Facebook’s new employee onboarding program is a highly refined, intensive experience designed to integrate new hires into the company and equip them to thrive in their roles. It balances corporate-wide training with role-specific onboarding tailored to individual needs. The multi-week immersive bootcamps, peer mentorship, ongoing resources and focus on culture establish a solid foundation both for immediate ramp-up and long-term success. While scaling a global onboarding program brings challenges, Facebook continuously iterates using feedback and data to provide one of the most comprehensive onboarding experiences in the tech industry.