Part 3: Onboarding Solutions Architects

This is part 3 of building a Solutions function series and here we’ll talk about onboarding solutions architects - weekly plan and best practices. Previously, we discussed the interviewing process for Solutions Architects.

So, you have your very first Solutions Architect/(s) joining and as a leader and people manager, you’ll have to set them up for success. Your goal is to onboard your SA as efficiently as possible, get them upto speed and make them productive as quickly as possible.

Best Practice#1: Write up a notion/confluence page which has details on the role, the expectations, tools and access needed and a weekly onboarding plan.

Week 1: Getting set up

Week1 for any new hire is an exciting time and it’s important to establish the foundations for building a long-term trust-based relationship. So, ensure your new hire is shown the ropes. Checkin with them the first day via email/slack/text whichever works and let them know that you’ll set up a zoom call on day 2 when they have their machine set up and organized. Day 2 through 5 is all about ensuring they are set up with their benefits, have installed all the tools and resources necessary for their day-to-day job. Send intro note to your immediate team and broader channels welcoming your new hire. Take time to walk them through org structure, your team’s responsibilities, access to team channels etc.

Best Practice #2: Assign an onboarding buddy. I cannot emphasize how important this is! Assigning someone who’s recently been through onboarding in the same role or an adjacent role. Someone who can provide guidance and be available to support the new resource during their first 30-60 days.

Week 2: Getting to know the people

Week2 is all about letting your new hire going on a talking tour with folks from the teams they’ll be interfacing with on a day-to-day basis. They should be meeting a mix of ICs and managers across teams. Encourage your SA to ask additional people they should be talking to as part of their conversations. Coach your SA that the goal for them is to build their own network of people he/she can rely on for various needs.

Best Practice #3: Prepare a list of people they can talk to ahead of time. Explain your new SA how they will be working with that team so he/she can ask the right questions during the 1:1

Week 3 & 4: Getting to know the product & customers

Well, as they continue to talk to more people, some of their time should be utilized to learn the product. The ICP they will be working with, the use cases for the product, what works, what the objections and gaps are etc. Sometimes companies can have a number of products in their portfolio. In this case, detail a weekly learning plan of the products and focus on the breadth instead of depth. I’d also encourage the SA to set up their own demo environment if applicable and play with that. Challenge them with an assignment and give them a timeline. Encourage them to find peers who can invite them to customer calls where they can be a fly on the wall. This is also something the onboarding buddy should be able to help with.

Best Practice #4: Set clear, tangible goals for the SA which enables them to steer their learning towards accomplishing that goal.

Week 5: Familiarization with processes

By the end of 4 weeks, your SA should be familiar enough with the first level of people they will be interfacing with, will have a high-level knowledge of the product speak, typical customer profiles and a general sense of your team’s and company’s culture. The next 30 days is going deep and getting hands-on with the products, processes and customers. Set up a plan that walks the SA through what a day in a life of a SA looks like including the processes that need to be followed. For example, CRM entries, process to raise an escalation, process to request a feature from product, response to RFPs, process for SOW etc.

Week 6-8: Shadowing

Highly recommend having your SA shadow someone else in customer calls. If this is your first hire, shadowing a Sales Engineer, an implementation engineer or even a CSM can be greatly beneficial. This helps the SA understand the customer profile, the types of questions that come through, how do their peers communicate internally with each other etc.

Next 30 days and onward: Time for customer assignment

It’s time for some hands-on work and assigning the SA their first customer. It is of course important to get a pulse check on their readiness to take on an account.

Best Practice #5: Throughout the 90 days it is critical to check-in at least once every week with your new hire. As a manager, provide support, understand their work personality, let them know your expectations, adjust onboarding plan if needed and provide active feedback.