---
title: "Pick a buddy"
description: "Nominate a buddy for a new starter from the people picker in the Slack message Pyn sends you; the choice is written to the new starter's record and starts the buddy's own messages."
sidebar:
  order: 2
area: for-employees
feature: for-managers
lastVerified: 2026-10-22
version: "2026-10-16"
audience: manager
related:
  - for-employees/answer-a-form-or-poll
  - flows/automations/tutorial-buddy-programme
  - for-employees/for-managers/what-nudges-and-escalations-look-like
intercom:
  - id: "16304943"
    title: Set up a buddy automation (Pyn 2)
    url: https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/16304943-set-up-a-buddy-automation-pyn-2
    note: draws on
---

Someone new is joining your team and the People team runs a buddy programme. A week or so before the start date, Pyn sends you a Slack message asking you to choose the buddy. The picker in the message lists your colleagues; your choice becomes the **Buddy** on the new starter's record and triggers the messages that brief the buddy.

## Before you start

- You have the Slack message from Pyn with the buddy form in it. The buddy picker is a Slack feature; the People team sends it to Slack for that reason.
- You know who you want: someone on or near the team who is not the new starter's manager.

## Steps

1. Open the Slack direct message. It names the new starter and shows the form, with a people list labelled **Buddy**.

2. Open the list and choose the colleague. You can type part of a name to narrow it.

3. Answer any other questions in the form, such as a note for the buddy.

4. Select **Submit**.

> **Note:** If you receive the same message again a few days later, it is a reminder because no buddy has been recorded yet. Submitting from either copy is enough.

## What you should see

Slack accepts the submission and the message no longer waits on you. In Pyn, the new starter's profile shows the buddy you chose, the **Buddy Assigned** automation enrols the new starter, and the buddy receives their first message within the hour. If you picked the wrong person, tell the People team; they can change the relationship on the record.

## Related

- [Answer a form or poll](https://support.pynhq.com/for-employees/answer-a-form-or-poll/) for the other kinds of questions a form can hold.
- [Buddy programme](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/automations/tutorial-buddy-programme/) for how the People team sets it up.
- [What nudges and escalations look like](https://support.pynhq.com/for-employees/for-managers/what-nudges-and-escalations-look-like/) for the reminders that follow an unanswered nomination.

## Related Intercom articles

- [Set up a buddy automation (Pyn 2)](https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/16304943-set-up-a-buddy-automation-pyn-2) — draws on