The buddy system works because everyone is responsible for someone. Good teams run on the same math.

The reason the buddy system works is that it shrinks a vague duty down to one name. Looking after everybody spreads thin and ends up belonging to nobody, while looking after Sam is a thing a person can hold. The best teams are built on that same quiet arithmetic, which is why nobody disappears inside them.

Pair people up for something this week, even informally, and let each of them know who they are watching out for. Make the newest person somebody’s specific job. Vague care is how people slip through.