starting a new role remotely
The pandemic made it a necessity for organisations to quickly adjust the way they operated and working from home has now become the norm for a vast majority of employees. A well established team adapting to this new way of working was adjustment enough, but for many people they have faced the task of beginning a new role within a new team without actually being able to meet any of their colleagues face to face.
As a company, we found ourselves in the position earlier this year to take on a new Consultant and completed a remote recruitment process for the first time. Our newest recruit, Alicia Hignell, joined our team back in July and it was important to us to make sure her onboarding experience was as smooth as possible and that she felt as integrated into the team as she would have in our normal office based induction. We are a tight knit team and everyone embraced the challenge and ensured Alicia was brought in to the fold and felt supported in her new role, despite being behind a screen. A few months down the line, and with Alicia a fully fledged member of Acuity’s consultancy team, we took the opportunity to get her feedback on how she has found her first few months with us and how she has adjusted to working remotely as part of a new team.
‘Working from home has obvious perks, including a reduced commute and a much more relaxed dress code (I’m not aware of too many other offices where it’s acceptable to make a cup of tea in your slippers!). However, there is an ever-growing cohort of people that are starting new jobs whilst working from home – and I have joined this group. Whilst there are definite challenges, I firmly believe its effectiveness is intrinsically linked with the ethos of the organisation. Did you know that research by Glassdoor recently revealed 77% of adults would consider a company's culture before applying for a job there? Every organisation has its own unique culture and learning the work place culture is easier inside the office through everyday interactions and hearing conversations. Now, working from home, every interaction must be manufactured online rather than occurring more organically in the office. In starting any job there will be a steep learning curve at the beginning, picking up new terminology, names and role-specific requirements. So how is this managed remotely?
Having a strong and supportive team to test out new ideas is crucial when joining a new role. Luckily, Acuity has fostered the most collaborative and open environment that I have ever joined. I’ve found that getting used to all the role-specific terminology and acronyms can be a bit overwhelming at times! Being able to give any member of the Acuity team a quick call or message has really helped me to pick things up.
Allocating time for regular catch ups, even if it’s a 5-minute tea break, has greatly helped me to cultivate strong relationships with the team, all whilst working from home. It’s so important that you reach out to new colleagues and that they feel comfortable reaching out to any member of the team. This is doubly important whilst working from home where the office interactions have been eliminated. The regular use of Microsoft Teams means that I have been able to put faces to names, which has really helped me feel part of the team and to build some of the all-important informal interactions that are so crucial to building a fulfilling and enjoyable work life.’