In the HR world, September is known as one of the busiest months for recruitment. For us, it’s more of a year-long affair. Since Uzinakod regularly welcomes new recruits, we like to follow a series of steps to ensure their successful integration.
In a recent article, we gave you a glimpse of our recruitment process, which also included an overview of what the onboarding experience looks like at Uzinakod. This time, we’d like to further explore this topic so that you’ll have all the info you need to join our ranks (if that’s what you want, of course)!
Preparation Stage
Ensuring a good onboarding experience starts long before a new employee steps into the office! Once the various recruitment steps have been completed, we start by submitting a job offer to the candidate.
In the case of international recruitment, our human resources team helps future employees navigate the various immigration procedures. Uzinakod employs about 20 expats, so we know a thing or two about international hiring!
Job offers come with a link to a friendly chatbot, an interactive method that allows future employees to learn more about the company and its surrounding area.
While there’s no escaping the paperwork, it’s fortunately kept to a minimum. New recruits are expected to sign an employment contract and fill out Microsoft Forms with all sorts of information, including key details needed to complete their employee file (and get paid!), requests for additional work material, known food allergies, and desired size of Uzinakod merch. 😎
First Day on the Job
At Uzinakod, we believe that nothing starts your day like a good cup of coffee! When onboarding is done in person, we invite colleagues to come and share a coffee with new team members so they can get to know one another.
Then it’s off to the conference room for a big-screen presentation by a member of the HR team.
Topics found on the agenda:
- Teams, our communication and document sharing tool
- Portfolios that showcase our team, projects, and benefits
- Tempo and Employer D
- Our employee handbook and policy manual (overview)
- Our brand manifesto
Once the presentation is over, the HR team hands it over to the marketing team.
First stop: our famous brick wall for a photo shoot. No hair or makeup. We like people to look natural! A few basic adjustments are made before the photo appears on our various Office suite tools. The picture is also given to the employee to use as they wish, including on their LinkedIn profile.
This brings us to the next point: updating their LinkedIn profile. Being the good people that we are, we’ve prepared a practical guide that explains how employees can update their current position and let the world know they’re now part of the Uzinakod family. #cheesy
New employees also have access to a neat GIF for a bold and unique announcement!
Finally, we ask newcomers three questions to get to know them better:
- What are you known for?
- Which challenges motivate you?
- What are your hobbies?
Answers are used not only in our company portfolio but also in a monthly social media publication announcing our new recruits.
A bit of advice for candidates looking for original answers:
- The first question often involves humour
- We already have a lot of ultimate frisbee players
- The more intriguing the better!
In the Weeks That Follow
You’d think that once the first day’s over, our onboarding process also comes to an end. Nope! We carry out regular follow-ups to keep new hires informed and allow them to comment on their experience.
This is the perfect opportunity to take in the employee’s feedback and ensure that they have successfully integrated their new team.
After about a month and a half, the HR team and immediate manager meet with the employee for a mid-probation follow-up. Together, they go over the past few weeks, validate areas of satisfaction and improvement, and highlight the employee’s key strengths.
A week before the end of the probation period (which generally lasts three months), another meeting with the manager and HR is organized to, among other things, formalize the employee’s status should the trial prove successful.
In addition to these follow-up meetings, one-on-ones between the immediate manager and the employee take place on a regular basis, generally once every two weeks. This is the ideal time to share any concerns and make adjustments in the event of a problem.
All in all, future Uzinakod employees are supported throughout the onboarding process.
Conclusion
Joining a new company can be intimidating. That’s why Uzinakod does everything in its power to create a good vibe so that your first day can be as memorable as it gets, even with all the reading involved!
With the growth we’ve experienced over the past few years, we’re quite savvy when it comes to onboarding. We’re ready to welcome you whenever you are. Just visit our Career page to submit your application, and we’ll take care of the rest!
