SimScale’s Onboarding Process
Applying for a new position in itself can come with some kind of uncertainty. Every company operates differently, you may not know what they pay attention to, every recruiting process is different (and nerve-wracking), and once you actually get the job, you’re starting a completely new and unknown adventure and probably wonder what to expect in the first few weeks.?
We are fully aware of the fact that when starting at a new company, you need to adjust to new tasks, the way of working, people, and a lot of other things. This can be challenging but doesn’t have to be. It’s a great opportunity to get to know a new way of working and adjust to a new culture.
Over the past 1.5 years, we have drastically improved our onboarding process at SimScale. As SimScale has grown, we recognized that the way we previously onboarded new team members wasn’t working anymore — throwing someone in the “cold water” may work for some, but not for others, and we acknowledge that everyone enters an organization with different knowledge, confidence, and needs. That is why ideally the onboarding process is kept as consistent as possible for everyone. This includes proper documentation, well-planned onboarding sessions, an onboarding plan, and regular check-ins between the supervisor and the People Team. Research shows that the onboarding phase is crucial for a team member’s success and the overall retention rate and we take this very seriously at SimScale.
Pre- and Onboarding Improvements?
Once a future team member has successfully gone through our recruiting process and the 4 steps (for most roles), we are really excited and one of our recruiters will send them a warm welcome email with a presentation that allows them to get some first insights into our team and culture. Depending on how long the transition phase is between their current job and the new role at SimScale, we will of course keep in touch and are always there for questions and concerns. As we get closer to the actual starting date, the new team member will receive another email from us as there are still a few things to plan and organize. The question is, will they be starting remotely or coming to Munich? We are happy to organize either way. If they plan to join us in the office for the first week or two, we will reserve a hotel and plan everything accordingly. Some other questions we usually ask before someone’s first day will help us:
And just like that, time flies by and we are excited to call someone a new fellow SimScaler. On their first day, we always start with an IT onboarding so they get access to all important tools at SimScale (you may be surprised how many; after all, we are a tech startup and are always happy to try out a new tech stack). After the first hour, they will get a nice onboarding session with someone from the People Team. During this hour, we talk about the way we work, where to find information, our communication, and a lot of other things that are important for new starters to get comfortable. After that, they will meet their supervisor and learn about what to expect over the next few days and weeks. This usually includes reviewing their onboarding plan, understanding who they’ll be working with, and a lot of other things. Typically at SimScale, our new team members won’t just be shadowing others for the first month — it’s always a great combination of learning and doing things on their own as we want everyone to develop their own style on the job (whether that’s, for example, learning about our code structure or making first phone calls in sales). A few more sessions that we always plan with everyone are a “Strategy and Vision” session with David, CEO & Co-Founder at SimScale, and a platform demo where everyone will get to understand what the SimScale platform is all about.?
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And of course, it still doesn’t stop after the first week or even the first month. Up until our new team member’s third month at SimScale, the People Team will have regular check-ins (after one, three, and four months) with you to ensure that you are feeling comfortable, engaged, successful, and settled in. Additionally, we also speak about their learning and development to see if there are any additional courses they may want to take as part of their onboarding or in the future.
SimScale Buddy Program
About 6 months ago, SimScale finally (after a long time of talking about it) implemented a buddy program. Having an onboarding buddy is a way that helps our new starters to get more familiar with the environment and culture. The buddy is always an existing employee (ideally they have been working at SimScale for at least 6 months) who guides our new team members through their first few weeks or months on the job. It is completely natural to feel insecure about company guidelines, values, culture, general expectations when joining a new organization, and not know whom to approach besides the supervisor. Therefore, an onboarding buddy is a trusted colleague and friend whom our new starters can always reach out to for questions. For some people, this program can last up to 3 or 4 months with regular weekly to bi-weekly meetings, lunches, or dinners, while for others who may feel settled in quickly, it may not be necessary. We ultimately leave it up to the buddy and new starter to organize themselves and let each other know where more or less support is needed. And of course, to ensure that everything is going smoothly, the People Team also checks in regularly with the buddy and new starter to see how things are going.
So far, our buddy program has been a great success. The buddy is of course not required to answer every single question a new starter may have or know the exact details of their job and responsibilities. It is more about having a solid support system in place where nobody feels left alone when joining a new and unfamiliar organization. It doesn’t matter what level of experience someone brings, whether it is a recent graduate, senior team member, or team lead, everyone is happy to have someone they can reach out to.?
As SimScale has always grown quite organically, it allows us to offer a very individualized process that allows flexibility. As with every process and system in place, improvements never stop. We are sure that over the next few months and years, as we onboard more team members across the globe and in different time zones, we will adjust our steps again and again.
It is very important to us that every employee and new joiner feels comfortable at SimScale and identifies with our culture. If this sounds like an environment that you are looking for, make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings! Also, stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed.