Alt+Ctrl+Start

Onboarding, it’s the process of setting up an employee in the workforce.

• The employee will be given access to systems
• Setup emails
• Get added to invites and calendars
• Be given tours around the office
  • Meet the people you’ll work with (and the one’s you’ll avoid / try to be friendly around, because their talk to loudly or talk too much etc etc. No different to when you we’re in school 🙂 )
  • Show you where the kitchen and bathroom is
  • How to enter the building. Don’t forget how to enter before and after hours.
    • Yes I was stuck in the lobby of the building for an hour because the lift’s don’t work until 8am. I was in the building at 7am. #sadface.
    • I also tried coming back into the office at 8pm after work drinks only to find out the lifts don’t function after 5pm. #anothersadface.
      • (Leave my half eaten lunch on the desk, my laptop in an opened state (what was I working on before going to drinks?), Uber home and leave the car at the train station. I hope it’s still there Monday morning)
• And everything else in between

Let me tell you now, with no reservations or holding back, onboarding is one of the most (and will be a) frustrating experiences entering any workforce. My advice, get used to it. It’s not you (and never will be). You will go through emotions of uncertainty, feeling like do I belong, why are things like this, why is this not ready, why does it feel a bit chaotic / unorganised etc. Let me tell you another thing. This is normal. You’re normal, the feelings of uncertainty are normal. You are entering a brand new environment. When you joined/moved schools, the feelings would have been the same to some extent (the difference with the education space and employment space, in the school you had parents and it’s a controlled environment. So you feel that sense of calm and familiarity).

Onboarding is an aspect to the workforce needed. If we don’t onboard staff how we set up employees for success and set standards. The main thing out of onboarding is that the employer is to set you up, so when you enter the building, sit at the desk, get the coffee, go to the bathroom etc, you will have a sense of belonging and build a morning process. Some companies do onboarding better than others.

Below are a list of feelings you’ll experience on the first day……or for the next few weeks:

• You’re given the address to the office. Next question will be, ‘how do I enter the building?’
  • Maybe before hand confirm with the employer the requirements of;
    • Building entry
    • Where can I wait?
      • Who do I wait for?
    • Are their security guards? Will I get arrested for entering (this is an exaggeration btw 🙂 Most security guards are friendly from my experience)
• After you’ve made contact with your employer, you’ll probably feel a surreal moment
  • This is actually happening
    • I’m entering the building
      • This lift is slow (or fast)
      • This is a big / small building
    • What are those people doing there
    • This is alot (or not many) desks
    • What is that on the whiteboard
    • Why are people loud or quiet etc etc
• After you’ve had you’re introduction / induction / initial meetings with the team, you’ll be shown your desk and the surrounding areas
  • (Thinking to myself, why do we sit here)
    • Desk is a bit small / large
  • Where are the bathrooms
  • Is there a lunchroom/kitchen
  • Are those meeting rooms. Can we go inside anytime or do we need to book them?
    • Most meeting rooms in any organisation afaik need to be booked their their internal systems
• Is my laptop ready?
  • Can I get a Mac (yes!), oh it’s windows…. ok then
    • And yes I mainly a windows machine as well
  • How come my laptop isn’t ready?
    • Don’t they (as in the company you’re going to work for) have laptops already ready to go?
    • How come I have to wait this long for my laptop. Surely they have this ready all the time for new people?
  • What are all these apps on the desktop
    • Which one’s do we use?
      • Or do you use mainly url’s and links(?)
        • Make sure to bookmark them
• What do I do when I have to wait for this person to turn up and show me stuff about the company?
  • Do they usually turn up this late?
    • Is it ok to turn up after 9am for work?
    • Why do people turn up at different times?
  • (At this point, you will be thinking when you’ve turned up late to things)
  • Do I sit there do nothing? Is this ok
    • But If I sit here and do nothing, I won’t look and feel productive
      • (At this point you get nervous, because everyone is doing something and you’re just sitting there (wondering if people are looking at you (to be truthful they’re not, they’re robots looking to get their work done… You’ll be one of them in the coming weeks 🙂 )), heart is racing, looking around, you make accidental eye contact with someone and get nervous a bit more etc….. Oh and you’re wondering if you’re allowed to go to the bathroom. Go to the bathoom, this isn’t school!)
• When is home time?
  • 3pm, 4pm, 5pm?
    • (I hope it’s before 5pm, so I can get a seat on the train 🙂 )
  • Can I just leave the office?
    • Do I have to tell anyone (if so, why? Weird for me telling anyone I’m going home. I usually just say bye, see you tomorrow. That indicates enough I’m heading home)
    • Ask the employer what their requirements are when it’s home time
      • This is a normal question to ask
      • This is something I always ask when I enter a new workforce
      • It might uncomfortable at first to ask, but you want certainty on how you are going to conclude your day
    • (Unless you’re the friendly/social butterfly (no judgement at all 🙂 ), there is no need to find every person you’ve met on the first day and say bye. You can just say bye to the immediate people/co-workers around you, and leave for the day. This is a me thing btw)

Summary:

• Provide you a guide on what new comers can expect when entering the IT workforce (/or any) for the first time
  • The feelings and emotions
• Employers setting up their employees to work for them is important
  • Not done correctly can lead to delays in getting your message across to the employee
    • The employee questioning whether this employer is right for me or not
• After the dreaded onboarding, you’ll settle in a routine and become a more wiser version of yourself!