I’ve never met my colleagues
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I’ve never met my colleagues

My experiences of virtually getting a new job, joining a new team, and working for new company.

In 2020 we feared losing our jobs. I saw job offers being withdrawn. The market stalled.

I, on the other hand decided that a new role was just the ticket, and so began my search for a new position and was fortunate enough to secure a role at Sogeti at the back end of 2020. I handed my notice in and waited.

Imagine the joy I felt once my start date came around! My offer documentation had been sent through weeks before, and I was faced with our darkest winter months, Lockdown 2.0 and my anxiety - technically unemployed in a global pandemic.

I shouldn’t have worried; my new team extended their welcome early on, well before my start date. The HR team and my line manager had arranged introduction calls to the team throughout my gardening leave and I was invited to webinars and events which they thought I’d find useful, plus lots of the team also reached out over LinkedIn. But the highlight was an invitation to the Christmas Fireside chat, where I was made to feel very welcome and I got a real insight into how Sogeti worked and how they interact with their teams in this strange remote world.

I was also provided with access to Sogeti’s ‘Be Ready’ portal, which sent me regular updates about who’s starting at the same time, gave me an opportunity to ask questions and interact with trainers and other new starters. I was advised on how and when my starters kit would be shipped out to me and explicitly told not to worry about the first few days. That was comforting!

Finally, my 1st day came, along with more reassurance from the boss; Gary “Take the first few days to understand the business, we have a plan for your first few days so you can learn about process and meet the wider team”. By the next day I had received my kit, with instructions on how to onboard, which I managed to do without any issues. Wednesday came and my induction started, virtually.. of course.

The induction was super useful, all the sessions were recorded, and the trainers were available for all those questions that you don’t think about at the time. A Teams space was created for newbies like us to ask those daft questions and a very rich intranet really does mean that information is at your fingertips. Couple that with working with folk who are just happy to help you navigate through the masses of information you take on gives a feeling of comfort and belonging.

I quickly realised starting a new job in lockdown was nothing to worry about. It’s been different, but different good. I shall look forward to meeting everyone in person, my current view is that building relationships with my lovely new colleagues has not been disadvantaged in any way in my journey, but has been enriched due to the additional effort that everyone has invested in making me feel part of Sogeti.

I’m 6 weeks in now, I still haven’t met any of my colleagues in real life. However, I am really looking forward to, preferably over a gin in a (socially distanced) beer garden – somewhere.

 

Cassy Calvert
Cassy Calvert
Regional Portfolio Director
+443709043945