Starting a new role during a global pandemic

It is your first day in a new job. You get up early, have a healthy breakfast (new start, new me and all that). You agonize about what to wear and then it dawns on you that if your new colleagues can see any more than your face you have probably not quite nailed the ‘new normal’.

This is your first day, but pandemic style.

As a digital agency, I was confident Nzime’s virtual workspace would be well set up, what I did not expect was how smooth a transition it could be. It was clear that there had been a lot of thought on how this would work. I am now two weeks in, and there are 5 things that have made all the difference…

Playing Guess Who

I am admittedly awful at remembering names on the first go. If I could post-it note the whole office for the first day I would. I needn’t have worried though, I had a full glossary of all my new colleagues with pictures from the get-go (and some questionable ones at that – Gian!). Everyone immediately felt more real to me, so when I joined our daily stand-up, I wasn’t staring at strangers in small boxes, but a team I already knew something about.

My Welcome Board

No, I don’t mean a banner. Though, that would be a nice surprise 🎉

Nzime use Monday.com for organization and I was directed to a board dedicated solely to my onboarding. One place for all the information I might need about my new role, no more paper handbooks and dodgy directions to the right server drive. It was so refreshing to see a clear plan of my first week and a guide to who was going to support me at each stage.

Staying connected

A new job can be lonely at first, but never more so than in the silence of your spare bedroom! Slack and Google Meet are integral day to day communication tools at Nzime, and so from the beginning I have never felt alone – the team is always a message or a quick call away which has made my induction from behind a screen much less daunting.

The Power of Screen Share

Gone are the days of being awkwardly perched on your new colleagues desk – learning new software in the virtual space definitely has its advantages. Screen sharing has been a vital part of my onboarding, and a 5-minute screen share can make all the difference when something isn’t quite clicking. Having the option to record and playback is also a huge advantage.

Time

One thing that has struck me about Nzime’s culture is the team’s mutual respect for time. Agencies are fast paced and ever moving but with so many moving parts comes the need for clear, honest communication.

We have a busy, in-demand team so it’s important that if we are blocking time, it’s because we need to collaborate. It was clear that making time for my onboarding was a priority and this was achieved with shorter meetings with defined goals – super efficient and productive. This then gave me the space to take it all in and ask all the questions that inevitably you can never think of at the time.

There will always be challenges starting a new role, let alone during a worldwide pandemic. It can be hard to find your place in a new team who have had the opportunity to share a workspace and bonded over their love of coffee and even Pokémon (!) but all you can do is be present. Learn more about the people virtually around you and give yourself time to take it all in.

I feel prepared and ready for what’s to come, so big thanks to the team for their help and patience so far. Now just my initiation into the air hockey league to get over with. Wish me luck!