By Insight UK / 17 Jun 2020
As I am entering my 4th week at Insight and looking back to everything that has happened, I realise time flew by very quickly and I feel it’s been both an unusual and amazing experience to start a new role during a Global Pandemic.
I am originally from Romania and currently living in Coventry with my husband. We had decided early January to relocate to Sheffield, so I began to look for a new role in the area. The HR Coordinator role advertised on LinkedIn talked about Insight’s values and I could see right away that Insight was really focused on its people and their development. The role also wanted someone with a background in the Spanish market and having previously worked in Human Resources for different Latin American countries I thought I’d be a great fit for the role!
Luckily, my new teammates agreed! The recruitment process was smooth and I received constant updates from the team and the interviews were amazing. Luckily, this part was before we went into lockdown, so I was able to go into the office and meet part of the team. I felt it wasn’t just about my experience and skills, but also about who I am as a person and how my behaviours and personality could benefit the company.
Before starting, as the country went into lockdown, I was a little concerned about the overall climate in the UK, as most companies were putting people under the Government’s furlough scheme and were freezing new hires. With that in mind, I wasn’t sure about how stable and secure my job would be during these times! However, the HR team continued to be very supportive and confirmed I will be starting as normal but working from home.
My first day was lovely, I was welcomed by my manager and team and also received emails from the leadership team which felt very nice and personal and added extra value to my new joiner experience. In the following days, I had several video calls where I was able to meet different colleagues. I was very impressed as everybody was friendly, caring and supportive and they all advised me to take my time, not to pressure myself. Prior to Insight, I occasionally worked from home, but this is the first time I started a role from home. I have realised that starting virtually during this pandemic has been a blessing because I was able to spend more 1-to-1 time with more people than I likely would have been able to otherwise.
During weeks 2 and 3 I continued to meet new teammates, had a virtual induction and slowly started to get more involved in activities related to my role. I was thrilled to learn how dynamic the company is, how easy it is to get involved in different activities and how easily you can talk to people throughout the business. I did a little analysis and I noticed that more than half of the people I spoke to were working for Insight for many years, which gave me confirmation that the company was really focused on keeping its people happy and help them succeed in their careers. Week 4 has brought me more time to focus on specific tasks, process better all the information I have received and more confidence that I am learning and progressing in the right direction.
Overall, If I were to give some advice to anybody starting a new role in these circumstances, it would be to recognise and connect with the people that can guide you through the responsibilities and the main tools needed for performing and understanding the new culture. Try to take advantage of the flexibility this environment offers as it can give people more time to focus on tasks and invest more in learning and developing new skills.
For me, working from home turned out to be very effective and I am so happy to be part of this great team already. I can say HUNGER, HEART and HARMONY are definitely values that I was easily able to recognise in most of my teammates’ behaviours and actions at Insight and I am looking forward to be in the office to meet everybody properly and celebrate returning to work!
