An unusual start at Liip
The doorbell rang. It was the postman who was waiting for me to sign for a large package. Inside I found my new MacBook, that I chose via an online form a week earlier. This was a sign for me that my switch to Liip was imminent. However, it also began to sink in that I would be starting at Liip working from home.
Monday May 4th, 2020 â my first day at work
The world was fully occupied with the virus that had recently emerged. For me, however, it was time to get to know lots of new people, new projects, new technologies, and an organisational structure that was totally foreign to me. On this particular morning, I was waiting excitedly for my welcome telephone call, scheduled for 9 a.m. Finally, it was time. Claudia, my HR specialist, led me through all the details of Liip's tools and methods. I then was introduced to my onboarding buddy, Zahida. She helped me to tackle the numerous new challenges that awaited me and ensured I had a structured start to my first working day at Liip.
On my second day, I met the development team and started to work on my first customer projects. The tone of our video calls was very welcoming and relaxed. Right from the start, I felt that I could contact my colleagues with questions or ideas without any hesitation. To my surprise, a virtual post-work drink get together had been planned that evening to welcome me to the team. A few days prior to this, I received a parcel from Liip containing beer and snacks. This gesture showed me that the Liipers take centre stage at Liip and that collegiality is a top priority in our daily work.
A routine starts to take shape
Now, more than two months have passed, and my trial period is coming to an end. I was able to familiarise myself and get involved in projects very quickly. I also got to know my colleagues well thanks to the constant communication within our team. One thing that was particularly crucial in helping me to get to know the others quickly: among the developers we had a conference call that anyone could join at any time. This constantly gave us the opportunity for spontaneous chats, creating an office atmosphere within my own four walls. As a result, the days flew by. A level of normality soon began to return to my everyday life. I even found my way to the office, and in the meanwhile, I work at the Zurich office one or two days a week.
To begin with, I had quite a few doubts about starting a new job working entirely from home. These proved entirely unfounded, and in my view, my onboarding at Liip could not have gone better.