The experience of some of our new hires
The pandemic brought us new challenges and we have had to redefine processes we had for onboarding. Our HR team cooperates a lot with the Learning and Development team who helps with training, but also with the End User Support team (EUS) in terms of hardware. Thanks to the automation that the EUS has set up, newbies can choose if they want to come to the office to pick up their equipment or have it delivered to their home.
“Before the pandemic, we were scheduling in-house Induction training where everybody could meet, have coffee and get to know each other. Once the pandemic started, we switched to partially online Induction training, meaning some would join online or in the office. And now, we are fully online. It is indeed sad that newbies can’t experience the office atmosphere and I am missing Induction days a lot, especially photo-shooting or excursion around the office”, said Soňa Vídenská, HR Generalist. So, what does the experience look like from the newbie’s side? Let’s see what they have told us.
Healthy atmosphere and management that truly cares — Max Polezhaev, Senior Software Engineer
Max met his team only online and he loved how nice and friendly they are, but also how all of them wanted to help in one way or the other. Before joining, he went through four steps in the hiring process — the interview with an HR member, after which he received a technical task to complete, another interview with his current Team Lead, and the last one was with Senior Management.
“I didn’t have any expectations about onboarding considering the current situation and yet, this is my best experience so far. What surprised me the most is the atmosphere in the company. It is healthy, no toxic behaviour and the management really cares about their employees’ well-being and professional growth. If you feel you need to change your current job, do not be afraid to look for it because eventually indeed, you will find the job of your dream!” said Max.
My manager helped me to set my expectations right — Mounir Hadane, Head of Project Management
A month before Mounir joined Kiwi.com he had a call with his current supervisor with whom they discussed the details about the role which helped him to set expectations right from the start. Also, Mounir shared that during the onboarding process he was provided with all necessary resources and materials to achieve his tasks. He mentioned that the management system is very good at setting up priorities and this helps to navigate between quarters.
“Surprisingly, the department I work at goes to the office regularly. This helped me to meet people and get to know each other better. With the pandemic, it’s pretty hard to network and connect with teams, departments and stakeholders of every project. I would say this was difficult for me”, shared Mounir.
Kiwi.com is a company built by people who actually work here — Linda K., Team Coordinator
Linda felt very grateful to have an opportunity to work with the person she was going to replace. This helped her to integrate smoothly into the work environment and feel more confident. Her manager and team was very supportive and she was left with very detailed instructions.
“Overall I am very satisfied because I was looking for a fulfilling role where I can grow and develop myself and that is what I got here. During the interview, I was told that things are changing quickly in the company and I thought OK, this is natural. But I did not expect it to be that fast! I like being part of the fast-paced environment where I can contribute and what I also like is that Kiwi.com is a company built by people who actually work here”, shared Linda.
From booking travel tickets with Kiwi.com to working at Kiwi.com — Daniel Janocko, Software Engineer
Daniel always booked travel tickets with Kiwi.com and when he decided to look for a job it sounded like a good opportunity. He was surprised to receive all necessary hardware before even signing the contract and that was a sign for him that Kiwi.com is a reliable company. Another thing that surprised Daniel is that there is a dedicated person responsible for each step of the onboarding process. He is not used to this and says with laughter that sometimes he needs to contact several people to solve one issue as this is a big company.
“My team is pretty cool. When I introduced myself I wanted to say that sometimes my English is poor but instead I said my English is pure. After that in every single communication everybody told me don’t worry Daniel, your English is pure (laugh)! Recently, we had team-building and this was my first ever team-building experience online. I did not expect that the company would order snacks and beverages for us and deliver it to our homes. That was nice. And I want to give advice to people looking for a job, do not be afraid of changes. It is challenging but there are people who will help you”, said Daniel.
I feel very comfortable with everyone I speak to — Antonio Djigo, Software Engineer
Antonio remembers a really smooth onboarding experience with a couple of short meetings with recruiters and hiring managers. Despite the fact that all his team works remotely and he is based in Barcelona, his supervisor is very supportive. Sometimes it does not work out as planned but working remotely can be tough, he says. Nevertheless, Antonio is looking forward to visiting the main office in the Czech Republic once everything opens up. He would really love to travel.
“I was looking for growth as a developer, experience, people I can learn from. What surprised me the most was that everything looked very organized. It was easy to contact people around. If you had a problem there was always someone who could help you. That impressed me as I did not expect that. It is not like I did not expect to be good with everyone (laughs). What I want to say is that it is very easy to talk to anyone here, I feel very comfortable with Kiwis”, shared Antonio.