Covid-19 and exceptional economic situations are currently dominating everyday private and professional life. How does it feel to start a new job today? In times when so much is at a standstill, kgs newcomer Onur Gezeroglu reports on the fast pace that has played a major role since he started as Key Account Manager in April.
Editor: Onur, how do you get somewhere good where you don't go?
Onur Gezeroglu: That's right, I'm often asked by my new colleagues, but also by my family and friends, whether I've already arrived well at my new job. I'm sure it's also because the current situation surrounding the Corona crisis is particularly challenging, and when I started at kgs at the beginning of April, I naturally fell right into the middle of the uncertainties. But yes, I think you can - if the framework is right - settle in well even in the current situation and also with a new employer that you can't experience at your location. Mainly you get to know the company then through the people you talk to on the phone, do online sessions or write to. My challenge was that I had to record everything in a fairly condensed form so that, as a key account manager, I could quickly get into initial discussions with our prospects and customers.
Editor: In the online world, we spend a lot of time overall, but we don't have the leisure for individual, especially communicative, emotional activities as we do in persona - everything is faster. What has onboarding from your living room looked like so far, and can you tell us more about the pace you've also hinted at?
Onur Gezeroglu: First of all, I was glad that at least in the first week I was able to meet my division manager in person on selected dates at the kgs premises. This was possible because all the other colleagues at the site worked entirely in their home offices and we therefore had plenty of space and opportunities to meet hygiene requirements. After this short and intensive briefing period, during which I was allowed to soak up the sales system very undisturbed, I pushed myself from home into the deep end and picked up the phone. I now have regular telephone exchanges with my team - which helps me to delve deeper and deeper into the topics. But my goal was always to be able to get started quickly.
Editor: Surely it's mainly a question of personality whether you can become productive for a company so quickly, or what would be your conclusion?
Onur Gezeroglu: Whether one dares and commits oneself is certainly based on one's own personality. But kgs has empowered me in many ways to pick up that pace. Even before my first day of work, I received my first emails about organizational issues and my onboarding plan. From then on, not a day was "wasted." My personal kgs NEO (New Employee Onboarding) process provides exact steps of my onboarding and learning curve. I was facilitated appointments with each division manager where I was able to inquire about their requirements for me and gain insight into the overall company structure. In my position, I can draw on a sales concept that has been tried and tested at kgs over many years, and the kgs software itself is also so smart that the benefits are not only quickly grasped by the customer, but also enable me to achieve this high speed. I would therefore say that a secure framework as described, in which you can move, is fundamentally a very important factor for onboarding speed. In times of the Corona crisis and home office work, I believe it is even more crucial to have this precise plan and lean framework. Only then is a new hire quickly secured economically for the company feasible and also the personal feeling of the new hire in this difficult time a really good one.
Editor: Onur, thank you very much for the interview and good luck with kgs!
