#Alltogethernow

Many applicants are currently asking to what extent Corona is paralyzing their applications. The good news: It does not affect us. Our application process is fully digital and remote – from sending your application documents via the first virtual handshake till the onboarding process from your home office.

Getting to know each other in times of Corona
No matter whether Corona is a thing or not: the first step after the written application is a phone call with our recruiters, followed by a “classical” job interview – remote via video conference. The benefit of this approach is that open questions can be addressed quickly, and colleagues can be consulted/can dial in if required. By the way: Even if you have not yet applied to us, we look forward to your questions and are available via various means and social media platforms including our website, email, Xing, LinkedIn, Instagram ( @allforonegroup_careers & @allforonegroup_turkiye) or Facebook.

Onboarding process
Both sides have agreed that the chemistry is right? The employment contract including signatures is also handled digitally and in a legally watertight way. It might not come as a surprise that the subsequent onboarding process is remote as well. For two days, a virtual starter group will support new colleagues with getting to know each other as and cover a lot of basic topics. For example, there will be elevator pitches of our specialized teams, we provide support with setting-up your equipment, introduce you to our work environment and -philosophy, the Group, as well as overriding topics such as leave or business travels.

Of course, there is something missing: The personal handshake, the physical closeness to your team, the team lunch, or maybe the perfectly ergonomic workplace we know from our office. Some new and exciting things are virtual cafeterias, the view into the home office or out of the windows of your colleagues. Having kids‘ voices around you. A short talk with the partner or regular joint lunches. Particularly due to physical distance, we get to know each other from a different, more personal perspective than before the Corona crisis.

New Work
A notebook, stable VPN access, and a couple of new tools – and our home office is perfect and ready to go? Far from it: It is all about the right mindset and company culture. Agile teams, a high level of self-responsibility and flexibility, decentralized working, remote appointments – we are used to New Work. And it is paying off. Even if we still get to know something new every single day.

Tools
Social collaboration tools are becoming ever more relevant. We dispose of a variety of tools that enable home office or remote work, including Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Teams, Whiteboard, Yammer, OneDrive, Exchange, and many more.

Home office with kids
Colleagues with children are facing special challenges at the moment, as daycare centers and schools are closed, and childcare and the entire workday have to be organized differently. We think that interruptions of meetings by the youngest family members during calls or meetings are not just “okay” – we are happy to see the family members we often hear stories about live on screen.

Working out during everyday business
Even though gyms, yoga studios, or football clubs might be closed, there are options to stay fit. For example, you could introduce small sessions at the coffee machine, run around the block, and overcome your weaker self with joint sports challenges. Working out is one way to compensate for a lack of personal communication.

Communication
We do not talk less to each other, but differently. This is one of the learnings from Corona and home office: Not just via phone calls, but face-to-face via the webcam in our digital meeting room or the virtual cafeteria

Do virtual meetings deliver tangible results? Are they too long-winded? Is the technology working? Does everyone understand the tools? How is interaction supposed to work? Should we introduce new meeting rules? Do I convey information, my appearance, the passion for my topics the way I want them to despite the virtual meeting room? This list of questions and uncertainties could be continued for a while. However, we hardly notice any adverse effects in practice, as we continue to deliver for your customers and our customer projects are working smoothly remotely. New Work and a suitable mindset are the fundamentals for this and are complemented with a mix of new tools and methods as well as careful preparation.

Work methods
Instead of brainstorming new ideas on flip charts, we are nowadays using digital whiteboards and mind mapping tools. Video conferences support us with not only adjusting to the voice of our counterparts, but also their body language, gestures, and mimic. During workshops, there is an increasing emphasis on the speaker’s voice, their careful preparation, as well as clearly structured presentations.

Tools
We are also using social collaboration tools such as Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Teams, Yammer, OneDrive and Exchange to support our exchange with our customers. Even those project partners who have hardly used home office or remote work in the past, are very receptive to these tools.

Transparent communication
#AllTogetherNow – we have organized a weekly meeting as a live event under that name. Here, we communicate information on the latest developments, measures in connection with the Corona virus, and their impact on our Group to all staff members. However, #AllTogetherNow is more than just a joint staff call: it is our way of living solidarity. A dedicated site on the Intranet provides information on current events and offers a constantly growing pool of answers to frequently asked questions. Via a dedicated hotline, email address, and topical calls we are always available to address the worries and challenges of each individual colleague

Time4us - more than a virtual coffee chat
We are still meeting our colleagues for coffee – just virtually. We talk about our experience with the current situation. How do we stay in shape? How are we teaching our children? Who replaces our hairdresser? How is the mood in our environment? Which solutions for dealing with the Corona crisis both at work and at home work out best for us?

Leave donation
Employees can optionally donate their leave days. This action it totally voluntary and aims to set an example: We want to help those among us who urgently need additional leave days – particularly those colleagues who have to take care of their children benefit from this.

Support with trainings and knowledge sharing
Each week, we offer our colleagues various live events on digital work via Teams. The topics range from basics, such as an introduction to Microsoft Teams, work organization, or file management in the Cloud to special topics such as virtual leadership, digital sales methods, or personal branding. We also use the social network Yammer intensively. That way, we share our knowledge and experience with all our colleagues.

There will be a time after home office and Corona. We are still looking to add additional family members, so do not hesitate to apply for a job that suits you. Some old habits, however, might go overboard such as the mandatory handshake or workshops and team meetings that require physical presence. What remains, are some fundamental questions: Is the world after Corona indeed a world where solidarity has gained importance? How extensively will our beloved virtual work environment change? How are we going to use it in the future? We are excited and optimistic about these questions. And we will be prepared to answer them.