My First Week at CharlieHR
As a new starter, it’s very easy to place the burden of onboarding onto fellow team members with more experience. However, no amount of guidance and encouragement can help if you’re not the one asking a million questions.
That being said, after quite a few questions, here are a few things I’ve learnt from my first week at CharlieHR:
- Feedback first:
If you haven’t already read the Buzzed article, feedback is a huge deal at Charlie. The concept made me apprehensive to say the least. A week in, I’ve decided feedback gets a bad rap (they haven’t paid me to say that, although that would be nice).
It’s not meant to be a tool to promote nastiness and ridicule, although I’ve definitely viewed it under that guise previously. When used correctly, it’s a brilliant way to work. The working space feels healthy - there are no back handed compliments or secret conversations behind closed doors. With everything out in the open it leaves more time to do actual work and eat biscuits which is a really good thing.
- Communication is key:
There’s constant talk of the importance of communication within the team. There’s also an overriding sense of fear that at times it is just talk.
In my opinion, that’s a huge win. Not to say that I like the fact there’s a bit of fear lurking around but rather, I like the fact that communication is such a soft spot. Charlie is growing quickly and without that concrete, constant communication it could be critical.
- Users, users, users:
Without communication, CharlieHR doesn’t grow. Without Users, CharlieHR doesn’t exist. In the Product team, they’re at the forefront of every element of design. Does this fun animation actually make a Users life easier or is it just a fun animation? My first week at CharlieHR has taught me that to be a good Product Designer you have to be good at making those decisions. Sacrificing fun animations from time to time is the right decision when the User benefits (and once you’ve made a tricky decision, you can have a biscuit!).
- Wispa Golds are everything:
Wispa Golds are the chosen chocolate bar at CharlieHR and I’m scared to think what some of the team might do for one. I was sceptical at first but they’re truly delicious. If you too are interested in a job at Charlie HR, here are my parting words of (sort of) wisdom. Embrace the mindsets addressed above, even if they seem a little daunting, and bring at least 5 Wispa Golds with you to the interview. You’re welcome.
