Welcome to Motius University
As we already established here, there are plenty of good reasons to join us. But what happens after the deed is done, the ink is dry and your personal journey at Motius starts? With this blog post, we want to introduce you to our general onboarding process and the Motius University, one of our internal initiatives which aim at fostering culture and community through connection and knowledge sharing.
“The university sessions are great and through them, I got a 360-degree view on how we act as an organization altogether!”
-Florian Jüsten, Tech Specialist
Pre-boarding — From Signature to the First Day
Let’s start with our general onboarding process. First of all, when does it start? That’s right — not on the actual first day. It starts when you sign your contract, ready to become a Motee. Before ever coming to the office for the first time, you can already choose your notebook, so we can set it up and make sure your start is as smooth as possible. You will also get an introduction mail with all relevant information about your team, some insights into our company strategy, and a short welcome video from our founder Sören. Basically everything one needs to know about Motius. Some of our teams might even invite you to any team building that might be happening so that you can already meet your future colleagues. Ready, Steady, time for the first day!
“I have rarely experienced such a structured and well-organized onboarding as with Motius — that made it a lot easier for me to get started.
Through my onboarding buddy, joint coffee breaks, and lunch dates, I felt welcome right from the start and met lovely people.”-Julia Augustin, Recruiting Coordinator
The First Day
You’re at the office, so now what? Well, your laptop, along with some neat Motius goodies will be waiting at your desk. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of your new position, all new talents join a general Motius onboarding session together. After, the day continues with a kickoff meeting with your supervisor, one-on-one. Your personal onboarding plan is being introduced to you including your first todos, an overview of the next couple of weeks, and the first coffee dates with colleagues that have already been set up in advance to ensure a good start. The rest of the day is reserved for you to settle in and get familiar with your new work environment.
“With Motius University I felt welcomed from day 1 on. Several other colleagues were actively approaching me to have a coffee or lunch together“
-Daniel Turba, Project Owner
The First 10 Days
After 10 days, when the E-Mail signature is set up, passwords are saved, and things are starting to take form — it’s time for the first feedback with your supervisor. But don’t worry: This acts simply as a review round, where you can voice any concerns, make plans for the next weeks, discuss your responsibilities, and share impressions. Should anything be unclear, or overwhelming — after this meeting, everything should be explained and your open questions should be answered. Oh, and as we are a tech company you will get in touch with a lot of new cool (and secret) technologies so make sure that you got familiar with our special data security regulations by completing your TISAX training. Your supervisor will ask you about this!
“In the beginning of a Job finding the right balance between getting up to speed without being overwhelmed is hard. The numerous sync and feedback sessions ensured that I found the right speed for me and the expectations were aligned.”
-Daniel Turba, Project Owner
The First 3–6 Months
The first 3 to 6 months of starting in a new role can be challenging and most of all — highly individual and dependent on the position. We know this and will make sure the process is adapted to your specific job description. After 3 months, another feedback review is held to evaluate the status quo. You can expect to shadow supervisors to gain experience, but the design of your personal onboarding program also depends on your role and experience level. We will make sure you get the guidance you need. This is exactly the point where our Motius University comes into play.
“With the Motius University, the initial information intake gets reduced and spread out over time.”
-Florian Jüsten, Tech Specialist
So, What Is Motius University?
Motius University is a special format that follows you through your onboarding process, designed to make you familiar with topics specific to your role but also with important aspects from other departments. It includes information on our internal processes, best practices, and company culture packed into small workshops held by the our experts in the various areas of their respective tech-spertise (great pun huh?). So, for instance, our PI team will highlight how you should pitch Motius to customers, our Marketing staff will tell you all you need to know about our Corporate Identity and some of our Project Owners will introduce you to our way of setting up project teams. In total, we have more than 20 sessions for our new joiners and our Motees who are curious to learn more about different subjects.
One Motius University session every Motee should see is the DNA session with one of our founders, Zied, who had the initial idea for Motius and is acting CEO. Here, Motius history is introduced by one of the makers themselves featuring funny anecdotes, the importance of a bootstrap mentality, and what Motius stands for. Let’s just say it might make you want to tell all your friends about us!
An important side effect that should not be underestimated is, that you will get to know other Motees here in a more private setting. It is also an important change management tool, as our processes are constantly developing, therefore we update the sessions every 3 months. Only the latest information is passed on.
Meet Your Onboarding Buddy
The Onboarding Buddy is a formal program to support the social and cultural integration of new talents at Motius. This buddy supports you all the way through the probationary period so that you feel enabled to fully become part of the company. A person with a similar role is selected to suit your needs, with a similar professional background but more seniority at Motius. With your buddy, you can have regular lunch breaks, remote coffees, after-work beers.. You name it.
“My onboarding buddy introduced me to a lot of people here and the lunch breaks allowed for a more informal approach to the Motius culture.”
-Florian Jüsten, Tech Specialist
Time for Lunch Lotto
Another very cool format is our Lunch Lottery. It was created out of the necessity to socialize with your team during a global pandemic. Introducing regular remote connectivity events like the lunch lotto promotes mental health and team spirit. Every week, you can sign up and be randomly matched with another colleague for a (remote) lunch break. This way, you can connect with people from other departments you might otherwise have little interaction with.
“It was more comfortable than in real Uni as I got invited to the onboarding session that I needed. I missed a few because I already supported a project but everything is recorded and documented as well.”
-Daniel Turba, Project Owner
Let’s Polish It off With Breakfast
Throughout the process, our Retro Breakfast is held to receive feedback from you about your onboarding process and to define actions for further improvements of the whole program. Motius works with internal, proven systems to ensure the most effective feedback process and integration of the learnings. After all, starting a new job at Motius should encourage just that — positive change.
