How I did onboard super fast at Trendyol?: A Story of Well Designed Onboarding
I feel so lucky to write these words after spending a super fast eight months at Trendyol as part of the HR Tech Team. In this article, you will learn about my onboarding experience at my beloved Trendyol.
Before I get started
My Trendyol journey started in October 2021 with an onboarding that is worth mentioning. Starting a new company while working remotely is not an easy task. New tools, new process, new people and the same Zoom! After accepting the job offer I was both curious and nervous and as you know, onboarding starts as soon as you accept a company’s offer. Firstly, I was informed by my leader, Muzaffer, about the general process. He explained what I should expect and do before starting. I generally feel more comfortable in such situations because I know that I can adapt more easily if I know what awaits me.
After taking care of the official documents I got a call from my buddy! She was to be my buddy and support me with everything that I might need during the onboarding process. Tools, meetings, people…My buddy is the divine source to answer all of my questions! Knowing my team was preparing for me before I even started made me happy and feel secure. But I have to also mention my dearest teammate here, Keziban. She knows everything and everyone in the organization and I’m so lucky to have her in my team! Her help, with Sema, was a really integral part of me adapting as a new employee to Trendyol.
Roller Coaster!
After I started officially working, everything started to move incredibly fast.
My buddy, Sema, had prepared a full two-week Job Onboarding Plan for me. First I met my own team, then the hiring managers I would work with. Following that I was introduced to the tools that we are using as a team and where to find them, the aim of meetings,and the bots to use in Slack. Within two weeks she had prepared me with the basic information. In my opinion, knowing what to do each day was one of the best considerations to get used to a team of new people I hadn’t yet met in person. As uncertainty decreases, so does your stress. For two fast-paced weeks, my leader Muzaffer held 1–1 meetings with me at the end of every day. No, he didn’t ask me about the people I met and the tools I learned :) He asked me how I felt and said he would help me if I needed support. You know, if the relationship with the leader is based on trust and sincerity from day one, employee adaptation is naturally much faster.
I felt really lucky, everyone I met had good energy and was very enthusiastic about teaching and transferring knowledge. Whenever I said “I don’t know that”, there was always someone from the team who would say “I’ll teach you, let’s work together.”
Company onboarding held by HR started, together with all newcomers throughout the company. It was three days.I was in the Istanbul office on the first day. It was really great to visit the office, meet other new people face to face, and get together with my own team.
(In addition to Company Onboarding, each department also has Functional Onboarding. Leaders in the department participate and share your annual goals, culture, and department-specific tools and experience. It was also very helpful for me.)
The main purpose of Onboarding was to convey the Trendyol culture to us. Our values, the Trendyol way of working, lessons learned from mistakes… I can honestly say that visiting the office had a huge impact on me. The atmosphere, the people, the stories suddenly drew me in.
I told myself that I made the right decision, I am in the right place. I think that being able to say that is one of the points that supports us to use our full potential. People who feel happy also want to be productive. For this reason, I feel very lucky. Even after 8 months, I have an endless desire to be productive.
Tips and tricks
Looking back, I can summarize the points that I have drawn from my experience and that I think could benefit others too.
Perceiving the onboarding process as the responsibility of only the onboarding team is a mistake. Of course, they form an important part of this process, but they are not alone. We can mention other stakeholders as follows:
Leader: A sincere leader who explains the process, prepares for the newcomer and reflects their excitement plays an important role in onboarding the new person to the team and vice versa. My word to the leaders: the way you communicate before someone new joins your team is very important for your long-term cooperation. It is critical that you are sensitive in order to reduce uncertainty and be welcoming!
Existing team: A team that is well prepared for the newcomer, and ready to communicate and collaborate is very effective for a new teammate to quickly onboard and add value. The buddy program at Trendyol is a good example of this. Before I even started, my buddy’s preparation and two-week plan for me motivated me a lot.
The common point for these stakeholders is that they should focus on this: minimizing uncertainty. The onboarding team can prepare a guide that will answer all questions that may be asked before the person starts, and communicate it.
The leader should be clear in their communication after the offer is accepted so that the new teammate starts with as few question marks as possible.
Team: Put yourself in the newcomer’s shoes. Prepare briefing documents to be as clear as possible, outline what to do in different situations, and from whom you can ask for help to make it smooth for all parties. Being aware of this responsibility will be beneficial for everyone in the long run, as onboarding the person you will work with will increase the performance of both you and the team.
You, yourself!: I think the biggest factor in adapting to a brand new organization and culture is you. Convince yourself that a new process and uncertainty awaits and be open with your perceptions! It will help to be organized and check new information with the team at the start.
One of my favorite aspects of Trendyol is its culture of open communication and feedback. In parallel to this, we see the onboarding process as an evolving process. We get feedback from every person who joins us and try to improve this process as a team. So it will continue!
I hope this article helps some stakeholders in the onboarding process :)
If you want to experience the awesome onboarding process I mentioned, you can reach the Trendyol career page here :)
