A Different Kind of Onboarding, Generation Veeva’s Bootcamp
By Vanessa Malhame, Analytics Services Associate
The last time I embarked on a milestone moment as big as my first day at Veeva, I was moving into my freshman year dorm at Boston College. In so many ways this day resembled that one, a long drive to Boston, an overweight luggage in tow, and a ton of butterflies in my stomach. Four years prior, I welcomed the opportunity for more independence and the chance to grow in ways that I couldn’t in my comfortable bubble at home. However, this new, exciting change also opened the door for strong feelings of anxiety, insecurity, nostalgia, and skepticism. Will I succeed? Will people like me? Will I enjoy what I do? Or will I miss the things I’ve done? And just as daunting as that very first day in my college dorm was this looming presence of the first day of my professional career. I had all the same questions racing through my head. As I looked out the window of the Amtrak towards the New England suburbs, I braced myself for this new chapter and the intensive experience awaiting me at the end of the ride, Bootcamp.
These emotions, albeit natural and expected, almost instantly subsided when I arrived at the office on a beautiful July morning. The purpose of a bootcamp is to push you and learn your capabilities. Surely, not all are as luxurious as the one built by Veeva, but all have the same general goal: to efficiently prepare you for whatever is ahead. The Generation Veeva Bootcamp is aptly created to produce a well rounded new hire, fit to take on any demands of his or her new role out of school. The bootcamp lasts a full two weeks, exercising not only your technical strengths but also your discernment. Throughout the course of your time in the program, you are evaluated on your collaboration, your responsibility, your judgment, your prioritization, and your ability to communicate the knowledge upon completing the assignments. This reasonable level of scrutiny is expected. But the real benefit of the program revealed itself in the structure of the experience. Bootcamp is an immersive two weeks of constant communication and collaboration with your new colleagues. In a world where almost all socialization occurs in a hybrid format, the opportunity to connect in-person with people who are experiencing what you are is invaluable. Not only did you get to know everyone widely, spanning four developmental programs located all over the country, but deeply, at the coffee machine, on the walk to and from the office, or in exploring the beautiful city of Boston. The friendships built early lifted anxiety and allowed everyone to learn in a way that was most productive for them.
Although incredibly important, friendships were an intentional consequence of the true function of bootcamp, learning and acclimating to Veeva as a company. Veeva is a large Public Benefit Corporation serving the Life Sciences industry at every intersection. I don’t know one person that came to Bootcamp knowing and understanding the true breadth of Veeva’s impact. Each day, everyone promptly returned to their seats ready to learn about any one of the 35+ Veeva products and the distinct purpose each provides. The extensive deep dive spanned the early inner workings of a clinical trial to the commercialization of a drug long after it is FDA approved; Veeva is there at each turn.
The first week focused heavily on ingesting all this content. The decks presented during this week were curated as a lecture. Everyone is encouraged to ask questions and make comments that promote discussion. In the afternoon you complete a small group exercise refreshing the material you just learned. The second week capitalized off the momentum of the first. The class was broken off into groups of four, each a blend of development programs and Veeva offices. The week was given to compile two presentations with your group based on your new knowledge. The journey from listening to the material to presenting it embedded the insights firmly. Yet, the most productive learning tool was the real time feedback given promptly after presenting. The feedback was thorough, constructive, and honest. Each person walked away from the project with an inspired confidence and clear direction on where they will improve. More holistic feedback from bootcamp was offered a few weeks after all the attendees arrived back home.
The last day was bittersweet. In two weeks, you build a routine, you make friends, you get comfortable. Everyone now was off on their separate ways to begin their role specific training at home. It was going to be another first day all over again. But as I looked out the window of the Amtrak towards the New England Suburbs for the second time, I realized that in two weeks I felt a level of stability that took me months to acquire at school. I no longer was questioning myself or my capabilities, thanks to bootcamp.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Veeva.
