What’s remote onboarding like for new people at Redgate?
Like lots of companies, Redgate has moved to a hybrid working model with some people working mainly from home and others now returning to the office a few days a week. It’s also changed the way we recruit people, with interviews over Zoom and new people often starting their careers at Redgate without coming to the office.
But what’s the experience like? How does it match expectations? More significantly, how does it feel to come aboard, having only met your new colleagues remotely?
To find out, I spoke to two people in marketing who joined us recently.
Mark Klein, Lead Product Marketing Manager
I was approached by a recruiter for Redgate over LinkedIn and it just happened to be at an opportune moment. I already had some knowledge of the company, and so this led to a Zoom call with the hiring manager. The conversation established that there was a good fit between the role and what I was looking for, and as the process continued it became clear that the cultural fit would be the crux of our discussions.
I firmly believe in the importance of joining a company that shares your own personal values, but when organizations trumpet theirs on a website, how do you know whether it’s just paying just lip-service? In my case, it was through reaching out to others in my network who knew Redgate well, but especially, it was through Redgate’s recruiting process.
Having a values interview in itself indicated the weight that’s placed on this part of the hiring process, and I also very much appreciated the opportunity to meet other team members over a virtual coffee. This informal time allowed me to ask some of the “trickier” questions, and the honest responses that I received were a real help in deciding to make the move.
Redgate was not the first company I’ve onboarded with during the pandemic, so I was no stranger to a virtual on-ramp. But I was really impressed with the thought that had gone into making it a smooth process.
The onboarding pack I received before starting had all of the HR and IT bumf that you’d expect. But it also had a ton of incredibly useful information that helped set me up for my first few weeks of introductory meetings. There were links to various training materials and recordings that got me up to speed both technically, but also with the productivity tools that I’d be needing, and frequent check-ins with my manager.
As importantly, everyone that I met was helpful and encouraging, and I quickly felt at home and positive about my new role.
Lauren Clark, Digital Marketing Manager
When I initially applied for my role at Redgate, I found each stage of the recruitment process really clear. Being able to do the interviews remotely also made it much more convenient to fit into the day.
One noticeable difference of remote interviews vs in-person is that people from around the business can easily join the Zoom call so you can meet your team and get a sense of who you’d be working with. This is definitely an important factor for deciding whether to take a role but something you’d rarely get insights into if it wasn’t remote.
When you first join, the subject matter of Redgate can seem quite daunting if you’re not from a technical background. Fortunately, everyone is very aware that this is how people feel going into their role and so are incredibly supportive and helpful, with no expectation for you to get up to speed straight away. For me, it actually felt challenging to learn an area of tech entirely new to me but very rewarding.
The first week was mainly focused on introductions around the business so I could form an understanding of who does what and how I might fit into that. Despite being remote, having regular meetings helped me feel part of a team with shared goals. In previous roles I was much more of an island with limited collaboration and most people working towards their own objectives in siloes.
The greatest challenge was knowing who exactly to collaborate with from around the business, given there are so many people, all of whom could provide value. To overcome this I asked for a steer from those working on wider team projects and found that identifying one person generally leads onto another.
To help streamline the onboarding process and help me feel part of Redgate, my manager set up calls for me with people from around the business and linked me to all the relevant docs I’d need to get up to speed. We also had weekly team tea breaks so we could socialize and build familiarity beyond work.
Things are changing now, of course, and being able to meet more people in person this year has definitely helped open the door to more possibilities for future collaboration.
My best advice to others thinking about applying for a role at Redgate is not to feel intimidated by the technical content – you won’t be expected to become a data expert as well as a marketing professional. Just be great at what you do and the rest will follow.
If you’re thinking about your next career move or are looking for an exciting new opportunity, we’re hiring for a number of roles. Take a look at Redgate’s current marketing vacancies. We’re always on the lookout for exceptional marketing talent.
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