The adesso Welcome Days | Part 2

Moving right along

After making it through the first half of Welcome Day One, it's back to the seminar room. Still a bit tired from lunch, I take a seat and wait for the next part. Two of the girls from the front desk have come in and are sitting at the front, also waiting. Suddenly, there's a ridiculously loud, insanely shrill noise. I desperately wish I had my earplugs on me. Everyone looks at each other, their faces contorted; the only ones who don't seem bothered by it are the two ladies up front. In fact, they look downright amused. A new trainee from IT comes running in. "You definitely didn't mean to do that, huh?" he says, trying to get a look at the laptop. They wave him off, saying nothing. Finally! What a relief! After what feels like an eternity, the sound cuts off. "If you hear that, somebody messed up!" What we just heard, they explain, was the locking system's alarm signal. They show us two short videos about how we can prevent this particular sound from blowing out our eardrums again. That is, how to correctly operate the locking system at the Dortmund location correctly. Once the two videos are over, my hearing is back to normal, and I'm ready to take on the last two topics, "Travel" and "How to Talk to Customers". Everything is really interesting, but I'm also pretty tired, and I can't wait to relax this evening. I drive to the hotel with a small contingent of carless colleagues. I had no trouble at all requesting a room with a short email to "Travel". I check in and go to my room. Thoroughly impressed with the tasteful interior, I freshen up and join the others in the lobby. Though I really would like to meet as many people as possible, I keep ending up with the same individuals. "Well that's only normal," I think to myself, happy to be getting along so well with them. At seven o'clock, they open the buffet. We eat, drink a glass of wine, and talk. Our bellies full and still deep in conversation, we go and sit out on the patio, sipping a pilsner and enjoying the last of the daylight. And that's how the first evening ends.

Day Two

Somewhat tired, I get out of my hotel bed and start getting ready. My bag is soon packed, and I make my way to the hotel's breakfast room. I fill my plate with an assortment of tasty treats and search for familiar faces. I'm amazed at how many complete strangers there are at this hotel. Yesterday 95% of the people here were adesso employees, and today I can only make out two of what must be a hundred faces. I sit down and have breakfast with the two of them. Well fortified for the rest of the day, I check out and wait for my fellow travelers at the agreed-upon spot. When we get to the office, I quickly grab a cup of coffee and enter the meeting room. To my astonishment, my name tag isn't where I thought it would be. Again I start running back and forth, hoping to find my spot as quickly as possible. I hear a colleague call my name. She points at the second row. Unbelievable! My new seat is right next to my old one. With a sigh, I plop down into the chair.

So much info

It's now nine o'clock and we start right on time with more information about travel costs, the company credit card, and all the different products offered by adesso AG and its subsidiaries. They separate us into groups and each person is given a standard-size info sheet on a product. "Heuristic Claims Management" "Perfect," I think to myself. "I mean, this is clearly an adesso insurance solutions product." Once everyone has presented their product to the group, we head back through the lobby to the seminar room. While we're on our may, my nose picks up on the pleasant aroma of delicious food, and I look at my watch and realize it's already lunchtime. Man, the morning just flew by! So we stop right there in the lobby where the buffet is. Did I say buffet? A feast is more like it – compared to the buffet from yesterday, there's so much more here in terms of richness and variety.

Still, I decide not to eat too much – the day's not over yet, and I don't want to end up in a food coma. Then we blow through the afternoon's activities: a presentation of adesso subsidiary alleato and running through the procedure for making an offer. To better illustrate how the procedure works, we're given a creatively designed story told in pictures. Step by step, we go through each phase of the process. "It's pretty much the same as in any other process," I think to myself. Still, the job descriptions are really helpful, and I'm happy that they let us keep the picture story.

Done

Welcome Day Two ends with a short farewell from the Human Resources department, and I drive home with lots of new information, acquaintances, and memories. On the drive home I go over the experience in my head. Yeah, there was a whole lot of information, and yeah, I'm sure there are some things I forgot. But it was good to get to know the company outside of my actual work and projects. To familiarize myself with the company's philosophy. And tomorrow I'll be able to start learning the technical side of my job. I can't help but smile, because I know this is going to be good!