My First 30 Days at Version 1

“Having moved home to Ireland from Canada in July after two years working abroad, I was very excited to begin my new career chapter with Version 1 (while admittedly anxious as to what the reality of working remotely during COVID would look like).

From the beginning of the interview process at Version 1, to 30 days working with the company, I have been astounded at how seamlessly the organisation adapted to the new and unpredictable post-COVID environment. I found the onboarding process to be incredibly supportive, with management, HR, Comms and IT heavily involved to sure all needs were addressed (whether technical/equipment), as well as having the Buddy Programme for any new-starter queries.

Over the past 30 days, I have been amazed at the number of engagement opportunities Version 1 have extended to all employees across their locations. While recognising I am fortunate to have my family and friends living nearby during these times, I appreciate all the effort Version 1’s collective teams have put in place to build an inclusive “office feel” in a remote and virtual environment.

Since starting, I have had the opportunity to engage as a colleague (partaking in the pumpkin carving competition, virtual murder mystery experience and fitvision classes), an employee (attending virtual information sessions for Junior Achiever Ireland, Mental Resilience and the Excellence Awards), and also to focus on my career (attending Pathways workshops to focus on professional development and educational progression).

It has been an amazing 30 days integrating into Version 1, and I look forward to the months ahead!”

Conor’s experience during his first 30 days evidences the continued commitment Version 1 has to their people. Employee Engagement Partner, Amanda Kelly and the Employee Experience Team worked tirelessly throughout COVID to ensure the best remote experiences possible for all employees. “Whilst we normally love meeting all of our new starters face-to-face, we have been running our Onboarding and Induction sessions remotely during the regional lockdowns. We’ve found them to be a really great alternative – we include games and interactive elements to make sure everyone feels involved. And because everything is done virtually now, we are not limited by who is on-site to speak to our new starters; now, we are able to showcase a range of presentations from across our areas and teams to give new joiners a thorough overview of what we are working on currently, and what life is like as part of the Version 1 team.”

Indeed, just because we can’t meet our new starters physically doesn’t mean that we aren’t thinking about them. From the moment they accept our offer, they are on our minds! Before any new joiner’s first day begins they receive an exciting delivery from our team with a new laptop and all the techy equipment they could need to ensure a seamless start with us.

Once our new starters are onboarded, the engagement doesn’t stop – there are numerous check-ins from our HR team, as well as fun engagement events and numerous health and wellbeing initiatives to take part in. Our new starters are also assigned a Buddy who will guide them through their first few months at Version 1.