During the past years, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming new colleagues to Silo AI almost every week! Last year, we had more than 60 new colleagues joining us! Silonauts are already located in 5 different countries and most of the operations are run from Finland so we can proudly say to have learnt something about running a hybrid organisation. Here’s how we strive to make your journey to Silopolis start off well - wherever you join the company!
Preparing for the takeoff – Before your start
Once you sign your employment contract, things start happening by our People Team. As a first thing, you will receive a welcome message with some initial information and action points. One of Silo AI’s much-liked traditions is to welcome all our new employees on our social media channels once they start, and for this purpose, we will ask for your photo and bio. Usually our existing team, our clients and possible future employees love to follow the stream of talents joining our team! In addition, you will receive our Culture Book “A Traveler’s Guide to Silopolis” that helps you familiarize yourself with Silo AI already before your first day. And yes, you can also start experimenting how it is to be a Silonaut as you will receive our small Swag-package to home!
Arrival to Silopolis – Your first days
Your first day at Silo AI starts with an onboarding session with your People Specialist. You can choose to meet either remotely or at your nearest office. In this first meeting, you will learn about e.g. our company values, ways of working, benefits, and important cultural concepts such as Learning Lab and Silo Social activities (more on these in the next chapter).
In addition to your People Specialist, you will connect with your Expert Lead (for the expert roles) or Team Lead (for business roles) during your first days. You will also meet your SiloBuddy, who is responsible for taking the newbie for a welcome lunch and for helping you out in general if needed!
To support the onboarding, you will get access to our onboarding board and receive complementary tasks in our People Platform Hibob. Hibob will help you to take care of basic tasks like “Get your access badge” and “Fill the onboarding survey” but also some more engaging assignments like “Ask feedback from someone” or “Download E-Passi sports benefit app”. The onboarding board contains information on which Slack channels to join and who to ask for help with different topics – to give a few examples. First day is full of new information and excitement, so the onboarding board will be your tool to remember everything!
“The onboarding process at Silo AI was truly exceptional. From the very beginning, I felt welcomed and supported by the team. The onboarding program was thorough, and it helped me to understand the company's culture, values, and mission. I couldn't be happier with my experience at Silo AI, and I'm excited to be a part of such a great team.” – Lasse, Software Developer, Copenhagen
After all the internal info, you will learn more about the actual work – for most of our employees, it means the project you will be joining. Project onboarding can be led either by Silo’s Project Owner or by the client. Even though it’s important to get going with client work, we want to reserve enough time for internal onboarding to ensure a smooth transition and a sense of belonging to the Silo AI team. For Business People, your onboarding activities will happen with your own business area team and also relevant stakeholders, depending on the role.
At Silo AI, onboarding doesn’t end after your first day, but the process and progress continue throughout the first six months. We want to support our new employees, take time to discuss possible concerns and understand where we could do better. Therefore, in addition to ad-hoc discussions, we always book special time to discuss your thoughts. You as well will be encouraged to gather feedback for your development with our feedback tool Teamspective - active feedback culture is at the core of life in Silopolis!
Navigating in Silopolis – Making the most of your journey
In addition to “official” stuff, there are plenty of things to attend as a member of our community. On Fridays, we have a team lunch to meet colleagues, and of course – enjoy the food sponsored by the company. To connect Silonauts in different locations, we offer a possibility to order lunch at home and join our virtual meeting with fun games and casual chatting. If you like to socialize, you can also join our company-supported Silo Social activities or suggest your own! We have e.g. had board game nights, cable surfing, bouldering, and (virtual) escape rooms.
“Everything started already before my first day of employment with the "first aid kit" sent directly to home and since that everything has gone exceptionally well! The personal touch is something very valuable and not that usual these days. During my first weeks I’ve learnt how the culture has been a cornerstone from the beginning and I can’t wait for the upcoming months and years with these great colleagues around me at Silo AI!” – Joonas, People Partner, Helsinki
Every week, you can also participate in some learning activities, like company workshops or Research Club, which are both parts of our beloved Learning Lab concept. Workshops focus on different topics, ranging from technical to more general skills important for each Silonaut. Some previous topics include project ownership, feedback skills and mental wellbeing. In the weekly Research Clubs, we typically focus on a certain scientific discovery and paper, often inviting someone who has done the research to share his/her knowledge. In addition, everyone has a personal self-development budget, which means time and money allocated for you to use in online courses, seminars, books, or whatever supports your growth!
A transition to a completely new company with novel ways of working might sometimes feel challenging at the beginning. If you have concerns about stress, relationships, self-leadership, or something else, you can book a remote discussion package with Auntie. Auntie is a mental health service used at Silo AI. We know that work is not always just fun and easy – especially when having new things to learn. You can also book Coffee & Coaching sessions with Silo AI’s own wellbeing expert Aliisa.
Ready for your next adventure?
Even though there are many things to learn, remember, and try as a new employee, don’t worry! We – People team and the entire Silopolis crew – are more than happy to help and support you. It doesn’t really matter what you remember after your first days: What matters to us is that you know you are not alone on your learning journey!
We are constantly looking for AI experts in Finland, Denmark and in Sweden. You can see all our open positions on our open positions page.
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