Six months since starting at Clarasys, and how am I feeling?
This month marks six months since I moved to London to start a new job with Clarasys. There were some nerves combined with the excitement of moving to a new place, starting a new job, and facing new challenges.
I learnt from previous employment experiences that the culture and values of the organisation I worked for were important to me. I knew that I needed an organisation that would give me ownership over my work, trust that I was capable of completing tasks, facilitate my personal development and make me feel valued. Many organisations will promise you all of this and more; including Clarasys. However, it is often the case that their words are empty and the promises don’t hold up to reality, as I’ve found through speaking to friends. Clarasys appears to be the exception.
Before walking through the door on the first day, I felt welcomed and part of the Clarasys ‘family’, helped by the pairing with a recent graduate who could answer all my questions, the most important being what to wear on the first day! I also received a package of goodies through the post in the week before starting. From the get-go, culture sits at the heart of Clarasys and the sense of community within Clarasys gets clearer the more time you spend here. We immediately felt a sense of belonging: from a bonding trip to the New Forest as part of the graduate programme in the second week, to socials and the general relaxed feel of the office, where there is always someone about for a chat, usually by the coffee machine. Whilst Monday mornings will never be my favourite, (I am not a morning person) it does help knowing that your working environment is welcoming, fun and supportive.
The encouragement and emphasis on personal development became evident to me from day one. The effort that goes into the six week training programme is a prime example. The sessions were well thought through and covered enough content for us to feel comfortable with each new concept. The trainers, other Clarasys consultants, ensured sessions were engaging by offering honest insights and lessons learnt from their experiences on different projects. By the end of the four weeks, I felt confident to tackle our first engagement, a six week pro-bono project with a charity. This, the trust that Clarasys puts even in newly-trained graduates, and the focus on charitable work in itself is an example of Clarasys living its values! For me, it was a great opportunity to take ownership of work and add value quickly to an organisation.
Once the graduate programme finished, Clarasys’ focus on my development did not stop. Most recently I have been participating in an emotional intelligence course, which has been invaluable in understanding myself better and how I can manage tricky or uncomfortable situations, both in work and in my personal life. The emphasis Clarasys places on coaching is unique. Once a week, I have a dedicated hour with my coach at Clarasys, where I can use the time to discuss my project in detail, understand how I can progress against my objectives or just chat about life in general. This has certainly been very useful, especially in times of uncertainty or frustration. To me it couldn’t be clearer that Clarasys understand that if they want their employees to be successful and deliver high quality work, then they need to be supported in multiple ways.
Yet the thing that has really struck me about Clarasys over the last six months is that we really are employee owned and not just on the technicality of the EOT, but in the way that the company is managed, especially in relation to how we grow, expand and change. This was really demonstrated to me at the Christmas Company Day when we spent the entire afternoon determining how we, as an organisation, are going to become more sustainable. In instances like this, our flat hierarchy is really demonstrated. If you want to get involved in our Diversity and Inclusion team, change the way in which we deliver our internal work or start a book club then you have the freedom and tools to do so, irregardless and irrespective of your length of employment, level of experience, role or status within Clarasys.
The last six months have flown by and I am looking forward to what the next 6 months will bring!