What on earth is a Vibe Associate? You’re certainly not alone in asking what this ! I could tell you, or I could show you… Let me take you through a typical day in my role – where no two days are the same!
MORNING
7.30 am – As I walk home, I use the time to take a sneak peek of what today looks like via my inbox. Is it recruitment heavy? Will I have a larger chance to knock over some projects, or is there an unexpected event? This sneak peek helps me prioritise and create time early in the day for urgent requests.
I call it a sneak peek because I’m not obliged to respond to my emails right away, but I use the time to prepare for and prioritise the day ahead.
– Insert cup of coffee –
Recruitment
8:00 am – My recruitment work kicks off with a chat with candidates based in the USA. We talk about their motivations, what they’re looking for in their next opportunity and how Insentra could compliment with their ideal lifestyle, because at Insentra a career is not just a job, it must align to their personal goals as well.
– Insert more coffee –
9:00 am – Applications, applications, applications!
When we’re recruiting, I start my morning by reviewing resumes – sometimes it can take up the entire morning, with hundreds of resumes and CV’s landing in my inbox. I like to give each candidates application the time it deserves, reading through their resume and assessing skills and experience. From here, I collaborate with the hiring manager on applicants with a strong alignment. Where an applicant isn’t the right fit, I prioritise letting them know as quickly and kindly as possible we won’t be proceeding via a personalised email. At Insentra, we think it’s important to be respectful to our candidates, just because they’re not a fit for this role, doesn’t mean they aren’t a great fit for another. In the next stage when I talk to the shortlisted candidates I’m assessing for cultural fit and when I coordinate interviews, I consider feedback from managers, peers and our . During the COVID19 pandemic we’ve accelerated the process of providing feedback to help candidates to continue finding their next role.
– Stand, shake a tail feather… and have another cup of coffee -
11:15 am – Time to talk! I try to catch up with a different Insentra crew member every day. I love to have a good chat, open my door for feedback and suggestions and catch up on what is happening in their part of the world (especially as the COVID-19 pandemic changes so often). Insentra being a global business, the time of day for this activity varies… it could be before 9, or after 6pm depending on where my friend for the day is located!
– One more cup of coffee (yep, I’ve a weakness!) –
11.55 am – The final task I schedule in the mornings is to look at social media, which means Insentrons can blame me if they are spotted on our Facebook or Instagram pages! I use Instagram and Facebook to celebrate and recognise our culture – our family, good vibes, and positivity… all things Vibe!
Onboarding
12:00 pm – Awesome, we have a successful candidate for one of our roles! After finalising the contract and calling the new employee with congratulations, I work with the hiring manager to plan and organise an awesome first day (or days) for our newest crew member. We kick off with an IT session to make sure the tools they need to be successful in their role are good to go from day 1. Afterwards, they join my welcome session where I run through who Insentra is, and what it means to Stay on Track as an Insentra employee . Our ‘Stay On Track’ tool is a great way for us to talk about those often unknown cultural norms when we start somewhere new, such as what is expected from them (and therefore they can expect of their peers) in terms of communication, role expectation, execution and culture.
The final part of their agenda is getting to know the team, the role and what is needed to get started. The onboarding journey doesn’t stop there, I check in frequently with new starters to make sure they’re loving the experience and to see if they need any extra support.
THE MIDWAY POINT
1:00pm – Lunchtime! I try to take my dog out for a walk to reset and refocus my mind. Working remotely means I can cook something quick and healthy, such as grilled veggies and risoni. I try to avoid eating at my desk but sometimes multi-tasking is necessary. If I don’t take the dog out, I’m usually watching a webinar; there has been a lot of changes lately affecting many facets of work, so I want to stay up to date. I’m also fully caffeinated by now and ready to work on some creative ideas or get into the nitty-gritty stuff.
Crew Life
2:00 pm – Today I am catching up with a company who are offering a fantastic series of webinars. I want to discuss how these webinars will have a positive impact on our team and how to best get the crew engaged.
2.30 pm – After the webinar discussion, I hop straight into a Microsoft Teams call with one of our crew members. Today we are working through the environmental and socially responsible actions they undertake so we can celebrate them on social media, by doing so I hope to inspire and encourage others to get involved with positive actions of their own!
3.00 pm – As we get deeper into the afternoon I stay energised by focusing on more awesome engagement activities… so I’m likely planning out the next round of InsentraFIT (our fitness challenge), coordinating invites for Virtual Happy Hour, or packing a few care packages for crew hit particularly hard by the lockdowns across the world. This is also the time of day when my catch up meetings occur – such as working with marketing and graphic design on some of these initiatives, or talking to managers about how I can support them and their teams, especially as changes are being rolled out.
If I don’t have meetings scheduled, then this is typically the time of day I try to “bunker down” and work on some written pieces. In recent times I’ve been looking at procedure improvements (particularly an onboarding refresh), writing blogs (ta-da!), social media content for the upcoming month, developing new learning and development courses for our Insentra Uni (and sending out reminders!), working on our Great Places to Work award entry, or preparing the monthly All Hands presentation.
When I don’t need to focus or avoid distractions, I’ll set my status to available on Microsoft Teams so my colleagues know they can shoot me a message or give me a call. In my role, being available to crew for any kind of chat is critical and I prioritise being reachable as much as possible.
Now, if it’s a Friday then I’m 100% joining the 4 o’clock Virtual Happy Hour so I can enjoy some social time with the team!
4.30 pm – Recruitment catch up with our Managed Services Director. Currently, we have four open roles in managed services, so we have a weekly catch up to keep momentum in the hiring process.
5:00 pm – As the day draws to a close it’s time to check back in with my inbox. This is the time when I finish off any pieces of work which had important deadlines, such as reviewing Job Descriptions, posting new roles to LinkedIn and sending those final reminder emails. From here, I sort, flag and organise my inbox so the overnight influx (especially while recruiting overseas) is not buried. Sometimes I’ll need to spend a little longer answering applications to ensure candidates get a timely response.
Evening
6:00 pm– Time to cook dinner! Luckily, the commute is short enough (well below the Sydney average, a whopping 3.4 seconds, rigorous testing was completed) and I also use this time to wash all those coffee mugs…
As you can see, the role of a Vibe Associate is varied, dynamic, and ebbs and flows throughout the year, depending on the level of recruitment. While my days are varied, one thing is constant, my role is firmly centred around the Insentra crew and how to build and maintain an award-winning culture.
