iSynergy New Hire Expectations

Starting a new job can be scary. You might be asking yourself, “Who are these people? What do they want from me? How are you in my brain right now?” Just know that at iSynergy, we want to make the onboarding process as stress-free as possible and tell you exactly what we expect from you as you join the team.

Don’t worry; we won’t preach to you about how to go to work and impress your extremely cool, super talented new coworkers. You’re on your own for that one. BUT, we will tell you what you should expect from iSynergy in return.

Before We Begin

Before we get to the nitty-gritty, let’s talk about general expectations. What is this place really like? Well, we’re glad you asked!

When you walk into our office (or take a look at our Instagram), it’s pretty obvious that we like to have fun. However, that fun comes at a price. (No, we don’t have to slip a $20 bill to Steve and Kenz for an extended Friday lunch.) It sounds cliché, but we work hard so we can play harder.

What It Looks Like: We blew off a day of work to go to a hockey game.

What It Really Is: We worked our asses off for months and took a day to hang out with each other as a team.

What It Looks Like: Everyone’s chilling in the basement instead of working.

What It Really Is: We went back up to our desks right after with more focus and less mental fatigue.

Our culture is extremely important, which is why you should expect to see the occasional mid-day trip to White House Fruit Farm to bring back donuts for the office. But, you should also expect to put the “pedal to the metal” of your Wrike dashboard so that other people in the office aren’t waiting on you to get your damn work done! No one wants to be “that guy” that is holding up a project or deliverable.

Dress Code

At iSynergy, we expect full three-piece suits, ties, dresses and skirts. Just kidding, obviously. We don’t have a business-attire mindset like the corporate world. Most of us have been there, done that, and will never do it again. The clothes you’re wearing have no impact on the work that you do.

With that being said, clients don’t want you looking like a beach bum when they’re discussing large campaign budgets, so leave the Bermuda shorts at home when meeting with them. We share all of our work calendars, so you’ll know when to expect a client coming into the office (even if you’re not in the meeting).

Steve likes to describe our dress code as “What you would wear to a first coffee date.” Not too much effort, but don’t look like you just rolled out of bed either.

First Day Jitters

First-day jitters can be no joke, but leave them at the door, cause if you’ve made it this far, we already think you’re gonna fit right in!

Obviously, on day one, you should focus on meeting the team and getting to know everyone. You’ll also be jumping into our project management system so that you can understand our process for divvying out tasks. Use this first day to gain a general understanding of our various platforms – cause every day after, we expect you to hit the ground running.

Accountability Expectations

We don’t believe in middle management, so the systems you’ll see on your first day are crucial to how we function as a company. You’re not just accountable to the Boss Man; you’re accountable to our entire team. No one will be looking over your shoulder to make sure you’re working on what you need to be working on, but our team runs on trust — and we don’t take that lightly!

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Communication is the most important tool we have, and our go-to choice for internal communication is Slack. We have a channel for each client so that information stays in one place, and we have a variety of other channels for even more crucial updates (like pictures of food).

While communicating within the team is important, communication with clients is essential. We expect a summary email to be sent to clients after every meeting and call.

Make sure to respond to clients in the same way they reached out to you (ie. email, call, etc.) — within 24 hours. Also, all client emails should CC their group email so that, if someone is out of the office (or needs assistance from another team member), everyone can see pertinent information.

In the end, what should you expect from us? Information. While your first day might be overloaded with boring administrative stuff, always expect to learn. Be a sponge and try to absorb as much information as possible. You’ll get the hang of everything before long. And just remember, asking questions isn’t just accepted; it’s encouraged!

One Week Down…

The first week probably had your head spinning. There’s A LOT of communication happening inside (and out of) these four walls, but you’ll continue to get to know us while we push as much info to you as possible.

Keep learning our processes and completing onboarding tasks to get comfortable with our martech stack. These tasks also include training videos as well as logging time and closing tasks. Start familiarizing yourself with our clients and the services we provide to them.

Lots (and we mean LOTS) of Clients

Want to REALLY understand our clients? A fantastic place to start is jumping into their respective Drive folders and taking a look around. All major clients also have a client brief that details all their need-to-know information!

Check the Wiki

Our Wiki page will be one of your most valuable resources while you’re busy learning during your first couple of weeks (months, years). The Wiki is where we store pages upon pages of internal information, including boring stuff like how to request time off (and super exciting stuff like CSS styling). While your first week is the best time to look through this page and learn as much as possible, be sure to bookmark it so that you always have quick access.

We’ll help you understand your job and how your position fits within our workflow. Our team members are all available for job shadowing to show you first-hand how we each get things done. We all work within the same framework but we each attack our days and tasks differently. Find YOUR way.

Remember to be YOU. We’re all unique and bring different skills to the table — the table being a metaphor but also foreshadowing our love for a company lunch. (That reminds me, loving pizza is a requirement for employment. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.)

Wow, One Month Already?

Again, make sure that you’ve jumped into the client briefs to understand our customers inside and out – what they do, what they DON’T do and how they’re all different.

As part of your onboarding tasks, you’ll share your calendar and add everyone else’s, too. Stay on top of the calendar to know what’s going on. You are always welcome to join in on meetings and passively listen, especially while you’re getting to know our clients and processes.

And, About Those Meetings…

Let’s talk about meeting expectations.

Be prepared! Be on time. Give a quick shout-out if you’re calling in.

If you’re running late to the office for a morning meeting, call in during your drive (it’s okay, we’ve all done it).

Be PREPARED. If you’re the one running the meeting, be SUPER prepared. Come with questions or suggestions, but DON’T talk just to talk. Put yourself in the client’s shoes and consider needs, initiatives, campaigns etc. from their perspective (and leave your own personal stories/feelings at the door).

Take notes. Lots of notes. We have 9.67 million meetings a year, and there is no way you’ll remember specific details from Tuesday, Feb. 3rd’s meeting when you need them on Friday, Sept 18th. All that great information should then be uploaded and saved in the client’s “Notes” folder in Drive.

After a month, you should be hitting your stride and understanding our task processes. You should also have a tight grasp on your own job responsibilities and how they fit into the grand scheme of things.

Keep working hard and keep asking questions!

Be Accountable, Be Prepared & Get Your Shit Done

Now that you know our process, it’s time to forget everything (just kidding…sort of)! Our philosophy is Permanent Beta, meaning that we’re always updating, upgrading and basically just moving on up – always.

Our processes change constantly because what we do now might not be the best way to do it tomorrow. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and expect to learn something new every day.

Permanent Beta = Always Learning

Get used to us saying “Permanent Beta.” We work off the philosophy that there is always room for improvement. While we are experts in digital marketing, there is always more learning to be had. We don’t just wait around for new things to come up; we go out and find them.

Every person on our team has a weekly learning task. Weekly learning can include anything from webinars on SEO to researching the newest CRM tool. Whenever someone finds something cool and interesting, we always share it with the class!

Your Reviews – 90-days and Yearly Anniversary

One way we implement Permanent Beta is through employee reviews. Be prepared for your first review after your initial 90 days. In this meeting, you’ll talk about how you can improve as an individual, and how leadership (and iSynergy) can improve, too. Your first 90 days are your time to shine and prove that you belong here.

Every year on your work anniversary, you’ll have another review to focus on your own professional development and individual growth (while telling us what we need to do better). Help us help you!

You’ll succeed here if you work hard and hold yourself accountable. You manage your own desk, and everyone on the team expects you to get them what they need — when they need it.

Welcome to the Team!

Now that you know what to expect when you walk in the door on your first day, you’re officially part of the iSynergy team! We understand that getting to know people and processes can be a lot, but don’t be overwhelmed. We don’t expect you to be an expert within your first month! If you’re not 100% certain about something, ask!

Part of learning is making mistakes, we understand that. We’ve all been there. (I mean, who hasn’t sent out a major client email to 50,000+ people with an iStock watermark on the image…ahem!) Own up to your mistakes, and we’ll overcome them as a team.

We’re all drowning in work (but hey, that’s job security, am I right?), so it’s time to sink or swim. Even if you’re just paddling at this point, you’ll get there eventually. Soon you’ll see that we’re not full of shit. All that hard work will pay off, and along the way, you’ll also enjoy many, many trips across the street for tacos and cantaritos.

You’ve seen the sign in our “bored” room – “Don’t work for assholes, don’t work with assholes.” So, long story short, don’t be an asshole, and you’ll fit right in! Now… What the hell are you doing still reading this!? DO SOMETHING! We’re leaving for Mexican in 5.