Orientation...

I know that I promised my next would explain the "Tasty Salted Pig Parts" sign, but I am too exhausted to blog about my day in San Francisco. I was in orientation all day today and it wiped me out. I want to tell you about it though, so I will deviate from the plan for just this one blog. Okay? Okay.

They do a monthly orientation for New Hires at ShoreTel. I just happened to already be at HQ, but they actually fly the employees in from all around the world to attend. A member of my team was from the UK but I also go to meet some other Austin people. (I will explain "my team" coming up...) It is an all day program designed to introduce us to our new company, its beliefs, practices and people. It was very interesting for me since I am not from a communications background. We also got to meet all of the Executives, which included the founder of ShoreTel.

I was very impressed with a lot of the things they talked about, making me proud to be apart of this company. One of the things that was stated over and over... the culture of the company doesn't not include "politics". They were very clear about that. They have the mentality that everyone from the receptionist to the CEO are valued and heard. The founder even stated that they have hired some people and then realized they liked to play in office politics... they are no longer with the company. Another thing that was stated over and over is how selective they are when hiring new employees. Now, I have heard this from other companies too... "we only hire the best", "we search for the cream of the crop", so I didn't think anything of it. However, then the VP of HR asked people to raise their hands according to how many interviews they had prior to being hired... Some people had TEN interviews!!! I thought my three interviews were extensive... holy moly!! So, I think I believe them about their selection process. Overall, I was given, what I feel is a very honest look at the company. The founder, CEO and other executives all have the same goals. They spend more time at work than at home, so they want their "second family" to be happy too. Very refreshing...

The final hour of the day was, by far, one of the coolest things I have ever done at a new hire orientation. It was a scavenger hunt! But not your typical one with things like, "There is a clue taped under the table is Rm 201... go find it." Oh no... they didn't mess around. We are, after all, a high-tech company!! They actually brought in an outside company they facilitated a very elaborate game. We were broken into random teams and issued a cell phone and digital camera. We received all of our clues via text message and had to use the phone and camera to answer the questions.

All of the questions were company related, so we had to know how to ask or where to go to get the information. Some of them were silly (like write a love poem about ShoreTel) but it was a lot of fun. Some of them required goofy pictures and video too. My team was an interesting mix of Americans and foreigners, as well as Sales, Engineering and Operations folks- so we all had very clear strengths and weaknesses. It challenged us to work as a team and be creative all while learning company facts, history and policies. When time was up, we went back to the presentation room. They had snacks, beer and wine waiting for us as we watched each team's pictures and video. It was hilarious!!!

So, that was my day today. It was exhausting but so fun. I feel so confident about my future with them. They obviously care about their employees, are open and honest and encourage individuality. The CEO actually said that they don't like to have a lot of rules. They just hire people that can be trusted to make the right decisions. Nice...

There is something I have noticed about me these past few days... I feel like me again. The silly Amy that is always cracking jokes, meets new people and laughs. I was walking up and introducing myself to fellow employees and executives. I am confident and excited about meeting them. I feel like the timing of this new job is allowing me to recreate myself... and somehow the person I am becoming isn't new. She was just gone for a while.