Yes it does – and how! Our colleagues from HR can look back positively at the last few weeks in personnel recruiting and onboarding. This kind of application process has in fact changed definitively through Covid-19 – away from getting to know people in person towards a virtual handshake. 

Although the adjustment came abruptly, with our IT colleagues’ support, our HR managers were able to bring our cable connections aglow with many interesting application interviews. Beyond that, the applicants themselves were a crucial factor in how well the process was received. “All the applicants were full of understanding and actively shaped the virtual getting-to-know-you process.” Jacky explained.

Our traditional onboarding process for new PLATH colleagues was also adapted for the Covid-19 period. Contact people from the team, mentors and starters became comfortable with each other virtually and were able to begin all aspects of the induction process from day one. “The regular virtual team meetings are most valuable in these times,” said David, who has started at PLATH from his home office in the last few weeks.

Even though we have seen how successfully our recruiting and onboarding process has run on a largely virtual basis, a personal exchange of views is extremely important for all PLATH colleagues. Many colleagues enjoy a shared lunch and table football culture. This is currently missing and cannot be replaced by the many great video tools. Nevertheless we are coming out of this period full of confidence, as it has shown us that – even with all those weeks without any face-to-face contact – we are still an outstanding team!