Axis Intro Days: giving new employees a warm welcome
April 24, 2023
We know how important it is to get off to the best start in a new job. Learning everything from your new responsibilities and colleagues’ names, to where the best coffee is can seem like a lot. On top of that there is the seemingly daunting task of learning about the company, its history, and its culture. This can be made all the more difficult in a big, global company with offices all over the world.
So, how do we at Axis make this process as smooth and as fun as possible for new employees? We recently sat down with Anouska Östman, Learning & Development Lead at Axis, to learn more about Axis Intro Days, our own introduction event and what new employees can expect from it.
What are the Axis Intro Days?
The Axis Intro Days is an onboarding experience of presentations, workshops, networking events and a tour of the office, held at our HQ in Lund, Sweden, that all new employees are invited to take part in during their first year. We like to give you time to settle in first, to understand your role, meet your team and to experience the culture firsthand before taking part.
The experience itself lasts for three days, which includes two evenings, where we go for dinner, take part in a teambuilding activity, and have some fun getting to know each other. We really look to make the most of the time we get with everyone here. For our new colleagues who join our offices across the globe, we bring them over for the event, so for a lot of them this could be their first experience of Lund and of Swedish culture.
“We want to offer an inspirational and memorable onboarding experience to new colleagues.”
Anouska Östman
Why does Axis host Intro Days?
We want to offer an inspirational and memorable onboarding experience to new colleagues. There is so much to be gained from meeting our leadership teams from across the business, meeting colleagues from across the world, and from getting to better understand the Axis history and culture. And to give all new employees the opportunity to experience this all firsthand at our HQ.
There is an opportunity for networking too. The connections you make here are incredibly important for your career at Axis, and the people you can meet can potentially help you for years to come.
How important are the Intro Days to the Axis culture?
They are crucial. You get to meet team members from all departments. It also ensures our culture grows as we add to our colleagues. We are a growth company and are hiring constantly. It makes us better as we continue to keep that culture within all of us, in what we think and do, and it helps us to achieve our Axis goals in the long-term if you better understand how we work as a business.
To us it is vital that you get to experience the Axis culture in your early journey. It is one of the things that is a key factor during our hiring process, that we look for the culture and the values in the people we add to our business, and that’s how we keep Axis Axis. It is one of the most important things to us that you get to experience this and meet the people that have built the company but also to help you better understand why you chose Axis.
“The event brings you together with a whole new group of people you may not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. The networks and friendships that are built from that is incredibly inspiring.”
Anouska Östman
What can a new Axis employee expect to take away from the experience?
A greater understanding of our company values, which is something we talk about a lot across the Intro Days. A deeper understanding of our successful business model, of how we build trust with our partners and customers.
Our hope is that you will take with you a deeper understanding of how we work and the way we make decisions. We want to show you a bit of our culture, and for you to that take it back with you to wherever it is in the world you’re from, therefore adding value to the company. That is why we invest so heavily in bringing you here.
We hope that’s something you think about more after the Intro Days, to help you realize that you may share the same values as someone who comes from a different culture than you, and you build that together as you grow on your journey with Axis. I think that’s amazing to see during those days but is also something I hope stays with you throughout your time here.
This experience and the networks and friendships you build here all contributes to a greater sense of inclusion and belonging that we are keen to ensure colleagues leave with.
There is a strong emphasis on learning culture here, how much do you think the Intro Days shapes that?
We talk a lot about that need to be curious, to ask questions of anyone, at any level of the business. I would say that is the whole underlying feeling across the Intro Days. You are here to absorb the Axis culture, to learn about Axis and our business model but also to learn from each other when you meet different people. Our diverse backgrounds make us even stronger together.
I personally enjoy the event as a whole, but the thing I value most is the experience of meeting people from all over the world. It brings a new perspective to how we all experience the company in different parts of the world, which is invaluable.
The event brings you together with a whole new group of people you may not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. The networks and friendships that are built from that is incredibly inspiring.
Are you ready to start your career at Axis?