From new starter to colleague

How we welcome new arrivals at Works.

A new person joining always stirs things up a little — in the best possible way. They bring fresh ideas and new perspectives which, in an organisation of 20–25 people, can have an impact on the whole company without exaggeration. It is our responsibility to ensure that this new energy is integrated, while individuality and character are retained. We believe this can be achieved with sufficient attention, though making it happen in day-to-day practice is not always without its challenges.

The first 100 days

At Works., every new starter goes through the steps of the ‘First 100 Days’. This is not a political programme or a catchy HR slogan, but a carefully designed ‘user journey’ that we have been using and refining for years. Its aim is to ensure that the vast amount of new information, know-how, terminology, company culture and so on does not overwhelm someone like a deluge, but gradually comes together into a coherent whole: from the first coffee to the first project retrospective.

On their very first day, new starters receive their computer, phone and Works. welcome pack — including a notebook, hoodie and a pack of French playing cards; elderflower cordial has even featured before. We guarantee that you will not have to wait days for an email address or access to SharePoint or Figma here. Everything is available from day one, so new arrivals can immediately feel useful and like a fully-fledged member of the team.

Tamás and/or Ákos from the company leadership personally talk through who we are, the projects we work on and why we operate the way we do. We show them around the office (definitely the coffee machine and the chocolate drawer; the location of the fire extinguisher and the escape route are just the icing on the cake), followed by other everyday but important information: the rules for using the shared kitchen, additional days off on working Saturdays, and at the end of the year, between Christmas and New Year.

Integration: mentoring, the deep end and lunch

New colleagues soon get to know their mentor, with whom they discuss the events of the previous week in regular 1:1s. Mentoring is partly structured, but it can be longer or shorter, more or less frequent, depending on the new team member’s needs. This arrangement continues throughout the probation period, then evolves as needed in line with the professional and organisational challenges ahead.

At the end of the probation period, Tamás and Ákos, the company leaders, hold a review meeting with the new colleague. Together, they look back on the experiences of the initial period and identify further areas for professional and personal development.

Meanwhile, we naturally begin to explore how we work. At Works., this means both professional development and calibrating one’s perspective. For junior colleagues, the first few months are about learning the fundamentals of research and design methodologies, project management and client work. For more experienced colleagues, it is about understanding the ‘Works.’ methodology and how we think as a team.

The ‘deep end’ is real here: everyone joins a project relatively quickly. But that does not mean we leave people to fend for themselves. No one works alone; there is always someone to discuss emerging questions and dilemmas with — whether that is their mentor, the project lead or simply a more experienced colleague.

It is very rare for someone to be assigned outsourced work in their first few weeks. We find it useful and necessary for everyone to go through a kind of ‘incubation’ period: first getting to know the team’s rhythm, our internal ways of working and our shared language. Once the right level of confidence has been built, it is easier to demonstrate what they can do on the client side.

From Monday to Friday, when midday comes around, there is no question: we have lunch together. It is one of Works.’ most enduring traditions. Some new arrivals are surprised by it, but they usually get the hang of it quickly. Around the table, we talk about projects, trashy reality TV, football, hiking, theatre — in short, anything.

A learning organisation

An organisational development partner once said that we are a learning organisation. We think so too. But for us, learning is primarily not about training courses; it is about continuous experimentation and daringto ask new questions — which is when we realise just how much we do not yet know that we do not know.

Questioning, learning and experimentation happen in our internal professional forums: specialist groups and village meetings (aka all-hands meetings). Everyone takes part: there are exciting project reports, inspiring professional workshops, quarterly financial summaries and strategic outlooks for the future. Sharing experiences, dilemmas, and good and bad moments is what makes us a team.

What really matters

Our everyday work combines structure and flexibility. We know that in a small Hungarian company, attention is the scarcest resource. It is difficult to make time for a new arrival, which is precisely why we consciously structure the first few months. Mentoring, daily shared lunches and internal forums all serve the same purpose: ensuring that new starters do not just get here, but truly arrive with us.

At Works., we do not expect someone to know everything in their first week. Instead, we want them to feel able to ask questions, make mistakes, connect with others and gradually become part of the team. We also provide a framework for development: our grade system helps everyone see where they are heading, the direction in which they need and want to develop, and what support they need to do so. Over the years, this system has also been refined through several iterations, and is now a natural part of our feedback culture. We do not consider it a success simply that our colleagues work at Works.; it is when they consider themselves ‘Works. people’.

This article was written by Horváth László, Senior Experience Designer at Works.