April 26th 2022, 14:00, 37 new BENEO colleagues were ready to board. It was the very first Welcome on Board session for new BENEO colleagues that joined the company in the past 12 months! The Welcome on Board (WOB) is an onboarding event with 8 sessions where the passengers learn all about BENEO. Due to the pandemic, it has been an online journey. Charlotte Keulen (Digital Projects Manager) and Valeska Heckmann (PR Expert) joined the journey and share their travel experiences.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and Welcome on board!
Valeska: Although I haven’t been on a plane for 8 years now, I have heard that sentence several times since April – sounds odd? Not at all as I have been participating at BENEO’s “Welcome on board” sessions. I joined the BENEO family in October 2021 and was very excited when spotting my invitation to the BENEO “airline” in Spring 2022 especially as – due to the Corona situation – the contact to colleagues beyond the own team was very limited. Unsurprisingly, my curiosity to meet all the other newbies from all over the world was very high.
The flight started.
Charlotte: A few weeks before boarding we had received our carry-on luggage. It was filled with tasty-looking products with BENEO ingredients and some nice gadgets. After boarding, we were enthusiastically welcomed by our HR colleagues in the cockpit. They created this journey throughout the BENEO world with a lot of exciting stops along the way. The first session was all about getting to know the fellow passengers, the HR team and also have a glimpse of the board. Since this was an online event, there was a lot of effort put into making it as interactive as possible. We were divided into small groups to chat and get to know each other on a more personal level.
Valeska: 26 April, 1.50 pm: I realize that I am a bit nervous before our first take off. This feeling is quickly gone after the very warm Welcome from An Fobelets, Sofie Cnops and Yves Willems and the well-conceived agenda including several break-out sessions to get to know the other passengers. It is a great experience meeting all the new colleagues worldwide; herewith my full admiration especially for the Asian colleagues who dedicate their evening – and some more to come – to be part of the sessions.
No turbulence along the way.
Charlotte: The next sessions took us on a trip through different aspects of BENEO. We talked about values and mission, goals, strategy and so on. But throughout the weeks, we also got to know every division inside of our company better. We met the product managers, sales manager of different areas and many more. It was clear that they invested a lot of time into creating great presentations about their field of expertise and the people in their teams. It was great to see such enthusiasm and pride in all the co-workers and managers.
Valeska: Quite interesting to get a glimpse what the daily business of the different experts are and how every single employee contributes to the bigger picture, making BENEO the company it is. For me it was also impressive to learn more about our Values Team. The insights into the BENEO Values and the according initiatives demonstrate that caring for the employees is really practiced culture here.
Some breaks during the trip.
Charlotte: Another highlight was the BBQ, the Big BENEO Quiz, where all the knowledge we had seen so far was tested and we got to compete in different teams against each other. The stakes were high! As nobody wanted to be the losing team. It was fun working together in this manner.
Valeska: From session to session I recognize that the community spirit is growing – suddenly I notice that in the meantime I know all the others when being sent out to break out rooms. The quizzes are a lot of fun, especially when the entertainer herself is the facilitator. Miet Misselyn thanks for the joy and fun you spread 😊
After a smooth landing.
Charlotte: In the last session we got to meet up once more with our board members Christoph Boettger, Andreas Herber, and Dominic Speleers. Throughout our journey we had collected some questions for them and they took the time to answer to all of them, even the more personal ones. It was a great ending after the 8-week journey together.
My general conclusion; it was really fun to be part of the WOB and I learned so much about the different people, divisions and products inside our company. There’s so much going on worldwide that you never have a full grasp on, but this expedition made us see all different aspects. Since we’ve all started working at BENEO during the pandemic, this was such an opportunity to finally get to know each other. Next step… a live afterparty? 😉
Valeska: I felt welcome and as being a BENEO family member from my first working day; thanks to WOB the family has extended 😊 A big THANKS to all involved for the invested time to prepare the sessions. Like always in life, it is fruitful to think outside the box; all the gathered perspectives from the colleagues have made this journey a full success and unforgettable. A big thanks to the pilots for bringing us entertained, informed and safe through our journey.
