Note from the Blog Manager: Matthew is a Human Resources Business Partner and joined Intel after graduating from Howard University with a MBA concentrating in Human Resource Management. As he celebrated his second year at Intel, he wrote the following blog post on our internal social networking platform, Planet Blue, reflecting on his onboarding experience. But enough from me, let’s hear from him about his experience!
I have a secret, but don’t tell anybody……….I had a great on-boarding and integration experience.
Please don’t let this information get out. I started with five other College Graduates (CGs) in a structured rotational program called the HR Pathways Program . The cohort, group, team, tribe, unit, class design, whatever you want to call it, made a difference. It’s powerful stuff. We each rotated through different positions for approximately one year which helped inform our Intel career choices. (To find out more about the program, check out blog posts from current Pathways members .)
After we got our official Intel badges and found the bathrooms, we met regularly, addressed developmental topics, talked to senior managers, and gave project updates. We didn’t have shared responsibilities, but we felt like a team. We’re all grown ups, some of us have grown up children, but our program coordinator (aka - Intel Mom) made it all work. The formal bi-weekly meetings inspired informal meetings, lunches, dinners, and strategically timed field trips to various restaurants from 5pm-7pm. We developed real relationships, not that superficial Facebook stuff. The meetings gave us an opportunity to:
Our group even has feelings. We’ve been excited, nervous, surprised, proud, sad, impatient, appreciative, frustrated, and happy. Along the way we’ve had babies, bought houses, got engaged, changed jobs, relocated, changed managers, climbed mountains, and made it through two focal (Intel’s annual review) cycles, etc…We’ve done everything but go onsabbatical.
We’re a mixed bag of CGs: we have various backgrounds, cultures, educations, hobbies, passions, and talents. So different that it didn’t feel like we were competing with each other. I now have Intel siblings that I can call for data analysis, strategy, networking contacts, presentation feedback—anything that I might need as I continue to navigate the company.
Fast forward 2 years to today. We’re a little less CG, a lot more Intel. We still meet every month or so. Sometimes there’s a structured agenda, other times not. “Hello everybody…..” is the only catalyst we need to get us through an hour. We recently had an awesome face-to-face reunion with career development and business presentations.
I heard a rumor that Intel isn’t good at on-boarding, but super fantastic is a pretty high rating. What would you want to see as part of an integration program?
I have a secret, but don’t tell anybody……….I had a great on-boarding and integration experience.
Please don’t let this information get out. I started with five other College Graduates (CGs) in a structured rotational program called the HR Pathways Program . The cohort, group, team, tribe, unit, class design, whatever you want to call it, made a difference. It’s powerful stuff. We each rotated through different positions for approximately one year which helped inform our Intel career choices. (To find out more about the program, check out blog posts from current Pathways members .)
After we got our official Intel badges and found the bathrooms, we met regularly, addressed developmental topics, talked to senior managers, and gave project updates. We didn’t have shared responsibilities, but we felt like a team. We’re all grown ups, some of us have grown up children, but our program coordinator (aka - Intel Mom) made it all work. The formal bi-weekly meetings inspired informal meetings, lunches, dinners, and strategically timed field trips to various restaurants from 5pm-7pm. We developed real relationships, not that superficial Facebook stuff. The meetings gave us an opportunity to:
- get updates across the organization
- test new ideas and identify road blocks
- connect each other with helpful resources
- invest in each others success
Our group even has feelings. We’ve been excited, nervous, surprised, proud, sad, impatient, appreciative, frustrated, and happy. Along the way we’ve had babies, bought houses, got engaged, changed jobs, relocated, changed managers, climbed mountains, and made it through two focal (Intel’s annual review) cycles, etc…We’ve done everything but go onsabbatical.
We’re a mixed bag of CGs: we have various backgrounds, cultures, educations, hobbies, passions, and talents. So different that it didn’t feel like we were competing with each other. I now have Intel siblings that I can call for data analysis, strategy, networking contacts, presentation feedback—anything that I might need as I continue to navigate the company.
Fast forward 2 years to today. We’re a little less CG, a lot more Intel. We still meet every month or so. Sometimes there’s a structured agenda, other times not. “Hello everybody…..” is the only catalyst we need to get us through an hour. We recently had an awesome face-to-face reunion with career development and business presentations.
I heard a rumor that Intel isn’t good at on-boarding, but super fantastic is a pretty high rating. What would you want to see as part of an integration program?