It takes a 12 hour flight for me to get to Brazil – São Paulo. But actually, the flight was really not that bad, since KLM is flying non-stop to Brazil. Just bring enough work to use your 12 hour ‘sitting time’ wisely. Pro tip: don’t spend it all on the KLM entertainment system.
In São Paulo the streets are crowded and the city is really big. As far as one can look; it’s buildings everywhere.
For me this trip is all about getting to know the team. But also to learn from each others’ cultural differences. I work with close to 20 different nationalities in Qelp and that is really a lot of fun to be honest. But also sometimes challenging. Especially when I was not able to meet face to face ever before. Ok, so I do plan a lot of video meetings in my day-to-day activities, but still that is nothing compared to what a physical face to face meeting can bring.
So, what was the plan for this trip, apart from learning to know the team? Well, I made a list of things to achieve during my stay.
- Align and train people on defined processes and workflows
- Inform about training material and documentation
- Meet and greet some of the local customers – and get to know them a bit better as well
- Projects walk-through
- Catch up on on-boarding plans (since a lot of the team members are brand new in the job)
- Taste the work habits, ambitions and desires
- Taste the ambiance in the team
- Tast the relationships between the team in Amsterdam and in São Paulo -> find out if there is mutual respect
I do realize that this is a lot to cover in just 3,5 days. But hey, let’s give it a try, right?
This first day (what I am writing about) was a good start. We really spend time together. Not only just talking and walking, but also seeing and experiencing stuff together. Building the relationship.
Below some memories from day 1.
City from a rooftop
Biking in a crowded city
Doing stuff together
First day team