#rookiesofdelaware: 5 things we learned in our first week as a starter at delaware

1. It’s all about people

First things first. delaware really puts people first in everything. If you hadn’t noticed it during the application process, you definitely will when you start work. The organization adapts to its people’s needs and expectations. We actually had the feeling that the #peopleofdelaware are the most important customers here. delaware really does go the extra mile to make us all feel welcome. 

“Monday, September 3rd, first day of my first job, a bit of stress of course, but looking forward to starting. The day began very early, and delaware had organized shuttles by bus to reach the Audi garage in Leuven. We were welcomed with a tasty breakfast before Patrick Andersen, managing partner, kicked off the day by presenting the company. It was so nice that he took the time to meet us all and that he was the first person who welcomed us. In the afternoon, it felt like an early Christmas Eve... We received our delaware mobile phone, our laptops but, most importantly, a beautiful Audi Q2 to go home in. Every practical detail had been arranged for us. If you take into account that there were more than 120 starters, you'll know that what we felt that day was the result of the work of a whole team of people, who went the extra mile to make our first day as fun as possible. Thank you delaware!” - Florentin

2. Everyone is approachable, from starter to partner

“My boss” are words that you will never hear at delaware. Instead of the classical pyramid structure, we opted for a beehive organogram. Why? Well, because delaware is convinced that the lack of hierarchy fosters innovation and teamwork. Everybody takes an equal part in the growth of delaware. And if you ever run into our CEO Patrick, ‛Patje' to his friends, in one of our offices, he will be happy to have a chat with you at the coffee machine And the same goes for all other partners and managers. 

“If receiving our tools and car on Monday felt like Christmas Eve, then Tuesday felt like Christmas Day. The best part about Christmas is the feeling of coming home, and that is exactly what delaware achieved on our second day on the job. William, a starter from last year, opened the day by introducing us to our new life as delaware consultants. It appears that, besides working hard, we also have some nice office parties to look forward to! No Christmas without good food: another highlight of the Day 2 was, for sure, our lunch with the partners. They took the time to sit down for an informal chat and stressed how the many young and eager starters will be crucial in the continuing growth of delaware. At the end of the day, I went home with the feeling that I was going to make the difference in making delaware’s dream – of being a company that lasts at least 200 years – come true. The pieces of the jigsaw and my role in the bigger scheme of things really became clear to me.” – Arne

3. Team spirit is the key to success

Teamwork makes our dream work.We believe innovation and success can only happen when we create a context of working closely together instead of climbing solo to the top. All for one, one for all. That’s how we do things here. And yes, we’re not afraid to admit that having team spirit as one of our core values gives us the perfect excuse to host the occasional office BBQ, after-work drink or teambuilding event, of course. 

“On Wednesday, we started with a power breakfast in the Belfort Stadscafé in Ghent. After receiving the royal treatment, we were divided into teams for a fun city game. We knew that in each team there was an undercover mole whose goal was to sabotage the game and make their team lose. We had to play extremely strategically if we wanted to win the game while giving enough space to the mole to play their game – and catch them red-handedly at the same time. At the end of the day, we enjoyed a refreshing beer in one of the local cafés, while giving our best guess of who the mole could have been. It was absolutely amazing to meet new friends across different teams of delaware and start building our own little network. I really felt like I met a lot of new people, and it was only my third day What a great experience!” - Charles 

4. You can have any educational background

Tech geek, global strategist or somewhere in between? Either way, you’ll find your place in delaware. The one thing we all have in common? Our passion for IT. Don’t believe it? What if we told you that even a former archeologist, philosopher and teacher have found their way to us? So don’t hesitate to join us, you can bring your own value into the group!

“The fourth day of our boot camp week was dedicated to getting to know the many solutions delaware offers and the core values that delawarians live by. The day started off with founding partner Jan Delaere introducing us to all 31 (yes – you read that right – 31) teams. Jan preferred putting the theory into practice and inspired us with some interesting project examples, thus making it more concrete. After exploring what delaware offers, we zoomed in on what our company actually stands for. Jan Vets invited us to an open discussion about what those values can mean to us. To try to put our values of ‘care’ and ‘respect’ into practice, all the starters are involved in a charity project. We concluded the day with a brainstorming session on which activities we wanted to participate in, in order to support the charity of our choice. When going home, we really had a “We are delaware” feeling.” - Pieter

5. There are more women in IT than you’d think

As an IT consulting company, we often deal with the cliché of being a bunch of male tech geeks. Think again! Nothing wrong with a little testosterone of course, but don’t forget we also have a big group of power women in our family. It’s the diversity of our people that helps us to keep innovating, look from different angles and stay quick on our feet. 

“With the start of more than 120 new juniors in September, delaware reached the historic mark of 1,000 Belgian employees. On the last day of the starter boot camp, we accepted the challenge of a nice treasure hunt. Exciting! The first person who found the hidden location of the delaware deckchair could claim the glorious title of the delawarian number #1000. We started our quest with a mysterious tip from our CEO, Patrick. As the odds were long, 1 in 122 to be exact, An-Sofie, one of the other starters, and I decided to be smart and work together. Perhaps we still had that session about the core values and team spirit in mind… Anyhow, by working together, we were able to make a head start and be the first ones to reach a nice restaurant in Ghent. Quickly we ran together through the back door, all the way through the kitchen, to eventually plunge down into the deck chair. I got the honor to be named “the 1000^th delawarian”, although I wouldn’t have succeeded without the help of An-Sofie.

We celebrated together with the whole group with a beer in the sun, while discussing our first week at delaware. I'm very excited to see what’s next.” - Jana

Did the stories of our starters spark your interest?