Every year at AIS we have a spring training to go over our best practices and refresh our minds on our policies. Having just started at AIS in March, this was not only my first training but also the first time I was able to spend some in depth time with my colleagues. One thing I love about working here is that even though we are all scattered across the U.S. and work from home, that doesn’t stop our leaders from making this work crew into a family and forcing us into some fun. So, what better way to start the day than 12 people on a video call dressed in 90’s gear doing a Richard Simmons workout video. After that I think we all knew we were in for a treat.
The training spanned over the course of two days with a variety of activities, power points, question and never a dull moment. One of my favorite activities was when we paired up and had to do a reenactment of what NOT to do on a professional video chat. There was lots of eating, distractions and at one point even a trip to the bathroom, to say we were all belly laughing during this activity would be an understatement. Another activity that was not only fun, but very insightful was when they had us make a bucket list of 5 things that we want to doin life, give a time frame of when we want to do them by and to write down how we can accomplish these goals. Having goals in the back of my mind and actually putting them on paper with plans to accomplish them are two way different things and this was just the push I needed to get my wheels turning. I also got to hear what my colleagues aspire to do and what is meaningful to them which really helped me get to know them better.
I would definitely say that I had a much better understanding of my work and my co workers after this spring training than I did going into it. Getting to know the company that I work for more in depth, their values and the people I work with has been extremely helpful for me to feel a part of a team as I work from home. Going over our training and best practices with examples and explanations as a team has also made me understand my job better and made me a better employee. I am very grateful that AIS decided to put on this training to build us into a stronger unit and I look forward to more trainings in the future.