Your First Few Weeks

YOUR TEAM

• Supervisor: You’ll be assigned a supervisor who will work with you to set goals, connect you on projects and assign milestones.This is the same person who you’ll meet with twice a year for a review to discuss progress and growth opportunities. This is also your point-person for any questions or conflicts you need a hand with.
• Functional Meetings: Each team gets together about once a week to talk about projects, align on strategy and set goals.
• Project Teams: We generally assign one person per functional role to each client, and prioritize collaboration on every project. We switch up internal teams across clients to give everyone the opportunity to work with different people and find new solutions.

COMMUNICATION & TOOLS

• General Digital Communication: This presentation is a good reference on how to best communicate with the team and which method of digital communication is appropriate for the situation.
• Basecamp: This is where we collaborate online. Every project will have its own job with threads for different conversations. Use posts for sharing progress, asking group questions and establishing next steps. For individual or complex questions, feel free to set up a video call to avoid information overload on Basecamp.
• G-chat: Got a quick question? A meme? A personal anecdote worth sharing? G-chat is the place to go. UPBranders use the Google Chat feature for quick pokes and to get to know each other on remote days.
• Email: We use email for company-wide communication, newsletters and high-level PSA’s. Keep specific project info to Basecamp.
• The Server: We upload all our files to the server (smb://192.168.20.144), not just Basecamp. All folders are organized by client and job number. To access the server, you’ll need to use your system username and password (same as your computer login). If accessing outside of the office, you’ll need to use the Sophos VPN as well as an authenticator app.
• UPB Tools & Templates: Over the years, we’ve built a healthy repository of resources for training, scoping and general brand management activities. We’ve shared all (or most) of these things broadly, but wouldn’t it be nice if they were all in one place? Check out this folder, especially for our brand managers. 
  

 KEEPING TRACK

• Timesheets: We track our time in Workamajig to determine capacity and assign projects. You can reference this Basecamp post for a quick guide on what tasks to use and which internal jobs you’ll be putting time against, especially during your onboarding.
  
  Everyone is expected to enter 40 hours per week, while being over 70% billable. A general guideline for billable hours is approximately 6 billable/client hours per day. We track this to help determine staffing levels and distribute workload effectively. This leaves about 30% non-billable time per employee, which was intentionally set to allow time for administrative tasks, team bonding, new business development, and innovation. Raise a hand if you’re available to assist others. Downtime can be used for helping out on other projects, training and industry research, new business, and building our own brand.
  
  For a closer look at the importance of accurate time entry, work hours expectations, and billable rates, please take a look at this past presentation on The Value of Timesheets.
• Paycor (HR Software): We request and track PTO (paid time off) in Paycor. This is also where you’ll find your paystubs, documents and other HR tools.
• Time Off: Be sure to consult with your leader and functional teammates prior to requesting time off. When you do take time off, it is your responsibility to provide information and the tools necessary to accomplish any of your scheduled and potential deliverables while you’re away.
  Block your personal calendar when you’re out. You can also sync your PTO requests from Paycor directly to your Google calendar. From your dashboard, click the 3 little dots on the My Time Off Widget to View Details. Then click on Personal in the left menu, followed by Sync Personal Calendar.

THE OFFICE

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we come to the office to connect whether that’s brainstorming, problem solving or just getting to know each other. Our St. Louis office has an open floor plan with pods of people from different teams to encourage collaboration.

• The Building: Our office is on the 15th floor of 200 N. Broadway. You’ll be given keycards to operate the elevator, get into the office and even use the building’s hospitality floor and fully-equipped gym.
• Parking: UPBrand pays for employee parking across the street in the Kiener East Plaza garage. Parking can be accessed through the iParkit app.
• Equipment: We’ve got everything from props to pencils to Macbooks at the office. We want to give you the tools you need to succeed, so raise a hand if you need equipment. If you need support with your computers or tech, we have an external IT team (Anderson Technologies) who can assist with a variety of issues.
• Game Time: Around these parts, we settle things over games of darts or shuffleboard.
• Food/Drink: We’ve got a fully functioning kitchen that’s always stocked with snacks, candy and plenty of coffee. There’s a refrigerator and microwave for your food needs.
• Everything Else: As questions pop up, reach out to Tracy, our Administrative Assistant / Office Manager, or anyone else on the team. We have new and experienced employees who are all ready to help you settle and feel comfortable with your ride.