User Review
( votes)In March of 2020, Jay Deakins, Deacom’s Founder and CEO, announced the opening of its first international office in Frankfurt, Germany noting, “Having a dedicated, localized team of ERP and manufacturing experts will enable us to effectively serve our customers throughout Europe.”
Nearly one year later, you can feel the passion and excitement of the 13 artisans (and growing) located in this new office working diligently to build our Sales, Implementation, Marketing, and Office Management departments. The team was recently enriched with two experienced professionals from our US offices who have moved to Frankfurt to share their knowledge of Deacom’s business processes and systems.
My first day working at Deacom was May 4, 2020 and I was overwhelmed by the heartwarming welcome and extensive training I received from the US onboarding team. Regardless of your role or department, everyone is given the same foundational training into the Deacom world. Once completed, I gained additional training specifically designed for my individual position, much of which had to be conducted virtually. Physical distance and borders became nonexistent as I was able to engage with managers and colleagues in the US day-in and day-out during these sessions and well after them.
As I settled into my new role, I had two main objectives: recruit talented professionals to join this amazing group of artisans and build a culture that would make them excited to come into the office each day. I could not wait to speak to individuals from all over the world and learn about how their experience and expertise could help to shape the future success of our European operations. My goal was to find a way to creatively combine the values of the US team with the ideals of German way of life. As I sit here and reflect on the past 10 months, I can say with complete conviction that accepting this position was the best professional decision I have made – I love it!
Even during a worldwide pandemic, we have worked hard to establish a culture that all of our team members are proud to be part of. Team events are an important part of that because it’s a great opportunity to bring all members together to build stronger relationships outside of the office walls. Hopefully, after the pandemic, we will be able to plan and enjoy more team events. Here are some things we have done in the recent months:
Winery Visit
In September 2020 I had the privilege of planning our first company event outside of Frankfurt at a stunning winery, Schloss Vollrads. A historic castle surrounded the grounds where we first toured and then enjoyed wine sampling inside. Our evening didn’t stop there as we continued on to enjoy humorous conversation over dinner at Weinstube Gelbes Haus. Office stories were joked about like the time a salad got switched during a free lunch Thursday event and no one wanted to speak up about it so we sat in awkward silence. One our of employees stated, “I really enjoyed the whole trip- walking through a gorgeous vineyard on the grounds of a historic castle, and then enjoying dinner together next to the Rhein, was the perfect way to spend an evening. This event was the perfect opportunity to build comradery in a relaxed atmosphere outside of the office.
Christmas Party
Our Christmas Party this year was a real challenge. It was the first time I was planning a party without the physical presence of people, a location, or food. But, this didn’t stop me from organizing a surprise for our team.
We were able to host a great Christmas party virtually. I started by lugging a massive tree up to the 17th floor where our office is located to make the perfect backdrop for the event. Then I put together baskets filled with wines, olive oil, spices, and crackers and had them shipped off to every employee’s home to enjoy. Each team member was tasked with putting together a slide that demonstrated what 2020 meant to them. I compiled all the slides and included funny blooper videos taken in the office into a 5-minute presentation highlighting “The Best of 2020 in the Frankfurt Office”. One employee described the event by stating, “The Christmas party was great success thanks to Sarah’s creative thinking-it was a lot of fun!” This was the perfect ending to a challenging year!
We still have a lot to do but it is important that we take the time to celebrate all that has been accomplished over the past year. I’m looking forward to the future with Deacom and strengthening our hiring strategy internationally. By applying the strong foundation that our US team has built for hiring, we are able to roll-out and adjust our staffing plans as needed for years to come. Want to join our team? Currently, we are looking to grow our Implementation, Sales and Development teams for our Frankfurt, Germany office.
