What do we mean by People Management Essentials?
At Philea, we believe that effective people management begins the moment a new colleague joins us. We provide a range of tools and practices to ensure the onboarding experience is enjoyable, comprehensive, and aligned with our organisational values. But what tools do we use to support this journey?
We rely on two key platforms:
- Workleap Pingboard – for employee engagement and team visibility
- Odoo – for organisational procedures, practical resources, and frequently asked questions
This dual-platform approach reflects our commitment to innovation, one of Philea’s core values. We see innovation as a key driver of positive social change, and we invest in tools that help us work smarter and more collaboratively. By using cloud-based solutions like Pingboard and Odoo, we ensure that onboarding is not only efficient but also inclusive and future-oriented.
Your Entry Point: Workleap Pingboard
Workleap Pingboard is the first step into the organisation. Especially for remote or distributed teams, it offers a visual and interactive way to understand Philea’s structure. As a cloud-based org chart and employee directory, Pingboard helps new colleagues:
- Familiarise themselves with team roles and clusters
- Identify key contacts for collaboration
- Feel connected, even begore meeting in person
- Get an overview on Team members birthdays, work anniversaries and Philea's holidays
If you haven’t had the chance to meet everyone yet, Pingboard is your go-to tool to start building those connections.
Odoo Onboarding Page & HR Portal
Odoo is your central hub for onboarding resources. It includes:
- The Onboarding Page: with guidelines, practical information, and links to essential tools
- The HR Portal: covering policies, procedures, and FAQs.
We recommend saving the direct links in your favourites bar for easy access. If you ever feel lost navigating the system, do not worry – all onboarding-related content is available under the Knowledge tab.
“We believe that everyone should have a voice and equal opportunities. Inclusion and diversity are preconditions for our own organisation, and we will promote these values within the wider European philanthropy sector.”
Philea Onboarding Meetings
At Philea, onboarding is not just about reading documents – it’s about human interaction. We value face-to-face meetings that help new colleagues connect with the entire organisation.
During your first week, you will meet:
- The HR department for your initial onboarding
- Your team members in a dedicated team meeting
- The CEO, who will offer a broader perspective on Philea’s mission and values
The new colleague should be invited to the other team meetings. During their first participation, the initial 30/45 minutes will be dedicated to introducing the teams’ work and showing how your role fits into the bigger picture. Each team manages its own onboarding structure, ensuring relevance and clarity.
HR Onboarding meeting
The HR team will send an invitation for a one-to-one onboarding meeting with the new colleague. This meeting will cover HR-related topics, including policies and useful tools.
The duration of the meeting is 2 hours, and it takes place on the first working day of the new employee. During this meeting, all check-in calls are planned across a period of one year: 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. In addition, “HR Pills” are scheduled – short 30-minute meetings focused on specific HR and culture-related topics, to be held in the week following the initial onboarding.
During the first months, the employee, in collaboration with their line manager and HR, is expected to create their own Job Description using the template available for download on SharePoint.
Cluster Introductions
To help the new colleague connect across the organisation, HR will send a collective email to the a representative from each team, and these colleagues will invite them directly to their team meetings
This approach avoids one-by-one coordination and ensures new colleagues quickly connect with the different clusters.
Time Allocation Overview
The onboarding journey is designed to be gradual and meaningful, with an estimation total of 18 hours:
- 9 hours for HR onboarding
- 7 hours for team onboarding
- 2 hours for Odoo system introduction
The induction related to work content is expected to require more time than other aspects of onboarding
What else will HR do?
As part of the onboarding process, HR also ensures that new colleagues receive invitations to the Team Townhall meetings and Knowledge Nuggets sessions.
- The monthly Team Townhall is the key participatory meeting space for the entire Philea team, providing an excellent opportunity to discuss and hear from all clusters, operations, collaboration circles and individual team members. Team Townhalls are organised in person and always include an informal moment to connect. All team members are invited to take the floor, lead a topic and share points of interest. Team members are expected to attend at least ½ of these townhall meetings in person, and are warmly invited to attend more.
- Knowledge Nuggets are short, interactive sessions designed to foster cross-team learning and collaboration at Philea. These sessions offer a space where colleagues share insights into the hard work they’re doing, highlight ongoing projects, and invite input from across the organisation. Rather than being formal presentations, Knowledge Nuggets are conversational spaces — encouraging dialogue, questions, and shared understanding