November 23, 2020

Remote working for the first time during lockdown – New starter blog, Molly Oakley

Digital Marketing Executive, Molly Oakley started with ASM in July and is working from home for the first time. In this blog, she shares her experience of remote working for the first time, her thoughts of starting a new job during lockdown and the advice she would give to others looking to start a new role remotely.

How did you feel about starting a new role from home during lockdown?

I was quite apprehensive about starting a new role from home during lockdown because I had never worked from home before so didn’t know what to expect. I was however very excited and very lucky to be starting my new role during this uncertain time and was looking forward to getting back to doing what I love and learning even more about the IT industry.

How did ASM support you starting your new role working remotely?

Any worry I was experiencing ahead of starting my role quickly disappeared when I spoke with my manager as she assured me that I would have my induction completed in person (socially distanced of course) and I would learn about the policies and procedures at ASM and receive all my equipment that I needed to fulfil my role. On my first day, I was introduced to both founding directors of ASM and was greeted with a warm welcome which was lovely. My manager got me set up with equipment and arranged for skype calls with each member of the management team and various other colleagues. It was lovely to meet the different people I would be working with and gain an understanding of their role. I also attended virtual coffee mornings with colleagues from different teams who I wouldn’t be working as closely with which helped me gain a better understanding of the wider business but also broke the ice and allowed me to have more informal conversations and get to know them much better.

Were there any challenges you faced starting a new role remotely and how were these overcome?

I was quite worried initially about how the communication with colleagues would be, specifically if I was unsure about a task I had been set or something was not working. In previous roles, I had never worked at home so I’d never needed to use video conferencing systems and although I vaguely knew how to use them, I didn’t realise how sophisticated they were and how many features they had. Upon discovering these features and receiving training on how best to use them, my mind was instantly put to rest as I had the confidence that I could communicate easily with my colleagues and raise any issues I had with ease and efficiency.

How did you find the process of building relationships with your new colleagues remotely?

I really enjoyed getting to know my colleagues and building relationships with each of them. I was assigned a buddy when I started who was someone I could go to (aside from my manager) who could answer any questions and be a friendly face/voice. My buddy was Sam Scott who you’ll hear from in another new starter blog and he started at ASM just as we went in to lockdown so aside from the two people he met at his interview, he met all colleagues virtually too. My manager thought that he would be a good fit as a buddy for me as he had been through the same recruitment process as me and could answer any questions from first-hand experience. Technology has played a vital part in making it possible for me to build strong personal and professional relationships with colleagues and partners. There is something much more powerful about a video call compared to a voice call in being able to build relationships with people. I’ve found it easier getting to know people in their natural home environments. Without technology, I think my remote working experience would have been very different and felt a lot more isolating.

What advice would you give to someone starting a new role remotely?

I would say keeping an open mind is important because my experience has been amazing and although I had my worries at the start, the support from all my colleagues at ASM has been amazing and any worries I had very quickly dissipated.

News, Insights & Knowledge

What’s New?

Here’s a selection of the latest news, views and insights from industry leaders and experts from across the globe.

19 August 2023

ASM HQ built with sustainability at the forefront

The ASM Group are committed to ensuring ongoing consideration to the environment in all aspects of our operations and this began in 2005, when we were one of the first companies in the industry to complete the IS014001 accreditation, long before the environmental impact of business operations was widely understood by organisations.

We installed an array of solar panels on the roof of the building which power around half of our daily electricity usage and have generated over 43 MW of energy. We also removed the use of electric kettles and instead opted for Quooker taps which are significantly more energy and water efficient.

We continued our ongoing pledge to sustainability by installing electric car charging points to promote the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, in addition to reducing the amount of printers around the building and adopting a paperless office. Numerous trees were planted around the site to create a greener space for our team to enjoy whilst also considering the environmental benefits. To further improve our energy efficiency, we opted for energy saving, motion detection indoor lighting which dim based on the brightness outside, coupled with energy saving LED lights in the carpark.

We’re proud of the collaborative and sustainable environment we’ve created for our team which supports the ESG goals across the ASM Group for the future.

6 July 2023

ASM Thrive 2023

On Thursday 6 July, we held our annual partner event, ASM Thrive, celebrating success over the past year and looking deeper into growth plans for the future.   

We hosted over 20 vendors at our Cheshire HQ before heading to nearby Jodrell Bank to take a journey through space and learn more about how technology and exploration is teaching us more about our galaxy and the origins of our planet.  

Adele Hope-Urwin, Head of Vendor Alliances at ASM said

What a pleasure to host our annual strategic partner event, ASM Thrive. A huge thank you to all our partners who joined us to hear about our strategy and how we can grow together as well as a fantastic experience and immersive journey at Jodrell Bank, the Mars Rover activity was such good fun too! 

ASM Thrive brings our eco-system of disruptive vendors together to collaborate, network and discuss future growth plans. We were joined by partners from Azul, Bose Professional, Checkmarx, Flashpoint, Getac UK, GoTo, Immuta, Kollective, LastPass, Nitro, Pro2Col, Rocket Software and Vimeo. 

3 July 2023

ASM receives an award at CRN Sales & Marketing Awards 2023

We were thrilled to attend the CRN Sales & Marketing Awards along with some of our strategic partners.

The team received a Highly Commended award for Best Partner Event, recognising ASM Connect 2022.

ASM Connect 2022 was held at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London and featured keynote speeches from Futurists Matthew Griffin and Amelia Kallman, sharing insights about how emerging technologies such as AI, the Metaverse, VR, MR and XR will impact the future of work and the customer relationship. Guests had the opportunity to do a stadium tour or challenge themselves to The Dare Skywalk, 46.8 meters above the pitch! Our guests also had the chance to learn more about our eco-system of disruptive vendors and understand more about their innovative technologies first-hand.

Jo Wilson, Marketing Manager said

“We’ve received such positive feedback over the last 12 months from customers, with many people asking about the next one already. We’re delighted to have been recognised by the CRN judges for the hard work the team put into making the event such a big success. Watch this space for ASM Connect 2023”.

6 June 2023

LastPass delivers Sales Enablement Sessions to ASM

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the team at LastPass, who visited our office to deliver Sales Enablement sessions. We enjoyed meeting the partner team at LastPass and learning more about the capabilities of the products and building on our existing strong partnership.

The team enjoyed a lunch provided by LastPass through the Woodfired Pizza Bar.

Adele Hope-Urwin, Head of Vendor Alliances said

“I am very pleased to be working in partnership with LastPass, with their password management tool bringing practical benefits to our customers.  We have a long term business relationship with LastPass spanning several years and I’m really looking forward to continuing the great success we’ve already had.”

James Greenaway, Regional Partner Manager at LastPass said

“It’s been great to run the sales enablement sessions today, meet the wider ASM team and continue to develop our partnership for the future.”

25 May 2023

ASM attends SCC Engage 2023

ASM Technologies were very pleased to attend SCC Engage 2023 which took place at the Silverstone Circuit. The conference welcomes valued partners and is fantastic opportunity to showcase disruptive and innovative technology.

Customer Success Manager for SCC, Paul Ogden attended the event on 11 May and said

“It was a great event to open up new opportunities, expand on existing relationships and drive growth together.”

16 May 2023

ASM wins EMEA partner of the year award from GoTo

ASM have been announced as GoTo’s EMEA partner of the year, yet again showcasing our fantastic partnership.

Adele Hope-Urwin, Head of Vendor Alliances at ASM Technologies said:

“I am thrilled to have collected the EMEA partner of the year award from GoTo at their partner presidents club event. The whole team worked very hard in helping us achieve such a prestigious award. Special thanks go to Liselotte Maidment for all her hard work throughout the year and thank you to Nadya Gaughran and Robinder Koura for all the support. I am looking forward to building on that success this year.”

1 April 2023

Financial year end 2022-23

This year ASM celebrated turning 30 in style with a fourth consecutive year of double-digit organic sales growth.

“We are very pleased with our results for the financial year,”

said Iain Tomkinson, Sales Director.

“Our strong performance is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as the continued strength of our business. We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for us and are well-positioned for more growth in the years to come.”

During the year the business continued to expand the ecosystem of partners and vendors whose innovative technologies are truly disrupting the market, providing unique opportunities for our clients and their customers.

Our growth also resulted in us creating new positions within the business and our teams have enjoyed returning to in-person events including ASM Connect 2022 hosted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Over the coming year the business will continue with its strategic growth plan and deploy further investment in people and systems.

We’d like to extend our thanks to our team, customers, vendors and partners for their continued support.

8 March 2023

International Women’s Day 2023

Technology has typically been a male dominated sector but at ASM we’re very proud to say 66% of our workforce is female.

Today we’ve been celebrating all of our fantastic team with some sweets treats while raising awareness about discrimination.

The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities aren’t enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. Read more about this here.

1 February 2023

ASM attend Computacenter Group Kick Off

ASM Technologies were very pleased to attend Computacenter Group Kick Off which was held at Manchester Central.

Over the course of the two-day event we had an extremely busy, central stand with over 800 visitors from around the globe. This kind of event offers our account management team invaluable time with contacts from these countries while continuing to build upon our relationships.

Leanne Ogden, Head of Business Development, said:

“The event is always a great opportunity to meet different people from around the business and understand their challenges for the coming year and seeing how we can best support them.”

We were joined on our stand by our strategic vendors Getac, Kollective, GoTo & LastPass.