Thinking about my past four and half at Siav, I’m surprised how quickly time has gone by—especially in recent months given the rise of COVID-19. As we face challenging times, I think it’s especially important to consider the parts of our lives that matter to us most.
As I reflect on my career journey, Siav stands out as a career-defining experience.
Twelve moths ago I moved into the Partners Business Unit. Before (twenty months ago), I stepped into a new role on Siav’ DevOps Team, becoming the Product Owner. I led that position for one year and it was an incredible adventure. I had the opportunity to led the first Siav’s DevOps team, making him grow within it’s the business unit and then pass “the ball”. Remember.. I’m rugby player, a second row, so it’s normal for me to do the “dirty job” and then pass the ball.
As my first people-manager position, this transition has made me thinking about what I need to continue growing and what’s important in a career.
For me, it’s working with kind and inspiring people, representing an impactful company, and having a management team that leads with values I align with.
Why I Chose a Career at Siav
I began my career in the IT industry in 2010. For two years I stayed with Siav and then came the opportunity to work at Zucchetti inside the foreign market and wasn’t considering changing anytime soon.
Then in late 2016, I was at dinner with my ex colleagues when they started talking about how impressed they were with Siav own new product and culture. I wanted to learn more about what made Siav so unique and began researching.
Like my ex colleague, I was inspired by what I discovered (or, better, re-discovered) about Siav: a growing company with an impactful product that knows the importance of putting people—customers and employees alike—first.
Then they call me. For the first time in five years, I started exploring how a career at another company would look. It wasn’t long before I joined Siav as one of its pre sales people, with a specific focus on the new software cloud ready and based on open source components.
Selling Software: It’s Not What I Thought It Was
Joining Siav changed my mindset on what it means to be in software Pre-Sales.
I previously thought pre sales was just about, well, selling. But one of the first things I learned at Siav was that we’re not only selling/demostrating a product. We sell tailored projects to help our customers to change their way of working, because we want to support them becoming partner of our customers.
This means that when speaking with prospects, the focus is on establishing a partnership that supports their current needs and future growth goals. It’s why we consider ourself Business Consultant and not only Pre-Sales people.
Because innovation is a core value at Siav, it’s important to show customers how Siav continues to use new technologies, such as open source technologies, machine learning, AI and cloud services on AWS and Google Cloud, to help them prepare and plan for the future. I think especially now, as our world depends on digital work and communications more than ever before, cloud platforms like Siav are critical for businesses to succeed in the long-run.
From Managing Presales activities to Managing a Team
After one months from the start of my new role the COVID-19 became real again. Even in the uncertainty of a global pandemic, I felt confident taking on a management position because of how Siav’s people-first approach to leadership matches my leadership goals.
You can see Siav’s values in action when leaders adapted quickly to COVID-19 to ensure all employees felt supported through initiatives and benefits such as a notebooks and smart working for all employees, courses to fight the stress and the new global/home situation, and also a cooking course for employees’ children.
Siav’ focus on employee wellbeing reinforces the actions I take as a manager to ensure my team feels supported. Even something as simple as regular check-ins and encouraging people to take time off for themselves and their families can make an impact during this time.
I’ve learned that to grow into the leader you want to become, you need to look at company leadership and ask yourself if their actions are in line with your values. That’s because your coworkers, the company’s product and growth, and the organizational culture starts at the top and will impact your long-term career development and in the end, your happiness.
Next steps?
After almost five years at Siav, I was ready to take the next step in my career and took on my current role as an Enterprise Architect, where I support prospects and clients bridging the gap between IT and the business.
Employees, Customer Service, Innovation, Integrity, Fun and profitability are the 6 pillars of Workday and it shines bright in each of these areas, which is why I’m excited about my future with Workday and proud to be a part of the team.
Now it’s time to roll up my sleeves and face the new challenge!