Optiva team members share their experiences working in a collaborative culture. Discover how the environment sparks their creativity, innovation, and career growth.
Strength In Teamwork And Diversity Drive Success
Margrit A., Principal Software Engineer
Collaboration creates a culture of trust and respect. I joined Optiva almost two years ago because of the appreciation, understanding, and professionalism offered by the collaborative environment. In R&D, there is a high level of collaboration within and between teams. We have channels to ask questions, share knowledge, and contribute our experience. It allows us to problem solve, create, and develop solutions quickly and effectively.
Optiva is also unique in that we have team members in over 50 countries. This increases our ability to face challenges and succeed. Because our team members are from different countries and cultures, we take time to understand and learn about our unique differences and experiences.
For example, my colleagues have helped me understand how business, communications, and problem solving are approached differently in Asia compared to Germany. This allows us to work better together internally, increase our job satisfaction, and successfully understand and satisfy our customers’ needs.
As a software engineer with a lifetime of experience, I’m not afraid to face a new challenge and openly say that I don’t have experience with something. Our scrum master will help me find the resources and expertise on our team. Therefore, I’m continually learning, teaching, and challenging others in an agile and creative environment. Our team is able to go further when we solve problems and develop solutions together.
Collaboration: Catalyst For Growth And Lifelong Learning
Leonard Hussey, Director of Support
At Optiva, there are no boundaries when it comes to the willingness to help. When you need an answer, you can always find it. In Support, we collaborate continuously. Engineers are not all the same and do not have the same technical backgrounds and experience. Therefore, we do not operate as knowledge islands or silos.
Instead, we incentivize our teams to collaborate and write knowledge articles to share our experience and build up our internal technical references and resources. We collaborate to expand our knowledge base instead of reinventing and revisiting the same issues.
For example, we can utilize solutions developed for a telecom group’s entity in Fiji and share it with their entity in Jamaica. Because we are collaborating, communicating, and working together internally, it translates into a win for our customers. We learn and solve issues more quickly and are able to streamline, add value, and deliver a higher level of support.
I am a lifelong learner. If I am not growing, I am unchallenged and disinterested. Collaboration benefits our team’s professional and personal growth. I am big on knowledge sharing, and after more than 20 years as an engineer, I continue to learn from others. If you are not learning every day, you are stalled. Optiva’s culture is nurturing — there is a drive to learn, do, and innovate more and a team ready to help each other for a common cause — to achieve something better, retain our good people, and be of service to our customers.
Collaboration With A Follow The Sun Approach
Shweta Saxena, Senior QA Analyst
Collaboration is one of Optiva’s values, and we live it daily. We do this in the traditional way of teamwork and supporting one another, and we do it through our diversity geographically.
With team members in more than 50 countries, we work collaboratively to serve and support customers across the globe and time zones. Our “Follow the Sun” approach allows us to offer a higher level of availability and responsiveness to our customers and faster resolution of queries. As we collaborate and hand off projects between time zones, we also share and transfer our knowledge and expertise.
Because we are not localized or limited by our geographic locations, our team members can interact with a wider variety of skilled team members across the globe and use our team’s broad resources and talents. This includes cross learning and cross training.
The benefits of collaboration also extend to having a voice. Due to the level at which we regularly collaborate, my ideas and insights are heard and valued. When I raise an issue with my manager, I have the opportunity to be included and consulted. This encourages me to continue to be engaged and learn new things to improve my skills. Our transparent communication supports a culture of successful collaboration and respect.
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