In this post, Mario Maldari writes about his first week at Jama Software and gives insight into the Jama community and company culture.
First Rate Onboarding Process
I knew I had found my new home after day one at Jama Software. On the afternoon prior to my start date, there was a knock on the door and Fedex handed me a package, which contained my brand-new MacBook Pro 16 inch, pre-configured with my name and prepped for my session with IT the next morning. This got me excited. Everything about Jama Software’s onboarding process impressed me. I knew my schedule for onboarding days before joining, so I knew exactly what to expect.
As a solution architect a lot of my early days would be spent ensuring I was familiar with the product, our offerings, and “who’s who” in the organization. My onboarding was customized and tailored for this purpose. This is NOT the first time they have done this. The process was iterated over, matured over time, and extremely efficient. When I logged in to my laptop on that first day and opened up my email, I was pleasantly surprised to find that team members had already reached out and proactively set up meetings with me to introduce themselves and to get me acquainted with our tools and systems.
I instantly felt part of a family.
Customer First Mentality and Thought Leadership
During my first week, I was lucky to be included in a few of our customer calls in order to shadow and observe how we interact with our clients. I was instantly impressed with the style in which we communicate with the customers, and how we take lead on providing our expertise and experience in helping them solve their business needs. It was clear that the Jama Software team is there for the clients from the initial trial phase, all the way through migrations, product deploy, trainings and consultations.
The Jama Software team understands the industries it supports and it shows. Customized templates and projects have been produced to enable clients to work within their industries and to support their required standards. The amount of thought and deep understanding of these industries is evident in materials and artifacts that Jama has produced.
A product to be proud of!
There is apparent pride in Jama Connect and everyone involved from the product development teams, to product management, sales, marketing, to support. You can feel it! It is empowering to be part of a team that develops a product that they stand behind. It is clear there is active investment in the product and the roadmap is evolving and constantly adapting to the needs of industry and clients. It was refreshing for me to start using the product, which was easy to learn, yet powerful in terms of functionality and features.
A Community and a Culture
I was impressed with the focus on building community around Jama Connect. Just browsing through the User Community site I was able to tell that there is a strong buzz around the product and the customers using it. The Customer Support team is active in engaging with our clients, proactive in posting information, and responsive to requests and feedback. This is the sign of a healthy product and team!
What Next?
Just wrapping up my first month as a Jamanian – yes, that’s what we’re called! Each week that goes by allows me to reflect on my joining and feel appreciative that I have found a match in such a great company with passionate and bright employees. I’ve made it known how happy I am to have joined this team. I do seriously ask myself, “what took so long?” Looking forward to what’s to come next, and excited for the journey!