Over the last few decades I’ve worked with a large number of different organisations in banking, software development, defence, retail, entertainment and so on.
They’ve ranged in size from large multinational corporations down to four-person start-ups, and I’ve performed a wide range of roles (trainee programmer, technical consultant, project manager, system administrator, senior developer and so on).
So, work experience confirmed, I thought I’d share some of the reasons I find PaperCut a unique place to work compared to many other environments I have experienced.
Quality customer experience
We focus on the quality of the end user experience. If the product isn’t easy to use, as well as being fit for purpose, we don’t ship it. It’s surprising the number of organizations that get this wrong.
The things we look for include:
- The end user can perform the most common activities easily, it’s obvious and easy to get things right
- The user is guided and helped to avoid errors on more complex features
- Features work consistently across the different interfaces, things always have the same name
- If the original design creates an inferior experience, we would rather start again (having learned how it could be better). We have done this on more than one occasion.
“(Don’t) show me the money!”
Revenue is not the primary measure of success. Providing we can pay the bills, customer and employee satisfaction are more important, and we measure them all the time.
We don’t scramble at the end of each quarter to make $$ targets with all the compromises that entails. This also means that there is far less pressure on the engineering teams to “just ship it!” – we want to get it right first.
Everyone’s important
All parts of the organization are valued. PaperCut started out as a product development company - our full time sales and marketing teams didn’t come along until later (I was a channel sales manager for a time, which is a scary thought).
As a consequence, all teams get a say in the planning and strategy. So the sales tail does not wag the dog, as it does in many companies.
Just do it
People can make decisions for themselves, and then ask other people to help.
A recent example: I decided to host a local technical meetup at short notice. PaperCut supported me with funding, and colleagues volunteered to help - all without fuss or ceremony.
We’re a staunchly ethical business
PaperCut pays its taxes and is ethical in all its business dealings. Doing the right thing and maintaining our business relationships is important to us, more that making a quick buck – nuff’ said.
I’m an unashamedly proud PaperCutter. Find out more about us here .
