Employee number one – Johan Sirén finds flexibility and freedom strengths at Enfuce
I started at Enfuce in January 2017. I was a friend and work colleague with all five company co-founders and their decision to start the company coincided with my own feelings of seeking a new challenge. It seemed like an ideal time to make a move. If you know these guys, then you know that this will be something special, so I mentioned that I was available if needed. It was a no brainer when Co-Founder Monika Liikamaa called me and asked me to join. Three years on I still have that feeling of excitement that we are doing new and exciting things together.
Flexibility is our strength
As the first employee I am often asked what kind of company Enfuce is. A key phrase that comes to mind is that we are flexible in every aspect. Whether it relates to working hours, how we solve problems, or what tools we use to get the job done. This also applies to management, as they continue to be open to hearing our thoughts and ideas as developers. If you need it, just create it.
When I think about my role I guess it has changed somewhat since the beginning. Originally we were only one small core team so we were responsible for more or less everything that needed to be done. Of course we still handle a lot of tasks and take on responsibility, but now it is more team and product orientated.
As a company we believe that we should do whatever it takes but not at the expense of your family. From my personal view I have no problem leaving work when I need to, even the times when I have a heavy workload. I think this is helped massively by our core value of collaboration and that everyone is available to help. I can always rely on the strength and depth of expertise around me.
Freedom to do things better
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is at the heart of what I work with. It is often the case of a couple of clicks to get what you need or implement something new. It’s far from the old way of going through many layers of approval from bosses.
With strong partners and so many services and tools at our disposal we have the trust and backing of the team and management to make the right calls. We do pretty much everything ourselves. We don’t have to ask if we can create a new server for example. Of course new ideas and approaches are discussed at all times between each other and tech leads, that’s part of being agile, but we have created an environment where people feel confident to take ownership. We have a culture where we can always ask “I want to do it this way, or do you know of a better way?”. We aim to strike the balance between high alignment and high autonomy so that we avoid having one hundred different ways of doing a task.
We achieve things everyday. The little things we do add up to big achievements. The success of launching a new customer or creating a new product comes from a collaborative effort.
Make sure to check out Enfuce open positions.
