In addition to our HQ in Helsinki, we have an office in Warsaw, Poland, which doesn't get to bask in the spotlight nearly enough. To correct this wrong and shed a bit of light on our Warsaw office and its people, we interviewed our Office Manager Arletta. (Psst, if you happen to be an avid React Native developer, read on ‘cause we’re hiring one in Warsaw.)
Let’s start with the space. You recently moved into a new office space in Warsaw! How is it?
Yes! Our office is immensely wonderful! It’s located in a historic building with very high ceilings which gives us a lot of space around us. It’s located conveniently in the City Centre, yet in a quiet and pleasant area with lots of greenery. It’s easy to reach by bikes and public transport. We really enjoy it. The interiors are bright, minimalistic and cozy, decorated in a Scandinavian style inspired by our Helsinki office. We’re planning to set up a “relax room” with a sofa and a ping pong table. That’s currently in the works.
Tell our readers a bit more about the team we have there.
Initially, the team in Warsaw consisted of developers responsible for bringing our digital products and services to life. This year, I joined the developers as an Office Manager responsible for taking care of the all admin and coordinating some of the projects. Currently, we’re four people in the Warsaw team:
Full-Stack Developer Aleksi is not only one of the co-founders and owners of Sangre, but he also used to be a part-time rock star. He played in an internationally touring band, where he got the nickname Angry Keyboard Player. He’s not really angry, he just tends to look that way whenever he plays the keyboard. :)
Aleksander is a Front-end Developer and a pretty avid tennis player. He adopted a cat last year and he’s a true pizza lover – he says he eats pizza four times a week!
Our Back-end Developer Konrad is always exhausted and drinks 8 coffees a day. He used to dance in a folk group, but now his main life project is his little daughter.
Then, of course, there’s me - Office Manager and calm and serene yoga enthusiast. I can’t imagine life without practicing every day. I keep the rest of the team on track by organizing healthy breakfasts and bringing fresh carrot juice to the office.
We’re currently looking for a React Native developer to join our lovely team!
Our project teams consist of team members in Helsinki, Warsaw as well as remote employees. What’s it like to work together in projects when people are scattered around in different locations?
As far as company management goes, we work as one company under the same management, just based in multiple locations. We have a flat structure, but we do have a CEO and project managers responsible for each project. Mostly this management is based in the HQ.
In order to work effectively, we focus on careful planning and project management when assigning tasks. As teams we're all are responsible for our projects, so the collaboration goes pretty smoothly when everyone does their part and helps each other out. Thanks to online tools we have everything kept up to date in one place, and being in two different office locations is not a barrier to anything.
How is the communication with teammates in Helsinki?
We have great teammates in Helsinki and our collaboration runs very efficiently. On Mondays, we have weekly meetings on a company level, when we see each other on the big screen so we almost feel like we are in the same room.
Besides that, we communicate mainly on Slack. Each person is very helpful and kind and our team is extremely supportive, so the atmosphere in the company is truly astonishing.
What are the biggest challenges in communicating between two offices and remote team members?
The biggest challenges are related to occasional problems with the internet connection and the echo in the rooms. While the spacious and airy office is nice to be in physically, unfortunately it’s not the best for acoustics… However, we’re currently working on a space planning project to optimize our space for remote communication, so we’re going to see some substantial improvements in the near future.
How does it feel like to work with teammates you seldom see? How do you establish a feeling of togetherness as a unified team?
Feeling that "togetherness" is something we care about as we're all very open and enjoy working in a friendly atmosphere. Thanks to the regular meetings, frequent communication on Slack and the occasional integration party we feel like we are working together in one big team.
What kind of person would fit into the team?
The ideal person that would fit into our team would be someone who is collaborative, kind and responsible as we're working in an environment where each of us needs to be in charge of their tasks. It's important that each member shares the same values of teamwork and a friendly working atmosphere.
We’re hiring a React Native developer to join us in Warsaw. If you like what you’re reading and you can see yourself working with us, read more and apply here.
