Meet the Team – Jacob Wall talks about the company culture at Workpro

Could you start off by telling me what kind of jobs you've had before and what led you to Workpro?

So, fresh out of university I got a job in a production company as a business analyst working in system development. I stayed there for a few years and learnt quite a bit. Then, I found Workpro and came here because I thought it was a new challenge. There seemed to be more opportunities to develop my career.

Can you talk about what exactly you do for Workpro and what kind of career development opportunities you’ve been offered?

I'm a systems analyst so I work with the config of the customer requirements to get the system how they want it. I’m obviously quite new (I’ve been working for Workpro for 3 months), so I don't fully know the role yet, but I am picking up the bits that I need to know and it's exciting in fact that I'm learning different methods.

I've already been on far more training than I was in my last job. We did some training on Power BI which is at the front end of where technology's going. I'm currently working on a project that is very Power BI focused so I've been able to apply those skills to fit the customer's requirements. That has been quite satisfying. It's exciting to be part of a company that is so forward-thinking.

There are discussions about some more in-depth sequel training, but I think that's quite preliminary at the moment. That's one of the aspects I'd like to become more of a subject matter expert on.

What do you think of the company culture that you've seen so far?

It's possibly the best company culture I could have imagined. Everybody's so relaxed, everybody's so friendly. Obviously, there's pressure to get your deliverables done, but there's no pressure in terms of needing to ask for help. Very often, when you have a question, you ask it to everybody, and somebody will answer it no matter what. There's a good skill set between everybody and the integration between teams is fantastic as well.

I think it's quite unconventional in the team structure. There is no real hierarchy even when there is a hierarchy. I think the communications between people are very respectful and there isn't that barrier where someone is above you in the chain. Everybody's very open with each other and that’s great. Especially speaking to Ken (Workpro CEO), you can just chat to Ken no matter what even though he’s the big boss! Irma (Workpro Chief Projects Officer) is fantastic as well, she's always happy to pick up the phone if she’s got a free minute.

I also think something I’ve noticed here is the work-life balance is so good. There's no pressure to stay late after work. If you need to stay late there's a rota for out-of-hours support but if you need to do anything flexibly, everybody's just ready to say yeah, go for it!

What sort of things do you like to do in your free time to achieve that work-life balance?

I like to cycle after work and to work sometimes. I like hiking every now and then, the borders are a number one location for me. However, getting down there at the minute is rubbish because of the weather. Being in Edinburgh, it rains all the time for some reason! Now we're hitting Spring though I think it's nice to be able to go out and about a bit more, to get some sun.

I also enjoy some time, maybe a little bit too often, at a pub quiz. I just try to find as much time where I can relax as possible.