It is time for a halftime check-in blog post! The month of May has officially arrived and soon Stockholm is to be in full bloom as spring is turning into summer. Let us take a quick look into what I have been up to the previous weeks.

This internship is very much driven by me, myself and I, with some guidance from my mentor of course. Therefore it takes for me to take all responsibility to keep the project moving forward and to ensure the deliverables. 

Since the start of the internship I have actively made sure to participate in strategic and product development meetings. These meetings are an opportunity to observe and listen and to gain insight about the methods and processes of Symplify. As a newcomer to this field, I find immense value in joining these meetings just to observe and to listen. 

There is a lot to learn just by listening to the interactions between colleagues or between colleagues and customers. Not to mention the chance to identify areas of improvement and understand the reasoning behind actions. It is also a great source for insights in regards to understanding the organisational culture, a subject that really intrigues me, and should be a continuous discussion within every organisation.

The SaaS product realm is fast moving, which requires product development to delve into constant maintenance, nurturing and innovation. This makes product development not just about coming up with new features, but to maintain and nurture the product. I have previously no experience with working at a SaaS company and do not come from a significantly “tech-y” background. For me it has been a process to understand how product development works within a SaaS environment. It has been a challenge for me to understand the more technical aspects and terminology that goes around during meetings and in general conversations. The learning curve has been steep, and I believe these learnings will be beneficial in the long run. 

One highlight of my internship has been joining the Symplify colleagues in a few discovery meetings with customers where we focus on getting to know our customers, how they have incorporated Symplify into their workflows and possible pain points that they experience with Symplify. 

It is noticeable that the customers are really appreciative of being approached and listened to. It is really a win-win situation as Symplify gains valuable insights to enhance the customers experience and for the customers to share their feedback to help shape a better product. These meetings are documented by me to be shared with the entire organisation. As an advocate for CX I find it crucial that these insights are democratised and available to all. Since we all are in the loop of creating value for our customers, we all should be aware of who they are.   

So that was a short walkthrough of what I have been doing lately. Just for the sake of it, I will finish this post with a few key takeaways: 

• Meetings are a great source of gaining insight into an organisation and getting to know its culture. If you are a new intern at a company, ask to join just to observe, listen and learn.
• Showing genuine interest in your customers is crucial, after all – they are the reason for our success. Our services provide them with a tool for their success, why not collaborate to enable and achieve even more together? 

That is all for now, see you in the next one.

Laura