Nezasa Stories: Exchange Program
Welcome to our Exchange Program! In this Nezasa story, we tell you about the first three Nezasians that left Lisbon to spend two months in our Santiago de Chile office. Hoping that they get to know the amazing people building Nezasa across the world.
Back in October, Nezasa acquired a Chilean start-up and its exciting product, TripOptimizer. With it came a team of more than 20 people.
But building a team across multiple locations takes more than just changing logos and email passwords. It takes time and demands opportunities for people to connect.
So, the Exchange Program was born. With a simple premise: Nezasians from every team or location are invited to change offices for a bit and try to further develop relationships with people they would usually only meet on a screen.
Gaia, Pedro and Tiago are the first ones to embark on this adventure and they left with a plan. Besides experiencing what it is like to work for Nezasa from another location, they are taking this opportunity to advance projects and processes in their respective areas.
Until now, it seems to be working. These are their stories.
Tiago: Building an Infrastructure
The first person we talked to was Tiago. Our DevOps Engineer was eager to work from Chile and was among the first people to apply to the program.
Motivated by the chance to discover a whole new city, and new people and taking some time to travel, Tiago is also keen on building a seamless infrastructure across all of Nezasa.
“I knew coming here that we would cover all topics around infrastructure. Talks with the team already started before I came to Santiago. I just took advantage of the fact that I’m here to plan a big push on the project”, he says.
The fact is, that the chance to talk to the people involved in this has helped Tiago get the show rolling much faster. He’s happy with how easier it has been to get everyone on board with no timezone constraints.
“In here I can actually meet with everyone and have long meetings to plan everything. It’s very important to be with them in the same timezone and in the same room. Made all of the difference.”
Pedro: Scoping the Integration
Pedro, Nezasa’s Senior Software Engineer, is focused on getting both of our products integrated. And even though this was not his main motivation while applying for the Exchange Program, it certainly makes all the difference in the world to talk to the people responsible for developing TripOptimizer face-to-face.
TripBuilder and TripOptimizer will soon be accessible from one single spot. But before we get to it, a team of people like Pedro are making sure we have everything ready for that integration.
“We’re more focused on aligning the ideas from all the different engineering teams at the moment. We’re having meetings and exploring the right solutions to make this happen”, Pedro says.
But does it make a difference to actually be there?
“It was great to precisely align. Now we understand the context and the people behind the different teams. That will make it so much easier when it’s time to push the execution”.
Gaia: Streamlining Engineering Processes
If you know Gaia, you know that even across the world, this would be about processes. Our Engineer Operations Manager & Scrum Master set herself a big goal: streamline how the engineering teams work in multiple locations.
Gaia will now spend the next couple of months identifying priorities, building a basis and covering all major organisational aspects.
“That includes more than just aligning sprints. It’s about shaping how we work as a whole and ensuring every engineering team is working as one team”, Gaia states.
Together with the team in Chile, Gaia will now align on tools, communication channels and flows, roadmaps (together with all the PMs) and even welcoming a new member to her squad.
“Brian is a Software Engineer based in Argentina. He was already working for Nezasa but for a different squad. Now he’ll join our team, and I’m happy to be here to welcome him”.
But besides of all the work Gaia is excited to see how much this time in Santiago will inspire her when she’s back at the Lisbon office.
“It’s been super interesting to understand how the team works here, it always gives you a different perspective. Different realities are always inspiring”.
Not all about work
Building a cross-continent team comes with its challenges. Besides the natural time constraints and the many communication aspects that come with it, there are also the difficulties of clearly building a palpable company culture for everywhere.
That means it can not always be about work. Football matches, after-work beers, pool days and barbecues are part of Tiago’s, Pedro’s and Gaia’s stay in Santiago. And the perfect chance to connect with the Chile team in a not-so-formal environment.
Days in Santiago are spent working, but after that, there’s a whole new city and new co-workers to discover.
“Santiago is a great city. First of all, no rain. People are very nice to us everywhere. In our building, in restaurants, in bars. Just a great energy to be around” – Pedro adds.
Additionally, the trio is, like almost every Nezasian, passionate about travelling. Being in Chile is the perfect opportunity to explore the country and take some time to travel across LATAM.
“We’ve already been to Cajón Del Maipo, Viña del Mar and San Pedro de Atacama. It was beautiful. But I’m planning to take more trips in the next weeks, even if just for a weekend”,- says Tiago trying to remember everything he’s got planned.
As for Gaia, she enjoyed a much-deserved time off in Costa Rica before joining the team in Chile and is now planning a couple of road trips for the weeks to follow. “You just got to take advantage of being here and having the chance to explore these wonderful places.”
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Discover what it really is like to be part of Nezasa through our Nezasa Stories.
In this series, we explore the lives and projects of our Nezasians across the globe to give a complete scope of exactly what makes working in Nezasa a one-of-a-kind experience.
