How we became #7 in Australia’s LinkedIn Top Startups

Deciding to join Versent was all about timing.

When I met the founders of Versent for the first time, the business was just a year old. Their passion for starting something with a Big Hairy Audacious Goal to change the IT industry, was actually pretty contagious.

I was the first ‘people’ person to join the business, taking on everything ‘People & Culture’, from recruitment to performance, learning and development to operations. It was a huge and welcomed opportunity. Since then, we have worked very hard to ensure the passion, values and BHAG has remained true to Versent, especially as we have grown.

Being named #7 in the LinkedIn Top Startups in Australia for 2018 was an epic milestone in our Versent journey.

We have always encouraged our people to be themselves at Versent.

We don’t believe there is a ‘work’ you and a ‘home’ you, there is just you. By promoting our values, we attract and engage with a huge pool of amazingly talented people.  And there is really nothing more important than our people.

Our #Versentfamily will be 300 by the end of the year, spread across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Singapore and now the US.  We’ll keep investing across the business to support our growth, including in the people team we well new tools to help move us from ‘Startup’ to ‘Scaleup’.

With the business growing at 100% + every year, how do we make sure we don’t lose sight of our BHAG and more importantly, our people?

Here’s how we remain true to our core:

Every new ‘Versentonian’ gets a personal welcome message on Slack, including from the founders, that is always followed with a flurry of emoji waves, parrots and posts.

We all love our swag, and Versent is no exception. Custom hoodies, tees, socks, stickers, mints, hats…. you name it! Our newbies can be head-to-toe in Versent swag in no time.

Working in a flexible, outcome-driven, mature environment. Outside of customer obligations, you can work from the office or home as needed, and best of all, wear what you want no fancy suits required.

Weekly internal tech talks alternating between Sydney and Melbourne; all streamed so those who can’t make it to the office can still participate. For those who do make it, there’s food, beer, wine and soft drink on tap.

A lucky few get to attend the AWS Summit Sydney and AWS re:Invent Las Vegas each year.

Regular Meetup’s and guest speakers, organised and facilitated by our team.

A supportive family culture – if you need help, just ask.

Celebration of the wins – big or small, because we know how hard our people work.

The most dog friendly workplace you’ll find.

The best #dadjoke Slack channel you’ll ever read 😉

And finally, while we like our work to be taken seriously, we don’t really take ourselves that way.

Want to join the #Versentfamily?  https://versent.com.au/careers

Paul works hard to find the right people to fit with the culture of the company and ensure Versent maintains focus on its core values. Paul helps to grow the team and help to make Versent ‘the’ employer of choice.

When he’s not focused on Versent culture, Paul keeps busy with his six-month-old and six-year-old girls and Inline Hockey to (try to) keep fit.

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