Office life
Splashtop is a company that provides remote access software to people and organisations in a range of industries all over the US. The company is currently undergoing expansion from the US to the EMEA region and I have been lucky enough to witness firsthand the growth of a company who really believes in putting their customers and employees first.
I was welcomed with open arms by the founders of the company who initiated a personalised message on LinkedIn to every new member of the team wishing us luck in starting our new positions. This nurturing culture is present everyday in the office. It has opened my eyes to the importance of company culture in influencing the motivation of a team. Additionally, it has set my standards for a working environment ridiculously high and I will not be settling for anything less in my future career.
Despite being the most inexperienced in the office, the Splashtop team has been incredibly accepting of me and my role in the company. I feel lucky to be seen as an equal in the team and to be embraced not only as a colleague, but also as a friend. Additionally, getting the opportunity to come into the office daily, when I had fully anticipated having minimal interaction with colleagues due to the coronavirus, was an added bonus. Time in the office has allowed me to discuss job roles with colleagues and to see how they overlap and integrate in real time, which has been helpful in steering my career choice.
My role as an intern
Being the first intern at the EMEA Splashtop office, there are definitely high expectations of my capabilities as a Communication Science student. I certainly felt the initial pressure of trying to keep up with the acronyms and software packages referenced in the day to day of company life, but despite this, the office environment is one in which I always feel respected and supported. So much so that the team wants to harvest my passion for music (singing) and use it to showcase their product in an upcoming education webinar, which I am VERY excited about.
I have already learnt so much from my time at Splashtop; working closely with the marketing team to come up with webinar and social media ideas and ways in which the company can grow their brand awareness. I have conquered the uphill battle of getting familiar with new tools required to communicate and work on projects. The main highlights for me have been designing visuals and presenting my ideas, while also developing my skill set: sourcing potential webinar attendees via LinkedIn and researching relevant events in the industry.
It was particularly surprising to see how quickly collaboration can begin when people are working towards a common goal. The team spirit at Splashtop is outstanding and it has been a pleasure to see how driven everyone is to support the goals of the company. Speaking of a common goal, the team is really enthusiastic about my research project. After discussing ideas with colleagues, it was clear that a focus was needed on optimising the company landing page visuals to improve the customer journey. I am excited to see how the results of the research could be implemented in the company’s growth.
Having gone from studying full-time and hardly leaving my apartment due to the coronavirus restrictions, to a vibrant and fun office environment has been a welcome change. Having this internship has made such an impression on me and I will be following with huge interest their success in the future.