By R.T. Barcik, Mid Market Sales Manager, EMEA region

Like many Gen Xers, I thought we were going to instantaneously change the world with this whole global internet economy thing. As a result, I bounced around from one apathetic company/job to the next right out of college. 4 jobs in 6 years to be exact, none of which I thought made a real impact on anything meaningful. 6 years ago I was at the tail end of job number 4 when I found a little start up…

My good friend was an independent recruiter that said why don’t you interview with this company tomorrow, just to see one end of the spectrum. ‘’Yeah sure,” I said, “I’ve always been a big fan of options and why not start the job hunt out with having a plan B in the bag.’’ I went through a full day of phone interviews where I individually talked to one third of the company, just so I could make it to the final meeting with the CEO the next day. Right from the start it was a completely unexpected challenge, where everything moved a mile a minute, you could tell the people knew their stuff but weren’t hung up on it, and the big guy was one you just had to meet. I didn’t know what to expect around the next corner but I was intrigued. Around the next corner happened to be an interview with the CEO of this tiny little company at a Potrero Hill (San Francisco) coffee shop. ‘’What was I thinking, this little pinger of a company probably wouldn’t last another 6 months… ‘’ I thought as I asked for more and more coffee while I waited for my interview to start. 14 cups of coffee later and ready to run a marathon, I only had half the energy the dynamic Danish CEO had naturally. ‘’I think I’m gonna like this company…”

Six years later, I am ironically starting my 4th role with the company and am changing people’s worlds with that same global internet thingy. Just yesterday I watched the ‘’light come on’’ as I helped a customer who had historically been in a support role in HR see how they could have real measurable financial impact on their business and in doing so become a driver of revenue. She realized that our software is going to change her professional world completely, just like it has for the 1,950 plus companies we’ve brought on before her. But this time it was different. This time it was in London, my new home thanks to SuccessFactors. This is just ridiculously cool.

Along the way it’s important to note that every ‘’significant-to-me’’ professional milestone has happened while at SuccessFactors (see photo of ringing the Nasdaq bell). More importantly, I’ve worked with more people that have something unique that I can learn from. Just about every day my light comes on because someone I work with changes my world with a new idea I haven’t thought of. I am in a perpetual state of appreciation for the collaboration that happens naturally here. I am humbled by and motivated to keep up with the quality people I work with. This collective knowledge and focus on the same goal is infectious. Wait a minute, that’s what we sell… but that’s what we live as well!

I tell ya, I originally got into software sales just to earn enough money to open my own restaurant. I am now enjoying myself too much living the SuccessFactors life to downgrade to my old dream. That Kaizen value we proclaim isn’t BS and it applies to everyone at our company—well done, SuccessFactors. It’s also fun to admit many that things within our company are getting even cooler despite becoming a ‘’real’’ company with 700+ employees. It’s been a wild ride. No offense to bull riders who measure their success by 8 second increments, but it’s been 189 million seconds of a wild ride for me…bring on the next 189 million!

By Liz Gaither, Marketing and Event Manager

SuccessFactors recently attended the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) National Conference, where we were able to meet and mingle with over 15,000 HR professionals from all over the world. SFSF was represented by 20 employees, a 20×20 booth on the show floor, and countless numbers of customers and partners at the event. Over 300 attendees stopped by the tradeshow booth in order to see a demo of our products for the first time, meet with a specific sales rep, ask questions about current implementations, or just to say hello as an existing, HAPPY customer!

The SHRM audience heard from keynote speakers such as Sidney Poitier, who spoke about the importance of diversity and motivating people to make a difference in the world, to Patrick Lencioni, author of books such as The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, who talked about the importance of making any job more rewarding and fulfilling for managers and employees alike.

All in all, the conference was a success with great content and ample time to work with attendees on the expansive show floor. The SHRM organization draws HR professionals from companies of all sizes, but this tends to be a show that many mid-sized and smaller organizations are sure to attend, because there is always something from every arena of HR in the room. We will continue to support and work with SHRM on events throughout the year!