By Terrance Seto, Associate Technical Product Marketing Manager

I remember those long days in the office at a previous organization that I used to work for back in 2006. The office was quiet. Almost too quiet I would say. Those 6 foot tall cubical walls blocked off quite a bit of sound. Working in marketing, I developed sales tools and managed trade shows that our company had attended. I enjoyed what I did, but I never received that pat on the back from my fellow colleagues. Did I do something wrong? Probably not. You went in and worked your 8 to 9 hours and just left. No “have a nice evening!” or “thanks for helping out today” from team mates. After a while, it just stopped being exciting.

Fast forward to June, 2007. It was summer, and I was just about to begin my first day at SuccessFactors. After finishing my orientation, I was given the tour of the office. The first thing that hit me was the noise. At first, I thought there was a party that I had just missed out on. But it was better. A deal was closed in sales, a bell on the wall was rung, and everyone cheered with joy. It was pure excitement. I had never seen, nor heard, anything like this before.

Fast forward to August, 2007. In my position here at SuccessFactors, my duties are to configure and develop product demo environments. This is an important tool, critical to the success of our sales team being able to demo a robust and compelling product to their prospects. The bell rang, a cheer went out, along with an email notifying the company of this new closed deal. Wait, what’s this I see at the bottom of the email? “Thank you to Terrance for providing an excellent demo! The prospect loved it!” Wow, what a great feeling to be recognized for your work! This is what keeps me and my fellow colleagues excited about what we do. The open office environment, the friendly people, and the passion are what drive us all each and every day.