A Ninja story: company culture is key

An interview with one of our sr. operations managers

Whether you’re a start-up company or a well-established business, one of the things you should never under-prioritize is establishing a healthy company culture that inspires your whole team and brings life to the workplace while keeping everyone focused on doing quality work.

It may not sound like it’s something you should really put maximum effort into, but it definitely is a secret sauce for a company to be able to pave its way to success. This is especially important to start-ups that are just starting the growth journey. If you establish your company culture early, it will serve as the foundation for the scaling and growth you will experience. Sure, it’s not the only key to a successful business, but it could definitely be the difference between a successful company and one that just “works”.

Do your company’s values resonate with your employees?

We sat down and had a chat with Sesnando Salas, one of our Senior Operations Manager over at our Clark office, to discuss his growth within the company and how essential our core values are for him to be able to focus on improvement. Grab a cup of coffee and catch a seat with us as we share our conversation with Ses.

Share about when you started working at SupportNinja and what your first position was

“I started working at SupportNinja September 2017. I was an Operations Manager in the last company I was with. When I initially applied at SupportNinja they only had an opening for a Team Manager so I submitted my application for that role. However, during my interview, they saw in my resume that I was a previous Operations Manager and they asked me if I would like to apply for an Operations Manager position. They told me that the opening for the Operations Manager position just got approved that very day that I was applying. I was so happy that they opened the post externally and I got hired.”

Were you able to help your team improve as much as you have improved as an Operations Manager?

“YES, I was able to share all of my knowledge and best practices with my teams. I shared with them all of my experiences when I was a Team Manager before and gave them some insights and stories on how to handle a team, how to improve managing people, how to interact with team members on a day to day basis, and most especially how to value your people. Being a manager should not be focused on numbers, but rather on how you touch the lives of your people. That is what I wanted to impart to all of my team members.”

Do you think that your role as a manager influenced SupportNinja as a company?

“It wasn’t just myself as a manager that directly influenced SupportNinja. It was a collaborative effort from all the leaders and employees of the company that contributed to helping the SupportNinja grow.”

Tell us the story of how you got promoted to Senior Operations Manager.

“I’ve noticed that I was too comfortable already in my role which meant that I needed to step up to the next level. When I heard about the opening for the SOM post, I applied for it and I really prepared hard for it to get the promotion. Luckily, I got it.”

Did you notice a significant difference within the company from when you first became a Ninja compared to when you got promoted?

“The difference that I am seeing is that there is a ‘direction’ right now. What I mean about direction is that there is a target or KPI that we are following. Unlike before when I started, we focused on ensuring that productivity was met by our Ninjas. But now, we are looking into all other aspects that give value to the company and to our clients. This just shows how our company follows one of our CORE values which is to IMPROVE EVERY DAY.”

How is it going so far being a Senior Operations Manager?

“Challenging but fulfilling. Challenging because of the new role and that you really need to step up and contribute better to the company. And fulfilling because I can now impart to my new team my best practices as a previous OM, especially to those that are promoted and continue to improve everyday. It is also incredibly fulfilling to see your team perform well and be engaged.”

One of our values at SupportNinja is Improve Everyday. Based on your experience and your observation of the people around you and the people you manage, how do you think we, as Ninjas, apply this value to strengthen our company and deliver the best possible support we can provide our customers with?

“From whatever level you have, from an agent, TM, or OM, you always need to learn every day. You should avoid the mistake you have committed before and learn from it. That just shows how you can improve every day. You also need to be humble enough to accept your mistakes and learn from them. Embracing all the Core Values like NO BS, Collectively Bring Joy, Always be Humble, and Employee Focus will help bring us to my favorite value to IMPROVE EVERY DAY.”

‍We hope you enjoyed sitting down with Ses to hear his Ninja story. This is a great example of how establishing a positive work environment and enforcing an inspiring set of core values will challenge your team to constantly be growing, improving, and invest in each other. If a company is built on a stable and reliable foundation, it will be easier for its people to focus on improvement and growth. A workforce with great focus, determination, resilience and passion will ultimately pave the way to the kind of stability and growth that any company aims to obtain.

About SupportNinja

SupportNinja’s mission is to show the world a better way to outsource. Our vision is to challenge the status quo. How do we do that? By providing our clients with the greatest people and the latest technology to support their business. Our industry-leading, integrated, and personalized approach means that our Ninjas are treated like members or your team capable of scaling businesses – fast. Founded in 2015, our Austin, Texas and Clark, Philippines team ensures your ninjas have all of the tools needed and extensive training to improve themselves and your business on a daily basis. Ninja’s provide support and “No BS” insights provide you with the resources you need to focus on what matters – your business, customers, and team.