As we are facing an unprecedented crisis, the world is also experiencing an unexpected challenge of staying motivated at work. ampliFi Loyalty Solutions holds true to who we are as a market-leading, outsourced provider of customized loyalty program solutions and our employees are staying motivated to help our clients and partners succeed.
In the article below our Director of Product, Saloni Patil shares a few thoughts on how the team stays motivated through the time of crisis.
Some of us love our jobs – although rare, this holds true for a lucky few. But no matter how much we love what we do, there are days when you would rather just curl up and stay in bed. If the pandemic only exacerbated this feeling, you are not alone. When there seems to be so much that is out of our control, what keeps some of us going every day?
There are many facets of product management that spice things up daily and it is no different here, at ampliFI.
- Big Picture Mindset ” It is very easy to put your head down and keep working on the day to day, checking things off the list. But looking at the big picture helps you focus on what is important. Why are you working on a feature or product? What does it solve for the customer? Taking a step back, every once in a while and being able to tell a convincing story of ‘why I’m doing what I’m doing’ to yourself before telling the teams ‘why we’re doing what we are doing’ is important and can be grounding.
- Thrill of Unpredictability ” Many job resources talk about ‘a day in the life of’. For product managers it is more like ‘day in a life ” NOT’ because no two days are the same! One day you might be busy working on stories in agile, the next you might be thinking through the product roadmap and the next you might be buried in putting out fires. There will be variety and there will be chaos. So, if you struggle with change and cannot handle a little bit of crazy at work, product management is not for you. But if you strive on challenges and surprises, this thrill of unpredictability keeps you going.
- Driving Impact ” When millions of customers use your product day in and day out, that is no small feat and the ability to drive such an impact serves as a good pick me up. When being inundated with the mundane day to day issues, a quick look at how a design or feature decision drives value to so many customers can be invigorating and that’s exactly how we felt when working on upgrading our cash back redemption experience. Being able to provide our cardholders with a quick and easy option to redeem points for some quick cash into their accounts, especially in these trying times, only eggs us on to do better and roll out products that add value to our cardholders. Also, a good analytics function or a robust customer feedback strategy gets you deeper insights into user experience which helps you put customers first.
- Curiosity ” The adage, ‘curiosity killed the cat’ does not apply to product managers. Staying curious about the industry, market trends and quite simply, what customers are looking for is a very important job for product managers. The evolving role of personalization and customers’ demands, and expectations can be ever changing. The challenges this brings forth must be weighed carefully in terms of what the expectations are vs what is possible in a timely manner thus, always keeping product managers on their toes.
- Cross Collaboration ” Cross collaboration is key to product management ” being able to work with different members within the organization, from tech to sales to marketing to risk ” there is not a single function that we do not interact with. Working together gives us the opportunity to come up with solutions holistically build better products. A number of our team members being remote, ampliFI always had a culture of video calls, so moving our work home during the shelter-in-place did not seem as much of a challenge and we could go on about our work without impacting productivity. If anything, it only helped us get to know our team better as we got glimpses of kids or pets in the background, making way for some fun conversations.
So far, this article has focused on product management, but it would not be complete without input from some other cross-functional team members.
Some thoughts from Damon Morse, Director of Engineering. “Having clear priorities and projects that provide challenges and learning opportunities make it easier to get excited about work. One of the challenges during the pandemic and the remote work environment is to keep a pulse on personal relationships and social interactions that contribute to team morale. At ampliFI we are learning to leverage collaboration tools, such as video calls and chat channels, to actively communicate across the teams. The “open door policy” may look a little different – a video meeting link in a chat window instead of walking over to someone’s workspace — but the intent is the same. It is not just the work, but “how” we work together that keeps us motivated at work.”
For Matt Piermantier, Director of Relationship Management, it’s about keeping clients first. “Even though Relationship Managers are focusing on the day to day needs of our clients, our team’s mindset is always forward-thinking: How can we serve our clients better? How can we increase cardholder engagement in new, innovative ways? What motivates me is delivering for clients in ways that our competition can’t. Pay With Points and other near real-time redemption options is what the industry expects from us, I’m excited we’re bringing that to the market”
In the end, no matter what function you are in, the right attitude and a little help and support from the team can help you scale new heights. Product management can be a little chaotic, but overall, it makes for an exciting adventure, if you are up for the ride!
If you want to learn more about ampliFI Loyalty Solutions and how we can help, contact our experienced sales professionals at sales@amplifiloyalty.com.