Stéphanie has been with the Exempt Edge team now for a few years but was recently promoted from Client Success Manager to Project Manager. We wanted to take this opportunity to get to know Stephanie a little bit better and this is what she had to say:
Tell us about your role at Exempt Edge and why it’s important
Like most of my teammates, I wear a few different hats at Exempt Edge; managing clients, writing guides, testing new releases, and helping to plan new builds. In my new role as Project Manager, my focus will be on creating a structured process that will aid in ensuring that our clients are getting the best user experience from our software and that we continue to grow in new and innovative ways.
Favorite quote
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” — Greek Proverb.
What are your credentials/experience, that help you in your role?
I have worked in client-focused roles for the past 7 years, 4 of which were spent at Olympia Trust Company, and 2 spent working here at Exempt Edge. In the course of working in these roles, I’ve picked up a lot of the soft skills that make it easier to communicate with a wide variety of individuals, even in times when coming to an agreement seems like an improbability. Managing projects involves a lot of communication with various stakeholders, both internal and external, so these skills have helped me improve on the ability to spark productive conversation that help to move things along following a unified vision.
What is the most important thing to consider when building a product?
I believe that the most important thing to keep in mind when building a product is the target audience. More specifically, who are you building the product for and which problem is it going to solve for them? It is easy to have an idea, get excited by it, and want to start building right away. By always framing your plans in terms of the target audience and the intended purpose, it helps to prioritize the most important projects and to ensure the end result is unified and, most importantly, useful!
What do you like about working at Exempt Edge?
Though it is admittedly at times stressful, I’ve always enjoyed the open policy that Exempt Edge has had, where everyone brings their own unique skill set to the table and is encouraged to contribute wherever they feel that they are a best fit. We have a company culture that allows us to collaborate and share ideas freely, where there are no bad suggestions, and everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts. This sort of structure has allowed us to form a tight-knit team that works well together and takes pride in the services it provides.
What are the values that drive you?
I place a high emphasis on transparency – that is to say, honesty – as well as respect and collaboration.
Your favorite Books or Podcasts
It’s difficult to pick just one podcast but I’d have to say “Stuff You Should Know”. It’s a very light-hearted, good-humored podcast that provides theories and explanations about all sorts of random topics like the purpose of sarcasm, the field of nuclear semiotics, or what caused the decline of the Mayan empire. A close runner-up would be Freakonomics, also providing interesting insight on questions I often would never have thought to ask but am always curious to know the answer to!
What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?
In my downtime, I like to try my hand at creative projects. I’m definitely not artistically gifted but I always enjoy the process of creating something new or giving new life to old things. Social restrictions permitting, I also spend a lot of time catching up with friends and family. Otherwise, I enjoy brewing a cup of tea and settling down with a good book, the latest being The Hidden Life of Trees, which I would highly encourage anyone to read!
