A day in the life: Kelly Adams, Ciphix Implementation Lead

Clients tell us the Ciphix work style isn’t the same as the average technology company – and that’s deliberate. In fact, we break a lot of established norms. Why? Because we’ve found “traditional” ways of working aren’t the best way to address the specific challenges our clients face. And we’re all about shaking things up.

For a taste of how we do it, here’s a typical Friday in the working week of Kelly Adams, one of our 4 Implementation Leads. Let’s get closer to Kelly than her own shadow …

… 09:00: Kelly reaches work, and her day begins with a stand-up with the development teams she’s working with. Fridays are the noisiest day of the week at Ciphix HQ, because most people are in. During the other days of the week, many colleagues visit the clients. (Yeah, finally we are able to do this again!)

It’s a refreshing change from the client meetings she has most days (many on Google Meet) and by the end of that first hour she’s caught up with both the RPA and AI sides of the business. 

10:00: Ops time! The weekly operations meeting has a point of difference from other companies: it’s open to anyone. Technologists, business staff, and management come together and run through upcoming projects, the latest client wins, what’s happening with client implementations.

The idea is that everyone in the company knows what’s happening to the business as a whole, whether or not it directly impacts their job. As an Implementation Lead, Kelly’s a regular contributor.

11:00 Client meeting. On an average day Kelly will take part in 4-5 client meetings, but on Friday she limits them to one or two – and usually succeeds. Today the first meeting is a Status Update, where Ciphix shows the development of the Digital Workforce so far; in other weeks, it might be a Kick-off (initial meeting where she gathers a client’s requirements) or an User Acceptance Test (where the robot’s ready for action). 

Status Updates are vital. In an innovative field like Ciphix’s, gaining the client’s trust and understanding is just as important as the product itself. It’s why Ciphix people (like Kelly) tend to be outgoing: a little more people-focused, a little more extraverted than average. And that’s a good thing.

13:00: Lunch, sort of. Ciphix believes in an open environment, and takes it to extremes – every Friday clients are invited to visit, work from, and have lunch at the Ciphix office, no reasons needed. We may be in the business of robots, but our goal is to make life better for human beings. 

14:00 Client meeting. The second client meeting Kelly facilitates this Friday is an inspirational session. Ciphix has developed over 10 digital employees in the first quarter of 2022 for this client, using both RPA and AI techniques. The goal of this session is to share the results of these projects with a broader audience and to inspire them with the aim of identifying more automation potential.

16:00 Imp Lead huddle. It’s mid-afternoon, and everyone who shares Kelly’s job title gets together. There are four people like Kelly at Ciphix – but they’re not really “alike” at all. Kelly’s an expert in business processes, fascinated by the events and connections that make up a company’s operating system. But her colleagues hail from Project Management, Artificial Intelligence, even Human Resources. The point is that there’s a diversity of thinking and approaches around the table. And they borrow each other’s ideas frequently.

17:00: The Knowledge College. With 50+ people Ciphix is at the stage of growth where employees often become disconnected from a company’s core mission – and we don’t want that to happen, ever. The KC is our solution: actual demos of recent rollouts are shown and shared, with commentary on what client problem each solved and how it solves it. Rarely is the story the same every time: some clients have more than 450 robots in their #DigitalWorkforce, each working on a different process. 

The shared understanding: there are thousands of problems a digital employee can solve; it’s our job to recognize them. Thanks to people like Kelly, everyone at Ciphix can tell you what’s happening across the business. Which is great for making everyone feel part of a team.

17:30: Office drinks. Yes, we admit it: like many Dutch companies, we enjoy some beverages as the working week ends. And why not? Many of these people won’t see each other for another week. As Kelly raises a glass, conversations about work start to fade, and talk turns to weekend plans and family gatherings. Work is important – but it’s also important to switch off and recharge. Proost!

CONCLUSION: The surprisingly un-robotic nature of RPA

When asked about her favorite aspect of working for Ciphix, Kelly states it’s the freedom: to come up with her own ideas and see them implemented, with the only judgment criteria being whether they deliver for the client. We may work with software robots, but for our people, it’s the most un-robotic company they’ve ever worked for. 

We’re looking for more people like (and unlike!) Kelly. Why not take a look at available openings and tell us where you might fit in?