Softscape reviews

I was recruited by Softscape CEO Dave Watkins in the summer of 2006. Clearly he had done his homework, because he was familiar with my background and experiences. I have worked for a number of CEOs in my day, and when a company gets to be Softscape's size, C-level executives tend to disengage, saying, "Recruiting is someone else's job now". In Dave's case, he built the company from scratch, and he still takes a personal interest in who is working there. It impressed me that he was so involved in the details. Upon being hired, I was placed on a small team and began work on implementation projects almost immediately. In those days, I worked alongside an experienced system engineer, and his help was invaluable whenever I got stuck. I learned a lot about the Softscape product, and it impressed me very much. The system could seemingly do most anything, so long as one was familiar with the configuration tools. It impresses me more with each subsequent release. I also formed great relationships with my customers. I was lucky enough to have several of them write letters of commendation to my boss, and this helped raise my visibility at the company. After about a year and a half of implementation work, I was promoted to a new position, called "product specialist", in which I assisted clients with post-implementation support as well as demos and training. My new team has evolved over the past year, and I now work with two junior-level reps who are still learning the system and getting to know the customer base. This is very rewarding to me--I enjoy making the people around me better and sharing everything I've learned over the past several years. There are many talented people at Softscape who know the system inside and out, and, more importantly, who are willing to help whenever they can. For anyone who has worked with techie people, you know that they can be surly or unapproachable at times, but this is not the case at Softscape. Even during busy times, there is a real team atmosphere at this company. I am always able to find someone willing to take time out of what s/he is doing to assist me with an urgent issue. I saw Dave Watkins at the Christmas party this past year, and he came up to introduce himself to my wife and kids. He told my wife that I have been doing a great job for Softscape and that he was glad to have me on board. He even joked that he wished there were a way he could "clone" me... That might seem insignificant, but no CEO is required to do such things, and it means something to me when he does.

Softscape's innovation and consumer-focus are what make it a 'stand-out' in my mind. The two phrases I hear most often are: “our clients are our first priority” and “we practice what we preach.” So it’s no surprise to me that the company is celebrating 15 years of growth and has a 98% retention rate. Behind the scenes, the President (Hank Watkins) and CEO (Dave Watkins) will stop by to say hi and see how you're doing and their doors are always open--I’m not sure many employers do that these days. In addition, there are a handful of employee benefits that I haven't encountered elsewhere that make me feel like a valued member of the team.