S1 - Episode #11: Stefan-Theodor Popescu - Head Of Engineering - Smava GmbH
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About Stefan:
Stefan-Theodor Popescu is the Head Of Engineering at Smava GmbH, a leading loan portal in Germany. He graduated from the Imperial College, London, with a Bachelor's in Computer Science.
In his career spanning over a decade, Stefan has extensively worked on automotive and software technologies, also exploring full-stack engineering and scrum mastering. He's experienced in both the tech and sales side of the business, and has leveraged the same for his role at Smava.
Synopsis:
In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Stefan-Theodor discusses the past and present of recruitment and the massive drive to digitalisation in tech today. Stefan shares his take on collaborating with outsourcing companies and how to establish a connection with them, so their hiring strategies align with your company's goals. We discuss revolutionising work practices and cultivating new ways to connect and communicate in the virtual space to help improve employee productivity and well-being. Stefan also clearly explains why effective communication and team skills are deciding factors for any passionate engineer to grow in the industry today.
Key Takeaways:
There's a big drive to digitalisation today - companies are increasingly adopting online work methodologies.
There's a great scope for innovation and improvement in Berlin
The right outsourcing company would allow you to use their skills to solve YOUR problem.
Smava managed to create an atmosphere of connection and support by carefully analysing how their employee life was segmented in the remote working scenario and bringing in innovative ways to work and collaborate.
Productivity levels of people have grown considerably during the pandemic. It could be attributed to the time saved from commuting and spending more time with family.
It's essential to stay in touch and listen to your employees.
Do not confine your employees to limited space. Encourage your workforce to think outside of the box and innovate.
It's important to respect a person's mental health, especially during these trying times of the virus.
The only way to learn something new is by trying and failing.
Engineering is more about people than technology.
It matters more how you work as a team than how you work individually.
Communication and team skills top the list of skills needed by engineers today.
Episode Outline:
[00:21] Meet Stefan
[06:02] Why there is a massive push to digitalisation today
[07:56] Why Berlin invites a plethora of entrepreneurs to its wide and innovative community
[13:33] Stefan's ideas on working with outsourcing companies and how to cultivate healthy relationships with them
[14:33] How do you find the best outsourcing company for your requirements
[15:37] The difficulty working with remote teams today and how Smava managed that effectively
[18:44] How Smava analysed employee working constraints and mentality to devise effective means to work remotely
[20:36] How to reinvent your process, work and meetings to offer your employees more flexible ways to work
[23:12] How do you ensure your employees stay motivated at all times and encourage them to come up with innovative ideas?
[26:58] The importance of understanding and respecting individual mental health today
[30:50] The right way to bring changes in working technology
[34:31] It is only when you fail that you learn something new. Here's why.
[37:48] Why Stefan feels that the most significant thing in tech today is cloud migration
[38:55] Why engineering is more people-focussed than tech-oriented
[40:00] Why communication and team play are the critical skills for any engineer presently
[43:16] Expanding beyond geographies to grow your talent
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