Blog https://careers.appian.com/blog/ This is an RSS 2.0 compliant blog feed Copyright RSS en-GB Why I Joined the Appian Government Acquisitions Team: Jamie O’Toole Jamie O'Toole was amazed by the capabilities of the Appian product in serving the public sector. Read about his experience working with our expanding Government Acquisitions team. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/why-i-joined-the-appian-government-acquisitions-team-jamie-o-toole/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMT CS

Jamie O’Toole joined the Government Acquisitions team after 15 years working in roles supporting public sector customers. He said with the entire government looking to modernize, he saw huge potential in the Appian product which sparked his decision to join the growing team. 

We asked Jamie to share his experience at Appian, and how he’s seen the innovative, agile environment of the Government Acquisitions team in Customer Success. 

What were the factors behind your decision to join Appian? 

The public sector is an area I’ve been working in for most of my career. What drew me to Appian was the potential of low-code applications and the opportunity to work in an agile environment supporting public sector customers. I had been working at a large systems integrator for the past 15 years in ERP legacy software and thought there was a large degree of inefficiency in that model of how the software was developed, tested, and delivered, and the speed in which you could move things forward.  

How have you seen innovation drive how the Government Acquisitions team works? 

When I first joined Appian two years ago, we had four government acquisition solutions and today we have six. I’ve seen how we’re pursuing innovation in terms of expanding our set of options for customers based on their needs.  

The platform itself is really a big influencer in how we’re able to be innovative because the basic framework of the product allows you to make changes quickly. It’s fun to be able to see quick results when you’re working with a customer and I’ve been amazed at how agile we’re able to work. 

What example comes to mind where you saw that agile approach in action? 

I’m working on an implementation for a customer where we have a large series of training assets and manuals. We have about 40 documents, all different lengths, and more than 1000 pages long. One of our challenges was that we had this big investment in the collateral, but where should we store it?

A developer on our team had an idea to store it in the application and spent about a week working on creating a way to do this that would be easy for the customer to use in one place. To create an end-to-end interface in such a short amount of time was amazing.   

In my whole career, I’d never worked in a place with this kind of quick timeline and an agile environment that encourages that type of experimenting and innovation. It was pretty cool to be able to go back to the customer and show them what we created in a short time and they could immediately see how it would be valuable to them.

What growth opportunities are there for people joining the Government Acquisitions team today? 

I think the growth potential on this team is pretty huge. Across Appian, there is a huge desire to make sure the government acquisition solutions are as successful as possible. It’s motivating to work on a product that our leaders are speaking about in keynote addresses and see it as core to the growth of Appian overall. Because the company is so behind it, we’re able to work directly with the Sales team who are very invested as well in continuing to become leaders in this industry. 

I’ve worked for 15 years supporting the public sector in tech, on the defense side, intel, and the civilian side. The entire government is looking to modernize. Legacy infrastructure is not up to snuff to maintain long term. This is going to continue to be an area that the government invests in and the efficiency and flexibility that the Appian product provides is a big part of the story for modernizing how they work. 

What advice would you give to candidates considering applying to join the team? 

Do your research about Appian, and learn everything online about our government solutions. The resources and demo videos online are pretty invaluable because they actually show you the product and you can see visually how great the user interface is. 

Read about the interview process at Appian and bring your questions to each interview. I was very impressed by the quality and speed of my interview process. I appreciated the level of scrutiny because it reassured me that they were only hiring highly qualified, strong people. It’s great knowing the company invests that highly in its people, especially for someone like myself who was considering a career change after a lengthy time at another firm. 

Read more about joining the growing Government Acquisitions team.

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How Appian Invests in its Sales Team with the ValueSelling Methodology Chako Dickinson, Director of Sales Transformation, led training and roll-out of our sales methodology. Read how the commitment to a methodology showed her how Appian invests in their salespeople. https://careers.appian.com/blog/sales/how-appian-invests-in-its-sales-team-with-the-valueselling-methodology/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMT Chako

When I joined Appian, my role was to launch our chosen sales methodology and lead the global rollout. This kind of commitment to invest in sales training has become pretty rare in companies. 

Early in my career, I was lucky enough to be at a sales organization for 11 years, first as an individual contributor and as a manager before we adopted a sales methodology, then as a manager with a formal sales methodology, and then again after a leadership change, without a methodology. The contrast of experiences provided me with powerful insight.  

Other sales organizations I've supported operate under the assumption that they hired experienced salespeople so they didn't need a methodology. This thinking overlooks the fact that a methodology provides a construct that gets the organization on the same page with regard to how we approach customers. When sales, marketing, and other customer-facing departments work in tandem to support and nurture prospects and customers, the resulting customer experience is powerful. In addition to the strength of our technology and platform, our sales organization becomes a critical Appian differentiator as well.

I’ve experienced how challenging it is to work in a sales environment without a methodology. After working in sales management for 15 years and sales enablement for 10 years, I’ve seen how a common language and approach to customer interactions makes it possible to provide a much more meaningful and cohesive buying experience to prospects, and an efficient way to communicate internally.

Director, Sales Transformation - Joined Appian in 2021

Why a sales methodology matters.

This investment in the sales organization showed me how Appian is willing to invest in their people to hone their sales craft and improve the customer buying experience. That’s something I’m super passionate about. To join Appian on the ground floor of this investment, figure out how to roll it out, and train our whole team was something that sounded super exciting and a great combination of my career experiences. 

The ValueSelling Methodology has become part of the fabric of our Sales culture and the approach has been adopted cross-functionally across the organization. Every new sales hire is trained as part of their year one learning journey and we are beginning to understand how this helps our teams work together more strategically. 

A sales methodology doesn't necessarily teach someone how to sell; anyone joining our sales team will bring to Appian the knowledge, experience, insights, and personal style that has already brought them success throughout their career. 

A sales methodology provides a common framework in which we have shared expectations and a common vocabulary. It’s a simple, consistent, repeatable process that allows sales teams to be really efficient in internal and external communications.

I'm now certified to train our teams, and we continue to make sure all customer-facing roles are following the same approach in order to ensure that we’re approaching our customers in a consistent way that focuses on their needs. This includes Sales Development Representatives (SDRs), Solution Consultants, Account Executives, Partner Managers, and Customer Success Technical Delivery Managers. 

The goal is not signing a contract, it’s the customer realizing value. 

ValueSelling starts with understanding the customers’ business issue, which is their main priority and the metric by which their success will be measured. We ask probing questions to understand:

  • Problems standing in the way of achieving that business issue
  • Their idea of what they want in a solution, the value, both business value and personal value, of solving the problems they’ve identified
  • The power: who needs to be included in the conversation to approve and execute the opportunity
  • The plan: what elements does Appian need to see and the customer needs to have in place to ensure we are able to build and deliver value even after a contract is signed? 

We’re aiming to mitigate the customer’s risk in saying yes, because there’s a lot at stake. If they make a six-figure mistake, their credibility, profession, and job could be on the line. As salespeople, it’s our job to increase their confidence, mitigate that risk, and get them excited about implementing a solution that is aligned to their top priorities.

One of our virtual training sessions with the Sales team!

Be supported by your sales team and pod. 

Sales teams at Appian don’t work alone. They’re part of a pod of people who work together towards helping each customer be successful. For example, a pod typically includes the following roles:

  • Sales Development Representative
  • Account Executive
  • Solutions Consultant
  • Manager
  • Customer Success team member

Pods can also include the Partners, Legal, Proposals, Renewals, Industry, and Marketing teams. 

Because pods involve people with different professional backgrounds and skill sets, the common methodology and vocabulary become extremely important as a translation layer between them. Otherwise, the customer experience gets disjointed if they deal with a different approach from each person in the pod. 

Since rolling out the ValueSelling Methodology, we’ve heard success stories in how pods are able to specify each customer’s problem and strategically determine how we can support them. When it works well, the ultimate goal is to make our teams more efficient to really uncover the customer’s perspective and the customer really feels the difference too. 

We’re continuing to invest in other teams aligned with ValueSelling as well, like Value Engineering which is an operating model for driving economic value assessments that link to the ValueSelling Methodology. 

I led our customer panel on the value of working with Appian at a Sales team Kick-off in Orlando.

Customers care most about the value Appian can provide them by helping address their problems in the context of their most important priorities and the resulting value when working with Appian. Successful salespeople are curious and interested in uncovering the link between the capabilities they offer and their customer's most pressing needs. A supportive structure like this methodology is an essential element in an environment that sets salespeople up for success and ensures customers make value-driven decisions that they’re excited about.

Read more about the Appian Sales team from Belita Ferreira who leads our international SDR team. 

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Grow your Career on our Government Acquisitions Team in Customer Success Abhishek Shadangi, Area Vice President of Customer Success, shares the impact of working with public sector customers like the Department of Defense. Learn more about joining the growing team. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/grow-your-career-on-our-government-acquisitions-team-in-customer-success/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMT Abhi2

I’m leading our growing Government Acquisitions team in Customer Success which is modernizing federal acquisition processes and systems. It’s a phenomenal space to be in. We’re an innovative team, and now is an exciting time to join and grow your career in Government Acquisitions at Appian.

Growth and Innovation with public sector customers.

Our Government Acquisition solutions provide integrated support across the acquisition business process. Starting with our Requirements Management solution, Appian modernizes the process to initially capture and manage government needs, which feeds downstream processes like Contract Writing, Clause Management, and Source Selection. Appian puts user experience and compliance upfront. Our user interfaces are designed to be intuitive out of the box, and Appian’s solutions are built around the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Additionally, our clients benefit from our platform technology, allowing clients to use our low-code design to easily add features that support their unique business processes and mission requirements.  

We’re seeing a ripple effect as we hear more success stories from our public sector customers. We started in the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) supporting its telecommunications acquisition. Then we worked with the United States Air Force to successfully replace the Standard Procurement System (SPS). This led to our continued development of the Government Acquisition Management Solutions at Appian. 

Now, we’re leading implementations in customers across the United States Public Sector including at the federal, state, and local levels. 

A big part of our success is how our team is focused on solving customers’ problems in new and innovative ways, by exploring AI, low-code, and automation. Matt Berry, Manager of Technical Training Development, said he wished he had our product throughout his ten years in the military because he saw how it could solve inefficiencies in everyday work.  

While we're currently focused on the US public sector, we are looking towards expanding to global clients by supporting our Asia Pacific (APAC) region team in Australia and our Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) team based out of London. We have so much growth ahead and we’re only at the tip of the iceberg.

How Appian helped the US Air Force successfully replace the Standard Procurement System (SPS) and modernize acquisitions on Appian.

Before Appian, the US Air Force relied on legacy procurement systems built using legacy technology that was costly to maintain and did not easily support the mission with the functionality needed. To support their SPS modernization goals, the USAF selected Appian to implement an integrated contract-writing solution, called CON-IT. Our Customer Success team worked closely with one of our Partners and helped the USAF to scale in users, retire the use of SPS, and become the contract writing solution used across the Air Force. In its first year, we helped the Air Force save $80 million and supported more than 4,000 system users.

Now the US Air Force is one of our champions. They’ve attended our conferences, spoken on the main stage about their experience with Appian, and joined our Acquisition Summit. Since this implementation, Appian has been adopted by other federal and Department of Defense (DoD) organizations.

Join for growth, and stay for the learning-obsessed culture. 

I’ve stayed at Appian for almost 18 years and I think that says a lot about our learning culture. It’s a learning and growth-focused environment for people who are always asking, “what’s next?” That’s contagious and always challenges me to continue learning.

We’re looking for people who lean forward and who are ready to grow in their careers and take a bigger role than they have ever taken. People who join our team today are in the driver's seat and helping change the course of how our team will evolve and grow. 

There’s so much growth ahead for Appian in the public sector on the Government Acquisitions team and by joining the team now, you’re contributing in an active role in shaping what Appian will look like in the next few years.

Read about why Jamie O’Toole, Technical Delivery Manager, joined the growing Appian Government Acquisitions team.

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Why I Joined the Appian Government Acquisitions Team: Nick Bournas Nick Bournas characterizes the Government Acquisitions team as being in startup mode. Read about the team’s growth and career growth opportunities ahead for new team members. Nick Bournas describes the Government Acquisitions team at Appian as… https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/why-i-joined-the-appian-government-acquisitions-team-nick-bournas/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMT Nick 2

Nick Bournas describes the Government Acquisitions team at Appian as adaptable, agile, and in startup mode. He joined the team as a Technical Delivery Manager with over 20 years of experience working in federal government acquisitions. 

The team’s growth ahead, and the intentional programs that set Customer Success team members up for career growth at Appian are two of the main reasons Nick joined. He shared what this looks like and what you can expect when you join the Government Acquisitions team today.  

What interested you in joining the Appian Government Acquisitions team?  

I discovered that the Appian Government Acquisition Management (GAM) applications stand out from other offerings in the acquisitions space. Other similar products use traditional software tools that by nature are more rigid and difficult to adapt to the needs of each agency. The Appian applications are modern, low-code software that we create, implement, and work closely with customers to make successful in an agile, adaptable way. 

I’ve been working with the federal government in the acquisition space for more than 20 years and saw the growth opportunity on this Appian team. The fact that Appian is growing worldwide was very appealing to me.  

In your first few months working at Appian, what surprised you? 

When I first joined, I got pinged by many coworkers and directors who I barely knew offering to help, assist, and answer questions. It felt good to be reminded that you’re not alone in starting a new job, especially when you’re working remotely. This feeling of support and collaboration right from the start was in stark contrast to previous places I’ve worked where this wasn’t the case.

I was also impressed at how quickly and adaptable we’re able to work as an agile team. It feels like our team is in startup mode, with the support and investment from the rest of our large organization. 

What makes the team feel like a startup?

We’re a small team that’s growing a lot right now, and we’re able to be adaptable and act fast. In previous experiences with acquisitions at other companies, customizing something for a client used to involve months of design work and longer process workflows. Here, changes to the customers’ applications can happen within one sprint and that’s very exciting to see. Joining the Government Acquisitions team now also allows you to help build our team and its structure within Customer Success.

What programs are there to support new team members in growing their careers?

I’m a mentor to five people within Customer Success now and it’s a great way for new people to learn from leaders outside of their immediate team. I often get the question: what is the path to get promoted? My advice is to take on challenging assignments to show your initiative, make it visible to leadership, and show the impact. It’s common at Appian to transfer to other teams, especially within Customer Success. We have many of those opportunities within the Government Acquisitions team, not just because the products are new, but because we have lots of new work coming in the pipeline.

Within the department, there are resources like the Customer Success Career Compass to help guide your career path at Appian, and many other learning and development programs.  

How do you see the team growing in the next few years? 

The federal government buys billions worth of products and there’s a huge shift happening now to modernize their tools so that federal acquisition regulation experts (1102s) can work smarter and faster. When you join our team, you will acquire valuable knowledge on acquisitions and how the government adopts our software, and because this skill set is incredibly valuable to us you will have many career options ahead of you. As our team based in the US grows and possibly looks at expanding to other countries in the future, it’s a very exciting time to join our team.

Read more about joining the growing Government Acquisitions team.

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Why I Joined the Appian Government Acquisitions Team - Sabrina Lemire Sabrina Lemire, Customer Success Manager, moved from a government career to join Appian last year. Read about her decision to change industries, and how this helps her work with customers today. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/why-i-joined-the-appian-government-acquisitions-team-sabrina-lemire/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMT Sabrina 2

Sabrina Lemire made a career transition from government to the tech industry last year by joining Appian as a Customer Success Manager.

She went from being an Appian customer as CIO at her Naval command to being the person supporting other customers on the Government Acquisition team through implementing Appian. Sabrina shared what was behind her career pivot, the impact she has seen with customers, and why Appian may be a good move for other candidates considering a career change.  

What sparked your career pivot from government to the tech industry? 

I’ve always been interested in everything process-oriented and driving efficiencies in the way we work through tools. My career journey in the government was always about incorporating processes and tools together, which led me to lead the organization where we implemented the Appian platform to address our wide scope of business process needs. I found myself increasingly passionate about driving business value and wanting to dive deeper into automation, and I was curious about what it was like working on the industry side. 

Without the bureaucracy and chains of approvals within the government, how is innovation driven more quickly? How could I contribute on the other side, helping the broader scope of government agencies to knock down some of those barriers? It was important for me to find an organization that was leading the way with automation and government acquisitions. From my experience as a customer of Appian and someone who has learned the complexities across the acquisition lifecycle, I knew the acquisition technology suite was innovative and that I would be around coworkers I could learn very quickly from who were extremely knowledgeable in this field.

What is your favorite part about working in Customer Success? 

I can empathize with customers because I’ve been in their position and know the hurdles of modernizing tools in the government. There’s so much I wish I had known when I was a customer starting to implement Appian. I love the repetition in my role now and seeing similar patterns and challenges with many customers where I can bring my expertise and show examples of what’s worked for others and how to avoid common pitfalls. 

I’ve been able to help Sales and Customer Success coworkers by giving them additional context of what our federal customers are going through. This includes things like how we portray our messaging, how it’s different for government customers, and setting expectations early on, as well as throughout the implementation stage.


Sabrina Lemire presenting at the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International (AFCEA) West in 2023.

What’s an example of how you’ve seen innovation on the Government Acquisitions team?

In the public sector, there can be long lead times to meet security compliance requirements and achieve an Authority to Operate (ATO) to be able to use products like Appian with production users. It follows a standard Risk Management Framework (RMF) process where the team has to categorize their system based on what it will need to do, select and implement security controls, assess that they have appropriate controls in place, and ensure that continuous monitoring remains in place to maintain a robust security posture. Supporting our clients by sharing relevant artifacts and guiding them throughout the RMF Process to achieve their ATO is something that we apply to all of our DoD and Federal Civilian clients in order to accelerate them to live operations and value. It’s a complex process. 

We started asking questions about how our Customer Success team could better support customers with this challenge: 

  • What descriptions, diagrams, and data can we provide proactively to minimize duplicative efforts and reduce lead times?
  • What expertise is available to ensure full understanding of Appian software and security based on the client’s needs?
  • How can we collaborate within Appian to ensure that web of support understands various client needs and streamlines our internal processes?

From this research, we created resources and a playbook to describe our role in enabling the RMF process to implement Appian so that clients were no longer spending a lot of their time getting up to speed and navigating it themselves. It was an innovative solution because we saw it as one of the biggest barriers in order to help improve our customers’ experience and to get them to value more quickly. 

How did you see the impact of this work with customers?

We’ve started to see customers streamline their time to ATO which has helped them achieve the value Appian is intended for a lot quicker. I remember the feeling of mapping out a big business process map for implementing Appian as a customer and it was so overwhelming. Now, it’s absolutely fulfilling and exciting to be part of Appian, helping customers who are feeling that same sense of overwhelm. Helping these customers knock down complex barriers like the security and risk management process and making it easier for them, makes a big impact. 

The Appian Public Sector Success Management team at a meeting in November, 2023.

What advice would you give to candidates from a government background considering switching to the Appian Government Acquisitions team? 

If you’re working in government and join the Appian team, the industry perspective will be new for you, but it’s an exciting opportunity to be a subject matter expert helping many customers overcome similar challenges. For me, I’m glad it’s a valuable perspective that I get to contribute at Appian. 

Appian is leading the way in modernizing government acquisitions. If you’ve worked in the government, like me, you’ll know there’s an extreme need for modernization in the tools and manual aspects of processes. You can have so much impact at Appian by being able to help change the system. 

Read more about joining the growing Government Acquisitions team.

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Experienced Hire Interviewing at Appian: What to Expect and How to Succeed Directors of Talent Acquisition, Meghan Carpenter and Ed Cordell share how the Appian interview process works and their top tips to be successful. Read to get the inside scoop before your job interview.  https://careers.appian.com/blog/talent-acquisition/experienced-hire-interviewing-at-appian-what-to-expect-and-how-to-succeed/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 14 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMT Interviewing At Appian

We get it, job interviews can be nerve-wracking. At times, they can feel overwhelming, and there’s also a lot to weigh when it comes to making a big decision like changing careers! 

That’s why at Appian, we want to make sure you have everything you need ahead of time to prepare for your interview. We want you to be able to bring your best self to your interview and hope you can show up feeling prepared and confident to showcase your achievements and expertise.

With employees across the world, we’ve standardized our interview process on a global scale. Let’s break down the process, how to prepare, and what you need to know about Appian values.

The interview process 

While the steps of your interview may vary depending on your team, here are the main three stages you can expect.  

  • An intro call with your recruiter. 

First, you’ll hear from a recruiter for the initial call and general screening. They want to get to know you and what makes you tick. This is an opportunity for you to talk about your past work experiences, things that motivate you, the types of teams and environments that you have thrived in, and to dig into your proudest accomplishments. It’s also a chance to screen us—ask questions about Appian, the team, and the hiring process.  

Your recruiter knows the position and the team well, and they’re an amazing source of information. Appian recruiters are advocates for you, the candidate as well as the team you would potentially be joining.  

Recruiter screening calls at Appian are a way for us to determine if the role is the right fit for you and what you’re looking for in your next opportunity. If it makes sense to move forward, you’ll proceed to further interviews in the hiring process and we’ll provide you with feedback throughout. 

  • Interviews with the hiring manager, team and technical assessment, depending on the role. 

At Appian, we’re a results-driven, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of company so we want to hear about the impact and outcomes of your past work. Be prepared to answer questions about projects you’ve worked on that outline your skills. 

These interviews will be in-person at one of our office hubs, or virtual via Google Meet depending on the role. 

Depending on the team, it’ll be a mix of technical and behavioral interviews. Learn more about the Engineering technical interview here. 

  • Meet an executive. 

The final stage of the interview process is meeting with an executive who’s not in the department you’d be joining. This interview is an opportunity to meet with an executive within the organization, who has helped to shape Appian into the company it is today. Appian values are at the core of everything we do and will be in focus for this behavioral interview. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and ensure that Appian is also a fit for you.  

As much as we’re interviewing you, it’s a two-way street and you’re also interviewing us. We want to make sure you’re set up for success and get the chance to voice any concerns and questions. 

How to Prepare 

Before your interview, we recommend reviewing your resume and for each past experience ask yourself these questions. 

  • What was I proud of from this particular experience? 
  • What was the impact I made and the final outcome?  
  • How did I work collaboratively with others?
  • What would I do differently? What did I learn from that experience? 

We’re looking for curious, ambitious people to join Appian. Do your research beforehand on who we are, our business goals, and our culture. Come to the interview prepared with questions to ask at the end that show your curiosity and that you’ve done your research. 

The Appian values that define our culture 

The four values we live and work by at Appian are: 

  1. Work to impact (not just completion) 
  2. Ambition 
  3. Respect 
  4. Constructive Dissent (with resolution) 

When you’re reviewing your past experience, think about how each relates back to our values and how you’ve demonstrated these values are important to you.

To learn about what the values look like in action through our employees, here are a few stories to start: 

We’re here to support you, and through your time as a candidate, and then (hopefully!) as a member of our team. 

Don’t just take our word for it! To hear more about working at Appian, read stories from employees themselves on our AppianLife blog.

Meghan Carpenter, Director of Talent Acquisition
Ed Cordell, Director of Talent Acquisition
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How We Chart Career Paths in Customer Success at Appian Russ Bailey won a trip to Barcelona as an Appian Pillar Award winner. Read about his work helping others grow their career in Customer Success through the Career Compass and his trip highlights. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/how-we-chart-career-paths-in-customer-success-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT Sagrada Familia Exterior Day

Helping Customer Service professionals grow their careers is what makes Russ Bailey feel like he is making a difference. He was recently recognized with the Appian Pillar Award, which spotlights those who put Appian’s cultural values into practice. 

The core Appian values are: 

  • Work to impact (not completion)
  • Ambition 
  • Respect
  • Constructive Dissent (with resolution)

Winners receive a personalized prize and for Russ, it was a trip to Barcelona, Spain. We asked Russ about his work helping others grow their careers at Appian, and how he enjoyed his well-earned trip to Barcelona.

Headshot of Russ Bailey, wearing a maroon and navy striped shirt.
Meet Russ Bailey, the Director of Service Innovation Portfolio, Customer Success

What motivates you about your work as a Director in Customer Success?

At Appian, we’re always innovating and experimenting with new service offerings for customers. Our smart teams have plenty of new creative ideas, so we need a structured way to test and improve these ideas before we incorporate them into our portfolio. New innovations need to be desirable for customers, feasible with our resources, and viable to our business. Success for us is not when customers' expectations are met, but when we expand their understanding of what they can achieve with Appian.

Evolving our services is crucial to our future success. If you’re not evolving, you’re dying. Working with a team that’s dedicated to identifying and testing these new ideas motivates me. Evolving our services is crucial to our future success.

How have you helped Customer Success professionals navigate their career growth at Appian? 

We created a tool called the Customer Success (CS) Career Compass, which has really helped people set practical goals to help them advance their careers. The Career Compass lays out the specific skills that we expect from each consulting role in our department, at each level. 

That might just sound like a typical career leveling framework, but here’s what makes it special: This was not just a “top down” group of managers who came up with a list of skills and titles. We actually crowdsourced the creation of this framework with everyone in our organization. We wanted to establish a consistent, shared language that defines what we expect from each other as a community of practice. The Career Compass outlines specific examples that we expect across areas such as technical design skills and project leadership skills, from Associate Consultants to Managers. 

So, when a team member pulls up the Career Compass, they can look at themselves in the mirror and self-assess: 

  • Which skills have I demonstrated? 
  • Which do I need to work on? 
  • What are the steps to help me get to the next level? 

From there, they’ll start a conversation with their advisor or manager and set practical and achievable targets that advance their career. I’m gratified to have helped establish this framework way back in 2017 and to see the impact it has had on helping people grow their careers in Customer Success. It still structures and guides our career development conversations today. 

In the Pillar Award presentation Bob Kramer, Founder and General Manager, said “a lot of the superstars in the department started out on teams that Russ was leading.” That meant a lot to me. To be able to grow other people and help them in their successful career trajectory is an incredibly gratifying feeling. 

What were the highlights from your trip to Barcelona that you got to take as the Pillar Award winner?

The famous cathedral and Gaudi buildings were excellent. My son and I timed our trip so we could be there for La Merce, which is a multi-day folk festival celebrating the city's founding through the Procession of the Giants (puppets dancing to klezmer music), the Fire Run (a parade with serious street-level fireworks), and teams building human towers (just exactly what it says). 

Add in half a dozen incredible art museums, a hike at Montserrat, a day trip to the museum and the estate of Salvador Dali, and spectacular food all ten days.

I’ve always wanted to go to Barcelona and I’ve mentioned that to a few co-workers, so receiving this trip as part of the prize felt special and personal. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip! 

Group of tourists in a building with white pillars, blue and multi-colored stained glass windows with curved white ceilings.

Casa Batllo, one of the famous buildings designed by architect Antoni Gaudi.


Men and women performers dressed in black and red on the street in Barcelona holding up bright sparklers and fireworks.

The Fire Run, a parade with serious street-level fireworks, was part of La Merce, a multi-day folk festival celebrating the city's founding.

What makes you stay at Appian long-term? 

The best thing about working at Appian is the quality of the people here – but in a way, that can also be the most challenging thing. When you're working with people who are so impressive, ambitious, creative, and smart, that means you also have to be impressive, ambitious, creative, and smart. I love the challenge of that. And on most days, I believe I live up to it.

Learn about another Appian Pillar Award winner Terri McCormick, who won an adventure-filled trip where she hiked and snorkeled with turtles in the US Virgin Island National Park.

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Community Impact In East London: How Our Team Volunteers With Whitechapel Mission Michael Vanness leads a team of Appian volunteers to serve meals at Whitechapel Mission. Learn about its impact and his story of finding a company that shares your values. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/community-impact-in-east-london-how-our-team-volunteers-with-whitechapel-mission/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 14 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMT Screenshot 2023 11 13 At 1.48.55 PM

I think all of us at Appian want to make a bit of positive change in our community and in our world. When I moved from the US to the UK to join our London team a few years ago, I knew I wanted to seek out volunteer opportunities to give back. 

Every few months, we organize a team of Appian volunteers to support the Whitechapel Mission, which serves the houseless and marginalized in East London. I always leave feeling grateful that we can volunteer and give back, and work for a company that celebrates it.

When my team won the Appian Impact Award for our volunteer work, it felt natural to donate it back to the Whitechapel Mission. I want to shine the spotlight on their great work, it’s impact, and why it’s so important to work for a company that shares your values.

Michael Vanness, Solutions Consultant, and volunteer with Whitechapel Mission.  

Volunteer mornings at Whitechapel. 

Each morning, volunteers serve about 250 people. It’s a jam-packed, sometimes hectic morning so it quickly becomes a team-building activity as well. 

We’re able to help inspire a positive start to the day for the people we’re serving. That’s meaningful and that sense of impact stays with me throughout the day and even weeks afterwards. It’s pretty amazing we’re able to do this. 

We’re able to help inspire a positive start to the day for the people we’re serving. That’s meaningful and that sense of impact stays with me throughout the day and even weeks afterwards. 

Here’s how the morning goes: 

  • 5:30 - 6:00 a.m. Prepare, cook, and chat. It’s an early start but the houseless community is up early, and we try to best fit their schedule. That’s a big part of how Whitechapel operates to ensure we’re really helping the people we’re serving and their needs.  
  • 6:00 - 8:00 a.m. Serve coffee, tea, and light snacks. As you can imagine like any restaurant it can get chaotic with yelling orders back and forth. None of us work in the food industry, so it’s all a learning experience. I think it shows how well we can build and expand on the team’s working abilities. The London Appian office is a close group so we’ve had coworkers from many teams help, including Customer Success and Sales. 
  • 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. Serve a full English breakfast. This includes all the essential accompaniment of mushrooms, tomato, eggs, bacon, ham, and sausage, as well as hash browns and toast. 

We're very fortunate that we're in the position where we're able to help a little bit just to brighten someone's day and help give them a meal. But I think that interpersonal connection is all the more important. 

The team of Appian employees/volunteers in the Kitchen at Whitechapel. 

Impactful moments in the kitchen that stick with you.

When we’re serving individuals in the mornings, it’s very personal. We’re in their day-to-day life and everyone has their guard down which allows you to have really open conversations. 

For me, one very impactful conversation was with an individual who overheard us talking in the kitchen to some of the staff about what Appian does as a corporation. He started asking very technical questions and I was a little thrown off. A few of our technical team members started chatting with him and the conversation went on for a while getting into the details on how our Appian platform works. 

He started revealing his background of working in software in California. In the past year, he moved to London for work, fell on hard times, and ended up in this position. I didn’t expect a story like that or to get into the details of our technical product while volunteering. 

It was a powerful and humbling moment, because his background was in tech and not that different from many of us. It shows how many advantages and privileges I have in life and if you take a few of those away, or add in some tough decisions, or mental illness without access to help, anyone can become vulnerable. 

Everyone at Whitechapel is very appreciative of our help, and our team leaves with a sense of gratitude. 

Find a company with people committed to doing social good for the world. 

I’ve personally thought a lot about what work I want to do and how it contributes to doing good in the world. Your full-time job doesn’t need to be at a non-profit organization to drive impact in your community. Work to impact is one of our core values at Appian and I see that in a lot of ways we work and causes we get involved in. 

You can find companies that commit to a greener world through how they operate Employee Resources Groups, or Affinity Groups as we call them at Appian. There’s even a measure system called ESG, environment, social, and governance (ESG) practices, that evaluate how a company operates related to its social and environmental impact. 

Giving back to the community through volunteering has always been an important value to me and I’m grateful to have found a company that celebrates that.

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How AppianAbility is Making Work Inclusive and Accessible for People with Disabilities Lakshmi Shyamakrishnan and Emily Lee share their personal experience in AppianAbility in Washington DC and Sydney Australia. Learn the impact of prioritizing equity and accessibility at work. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/how-appianability-is-making-work-inclusive-and-accessible-for-people-with-disabilities/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 25 Oct 2023 12:00:00 GMT 849A9918

AppianAbility is building a community around support, advocacy, and education for those with physical disabilities or neurodiversities, their families and caregivers, and allies at Appian.

Lakshmi Shyamakrishnan and Emily Lee shared their personal stories of why the Affinity Group is important to them, how they’ve seen the group’s impact, and what accessibility and equity means to them. 


Headshot of Lakshmi Shyamakrishnan, wearing a white blouse and with a blurred background at the McLean HQ office.

Meet Lakshmi Shyamakrishnan.

  • Talent Development Coordinator 
  • Based in Washington, DC

I have a disability that is very visible, where I walk into a room and you can immediately tell that I'm a little person.

In the past, I hadn’t told people what accommodations I needed, because I hadn’t been in the kind of environment where I felt comfortable saying, “This is what I need in order to bring my best self to work”. It’s one thing for companies to say they’re inclusive and equitable, but very different to actually practice it in action. 

Coming to Appian, in comparison, was a breath of fresh air. At the outset of my interview process, I mentioned my interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The interview team was transparent about the fact that while Appian does have a number of current initiatives and programs in place, DEI is still an area of opportunity, and emphasized Appian’s openness to hearing and implementing ideas from new joiners and current employees alike. Since having joined, it’s been refreshing to be able to speak comfortably about my disability, and people have listened. Through AppianAbility, we’re having more of these important conversations about accessibility and equity for every employee. 

In my role as a Talent Development Coordinator at Appian, I lead new hire orientation and I talk about the importance of Affinity Groups in building our community culture. Since AppianAbility was created,we’re seeing more and more people feel comfortable speaking up and talking about how we can do things differently here at Appian. Witnessing this new level of comfort among our employees in itself has an incredible impact with respect to how we advocate for our people and empower them to share ideas about what they require to be successful in the workplace. 

The feeling of an environment where you can ask for accommodations.

It can be hard to ask for accommodations or what you need when you don’t feel like you’re in an open environment to do so. Having a group like AppianAbility offers people with disabilities and their caregivers the space to come together and not only help create but also foster that type of environment where we can get the assistance we need to do our best work.

At Appian, I feel confident about submitting accommodation requests -- all of which have been acted upon quickly. I’ve submitted accommodation requests that have allowed me to benefit the same as my peers when it comes to navigating our facilities. 

An example that comes to mind is when free food is offered in our HQ office kitchens in McLean, VA. Most countertops in our office are higher than I am capable of reaching, therefore the food wasn’t accessible to me, and in those instances, employees were always helpful in getting something for me. Fast forward to the present day: we now have clearly labeled stepping stools available on all floors in the kitchens to assist with access to cabinets, coffee machines, and water stations so that everyone knows where the stools need to stay.  

Having the ability to use a stepping stool has been a helpful game-changer for me; I now can get that free food the same as everybody else, just with a little more assistance to do the same thing.

Hosting Zach Shattuck, Paralympian swimmer and bronze medalist.

In our AppianAbility discussions around potential speakers and advocates for accessibility, it was a pipedream of ours to bring in a Paralympian speaker. We thought, how cool would that be?

Outside of work, I’m part of a national organization called the Little People of America, an organization made of people with dwarfism and their families. I consulted my networks and discovered a connection to Zach Shattuck, US Paralympian Swimmer and 2021 Tokyo Bronze medal winner, so he came in to speak to our McLean HQ office this past summer at an event in partnership with AppianRise! We also hosted a virtual event with Paralympian Silver and Bronze Medalist in Swimming, Sophia Herzog Gibb, in partnership with AppianRise and AppianWomen, with watch parties across our global offices. 

 From left to right: Lakshmi, Paralympian Swimmer Zach Shattuck, chair of AppianAbility Mandi Kelly, and chair of AppianRise Alex Yu, in one of the Appian HQ conference rooms.

Zach Shattuck, Paralympian swimmer and bronze medalist came to speak at our office.

For those who have heard incredible success stories like Zach’s and Sophia's: I think you slowly see the gears turning in people's heads when they hear about what similarly-abled people can achieve within a really supportive environment. It was a great experience to host others who are a part of my community, and I love the idea that doing so increased perspectives and expectations for what people with varying disabilities are capable of. 

Months after Zach came to speak with us, I still hear people talking about the event – it was that impactful. Hearing Zach’s story encouraged a lot of new perspectives, and helped people start thinking not only about what accessibility actually means, but also more about what members of this demographic are capable of. It sparked conversation about how personal and professional communities alike can best equip them with the tools that they need to continue going above and beyond. 


Headshot of Emily Lee, wearing a black blouse with a blurred background.

Meet Emily Lee. 

  • Lead Solution Engineer
  • Based in Sydney, Australia 

Disability awareness has always been important to me as someone who has epilepsy, and has grown up with a father who had a physical disability. Therefore, the idea of how to make workplaces safer was always something in the back of my mind. I’d never worked at a company that had a group like AppianAbility so when I joined Appian I knew I wanted to get involved. 

A few programs I’m most proud of with AppianAbility include facilitating a test run of a Disability Awareness program to educate all people managers in my department about disabilities in the workplace, as well as offering First Aid Training. 

First Aid Training at the Sydney office. 

My favorite event with AppianAbility was our First Aid Training last year where 12 of us completed our First Aid Certification with St John Ambulance. 

Some AppianAbility members at our office in Sydney, Australia, where four people are holding white bags with a red logo that says “St. John”.

Some AppianAbility members at our office in Sydney, Australia for the First Aid Training.

I haven’t had a seizure in the past two years since joining Appian, but I did share my experience about having epilepsy early on. I was amazed at the number of people who were willing to take the first aid training and now I know if something happens or someone else needs help at the office, there’s a group of people who are more equipped to help. It felt so supportive.

My manager is also very understanding and supportive of my work with AppianAbility. If I need to, I can take breaks during the day without feeling guilty or signing off early.

Give back with Affinity Groups. 

In addition to being part of AppianAbility, I’m a member of a few other Affinity Groups as well. Being part of one or more Affinity Groups is a great way to meet people across teams around the world and to give back to the community. Here in Sydney, AppianAbility has hosted a few social events and fundraisers where we raised and donated money to the Epilepsy Foundation Australia, which was especially personal for me. I participated in the Walk for Epilepsy last year as well. 

AppianAbility is not a group solely for people with disabilities; it’s a community for allies, too. More generally, the Appian Affinity Groups are a unique opportunity to meet people you wouldn’t have otherwise through your work and contribute to the inclusive community we’re building at Appian.

Learn more about one of our other Affinity Groups, AppianPride, and how they’re creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ community members and allies. 

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Juggling Two Roles: A Sales Leader's Journey to Setting Boundaries and Enjoying Life as a New Mom Transitioning to a new role can be challenging. This was especially true for Li Ma, who was promoted to her role as a Regional Vice President at Appian just two weeks before giving birth. https://careers.appian.com/blog/sales/juggling-two-roles-a-sales-leader-s-journey-to-setting-boundaries-and-enjoying-life-as-a-new-mom/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:00:00 GMT Li Ma Header

[This article was written in partnership with Fairygodboss]

Transitioning to a new role can be challenging — and this is especially true when you’re taking on two new roles simultaneously! This was the case for Li Ma, who was promoted to her role as a Regional Vice President at Appian just two weeks before she gave birth to her first child.

But how did she manage to balance these new roles? Well, the truth is, aiming for perfect work-life balance isn’t the answer, Ma reveals. “I think there's a misconception that women can achieve great work-life balance while maintaining a high-powered career during the earlier parts of their baby's life,” she shares. “I believe that no matter where you work, if you are an ambitious person, then there will always be a struggle in finding that balance if you want to exceed at work and at home. There are a lot of days where I feel guilty for not spending enough time with my baby, and other days where I feel guilty that I didn't give enough attention to my team at work. I also believe that it's even harder to prioritize yourself during this process.”

So, what can you do to address this as a working parent? For starters, “set boundaries and [enjoy] the precious moments,” emphasizes Ma. “Everything will get done, and it'll all work out!” For Ma, being able to prioritize different aspects of your life without feeling guilty about it is imperative!

And, “the best advice that I can offer new expectant moms is to be patient with yourself and try really hard to live in the present once the baby arrives,” Ma tells us. “Babies grow up so fast and, before you know it, you'll miss the newborn stage so much.”

Here, we caught up with Ma about what a typical day looks like for her, how Appian has been supportive throughout all the changes in her life, and more!

Tell us a bit about your job. What’s your current role and typical day like?

I am responsible for overseeing a team of six Account Executives as we create and manage our partnerships with the Department of Defense (DoD). My team is responsible for helping the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and the 4th Estate agencies transform the way they support our warfighters through innovative technology such as low-code. Along the way, we help Appian achieve its ambitious growth targets in a dynamic economic environment.

My life now as a new mom is very different everyday as I am still learning how to maintain balance between work and life with a 10-month-old. I usually get up with the baby by 7:00 a.m. and tend to his needs (changing, feeding, etc.) until his nanny arrives at 8:30 a.m. I then get ready for a full day of work.

Work is never the same. I sometimes spend the day going to meetings with customers, and other days I either work in the office or from home. My days are always filled with meetings, such as with my team members as I help them navigate their deals.

Other times, I travel downtown or to the Pentagon to meet with customers. It is also typical for me to go on business trips for two to three days at a time. I usually take a break from work in the evening, starting around dinner time. This is the time that I spend playing with my child, feeding him dinner, and putting him to bed. I finish my day by catching up on emails. 

Can you tell us more about this break from work you take at the end of the day?

The most important boundary that I've established is setting aside evening hours to spend time with my family every evening. My team and coworkers know that those hours are usually carved out for my family. I don't mind working late to catch up on conversations or emails as long as I am able to spend time with my family every evening.

What are you especially good at as a mom? What about at work?

As a new mom, I'm great at asking for help! I think most women might find it challenging to accept that they need a lot of help. I embrace all of the help around me, and I don't try to be overly ambitious by trying to do everything myself.

At work, I'm great at being a guide and mentor to other Account Executives as some of them are new to the company. I try to be great about empowering and enabling them to do their jobs.

Next, let’s talk about Appian’s culture. What’s your favorite aspect of it, and how does Appian aid you in achieving balance?

I've been at Appian for almost nine years, and I’ve found that the company has an extremely supportive culture for women, especially when it comes to our ambitions across the company. I've felt very grateful that Appian has empowered me to move into different roles, so I can constantly be challenged and work outside of my comfort zone.

Once I became a mom, Appian's leadership was very flexible in adjusting to my needs as I navigated maternity leave and returning back to work. Ever since I returned, Appian has been great by providing me with safe, clean, and comfortable wellness rooms. The company even provides Milk Stork services during my business trips, which has helped to significantly eliminate the logistical stress of shipping milk home. Overall, the culture here at Appian is very respectful of women who have experienced a significant life change.

What type of programs does Appian offer to new and expectant parents?

My company offers a lot of wellness activities. These range from meditation subscription services, yoga, a lively motherhood chatroom for connecting with each other, wellness rooms, and Milk Stork services. Appian is also great about being receptive to new ideas to help improve the entire experience.

Finally, why do you think Appian is a particularly great place to be a working mom?

Appian is a great place to be a working mom because the company provides so much flexibility in what parents need. Every new parent has a unique set of needs, especially during and after pregnancy. I've seen firsthand how the community of women at Appian has really helped each other tackle different challenges. Advice is given on various topic areas ranging from breastfeeding to day care needs. The company has all of the areas covered: maternity leave, remote work options, special reimbursements on childcare, and there's even an on-site daycare available at HQ.

Lastly, it's also very easy to reach out to HR to inquire about new services and obtain support from other leaders across the company to create new programs.

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Ambition at Appian: Breaking the Mold in Product Management When Alison Montemayor saw a gap in how the Product Management team was working, she advocated to create a new role. Read about our culture of ambition and growth at Appian. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/ambition-at-appian-breaking-the-mold-in-product-management/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:00:00 GMT 1L1A2916

Ambition is one of our values at Appian. But what does ambition mean to us?

When I interview people for a Product Management position, I often get asked: "What makes a successful PM at Appian?" 

My answer is always the same: excellent problem-solving skills. Everyone thinks problem solving is all about designing the perfect solution, but in reality the hardest part about problem-solving is thoroughly understanding the problem.

That's where I see a lot of ambition here. It's easy to build what people ask for, but we’re striving to build the best product for our customers and you can't do that without truly understanding the problems they're facing. It’s asking tough questions and taking the extra effort and time to get it right. It’s in our Product Management team digging into problems with curiosity.

We have that same problem-solving mindset in how we work on our team. I’ve worked at Appian for 11 years, and I’ve always loved the challenge of asking the right questions, breaking silos, and improving the way we work.

Finding the gaps in how we work. 

Most Product Managers at Appian work on a squad that builds features in a particular area of the product and they work closely with other squads that are working in the same area of the product. For many years, that was the model and it worked well for our needs. But as Appian has grown and our product is much more complex, we realized there were gaps in this model. 

We’re a very different company and product than when I started at Appian. Appian is now made up of over 2,000 team members across the world. With so much growth, this means our processes and structures need to evolve too. 

We found Product Managers were becoming siloed in their own product areas. Although there were similar customer problems we were working on, we outgrew our ability to collaborate effectively. There were just too many squads working in different areas of the product; it was impossible to keep up with what everyone else was doing. We were having trouble identifying these overarching problems and solving them in a way that would be consistent throughout the product.

Breaking the mold of how the Product Management team is structured. 

“Look, there’s something missing here.”

I said to my manager after many chats with team members about what Product problems they were working on. 

The squad model worked for years but now that our product was more complex and comprehensive, we needed a role for someone to support all Product Managers, and help find the pattern in problems. We needed someone to help integrate our overall processes to ensure every Product Manager is set up for success and we’re being effective. That’s how the Product Architect role was created over the past year. 

Similarly, at this time I was looking for a new challenge. I was working with my squad to build features, but also already collaborating more across squads and seeing how important this new role could be. I shared how we would better utilize my time and skills in this role. After years of working in Product Management at Appian, I had foundational knowledge that I thought could really benefit this new position. I received so much support from my team members and manager who helped advocate for this new role I’m in today.  

Growing your ambitious career on the technical path.

Not everyone wants to or is suited to be a people manager, and I have always appreciated that Appian has growth opportunities for people who don't want to go that route. In Engineering, there is a clear technical track and different roles on the management track. And more importantly, Appian was ready to listen when we identified that the people on our technical track weren't reaching their full potential.

Managers at Appian are skilled at fostering a culture of growth. They recognize that ambitious people will look for new challenges, and want to break the mold of how we work. It can be awkward and nerve-wracking to share with your manager when you’re not content with where you are and looking for something new. I’ve found I’ve always been listened to. For me, that meant creating a new role I saw an important need for.

Thanks to our programs that support learning and development, there are so many ways to grow at Appian and you can expect a culture of ambitious people committed to building the best product for our customers. 

Learn more about our value of working to impact, not just completion here. 

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A Decade Plus of Impact and Adventure at Appian Terri McCormick won a camping trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands as an Appian Pillar Award winner. Read about her trip, her impact at Appian over the last decade, and how she created psychological safety on her team. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/a-decade-plus-of-impact-and-adventure-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:00:00 GMT 1L1A5550

Terri McCormick describes her role as “helping others be better at their job.” She’s a Senior Manager of Talent Development and a recent winner of Appian’s Pillar Award.

The quarterly Pillar Award recognizes employees who embody the four Appian values in action with a personalized prize. The values are: 

  1. Work to impact (not completion)
  2. Ambition 
  3. Respect
  4. Constructive Dissent (with resolution)

Terri shared how she’s built psychological safety with her team and its impact, her camping and snorkeling-filled award-prize trip, and her upcoming adventurous retirement plans.

How the Appian Pillar Awards felt like the Oscars. 

Getting the award was both humbling and felt validating of a decade of hard work at Appian. After they announced it, I received around 140 messages in Google Chat of people congratulating me. I spent about two hours reading and responding to every single person. I felt like an Oscar winner looking out at all my peers filled with gratitude. It was a month before my 10-year anniversary at Appian so it felt like a “Lifetime Achievement Award”. 

Throughout my time at Appian, I have been able to create an environment where people can live our value of dissent and challenge how things have been done, which only happens with feeling safe and seen at work. The award felt like a celebration of that work, which was incredibly humbling. 

Making an impact that’s difficult to measure. 

I specifically remember an employee reaching out to me to say “hey I took one of your classes five years ago and I still remember and use the presentation skills you talked about.”

I didn’t even remember the specific class they took but the fact that they remembered fills my heart. Something you say might resonate with someone a month or even five years down the road and that’s one of the reasons I enjoyed my work.
I know the impact I have made at Appian is hard to measure. My role isn’t so much tied to specific metrics, it’s instead meant to activate a little voice in someone’s head. Maybe a manager now gives their employee a break because they learned about fundamental attribution error in one of my courses. Maybe they treat their coworker with a little more grace in a difficult situation. Maybe they end every presentation with “what questions do you have?” instead of “do you have any questions?” a technique that sparks more discussion, which is something I teach in my presentation skills class. Maybe it’s a gesture or the way they approach something with curiosity and compassion to learn their coworkers' DISC style and way of working. 

Caption: Training as part of Appian’s MBA Learning & Development program in London. 

Two ways to build psychological safety. 

To me, psychological safety means the willingness to take risks and make mistakes, without judgment or retaliation. 

Throughout my years, I’ve been able to learn when to challenge and speak up, and when to just listen and execute. I’m from a military background and I was really clear on the second part. And it definitely took me some time to learn about when it's okay to speak up and push back. I’ve worked at other places where there’s a cost to speak up. At Appian, part of my role has been to help teach people to speak up and challenge ideas in a respectful way. I’ve found two main ways to build that psychologically safe environment: 

1. “Blue sky brainstorm” for important, not urgent projects.

It is important to create intentional time for freedom of thinking on the big goals. Friday afternoons I used to block off my team’s calendar for “blue sky thinking” as a chance to go back to our team goals and maybe experiment with a project that was in its early stages. Oftentimes, these conversations, without the pressure of a deadline, spark new ideas. This approach led to new workshops in partnership with AppianWomen, and new processes for how our team worked. The Eisenhower Matrix is useful to categorize what work is important, but not urgent. Intentional time to be creative and free with ideas is crucial. 

2. More one on one meetings, fewer group meetings. 

I’ve found one-on-one conversations really help to ensure everyone is on the same page. As a global company, this means activities and decisions might take more time;  I believe this to be an example of “slow down to speed up.” Recently, I had a meeting with one of my colleagues about our manager who’s in Australia. We don’t always have time for all three of us to meet together so I met with both separately to help each of them understand my point of view and learn about their views on an upcoming project. As a result, I understood their ideas, goals, and priorities. This approach also creates space for deeper questions and any conversation you approach with curiosity is going to be more fruitful. 

Hiking in the US Virgin Island National Park and snorkeling with turtles, thanks to Appian.

The Pillar Award comes with a personalized experience and mine was a trip to a National Park. Last March, while it was snowing in Northern Virginia, I was on the beach in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I rented a canvas platform tent and during the week I hiked, swam, snorkeled with turtles, and more. I had a lump sum of money to spend on the trip however I liked, and I had to remind myself that this wasn't a business trip. It was five days where I really enjoyed my life and at the same time reflected on my career at Appian.
Matt Calkins often says “You have the right to impress your colleagues. Always create an environment where you feel inspired and motivated to do your best work and that your work is appreciated.”I think the Pillar Award really is the epitome of that.

 

My next move: To explore the US in a travel trailer. 

As my time at Appian comes to an end (Retirement, here I come!), I’ll be off on my next adventure. I’m planning to take a trailer across the U.S. to camp, explore new states, and be outdoors. 

I look forward to both meeting interesting people—and to be an interesting person that others can meet! Although I’ll  be a solo traveler, I know I’ll never be alone with so many other hikers and campers around me. I’m excited to make many short-duration and high-impact connections throughout these excursions. 

I’ve loved my time at Appian over the past 12 years, and I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to contribute my best work in a place that truly appreciates me. 

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Three Ways We Lead with Respect at Appian Stephen Vanaria, SVP of Customer Success, explains what respect looks and sounds like in our everyday work with customers and coworkers around the world. Read about how we lead with respect at Appian. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/three-ways-we-lead-with-respect-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 29 Aug 2023 12:00:00 GMT Screen Shot 2023 08 24 At 2.27.40 PM

Respect at Appian gives us common ground on how we make decisions and work everyday. 

I am about to celebrate my 10-year anniversary at Appian and if I looked back at my job every six months as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Customer Success, it would look like a very different job description. Through all the growth, the respect that people at Appian have for each other, our customers, and our work is a core part of what I love about Appian. 

Here are the ways we lead with respect at Appian and what it looks like in our everyday work.

1. Challenge our customers to achieve ambitious goals. 

“Listen, here’s what we understand your motivations to be; here’s what our motivations are, and why we want what’s best for you.” This is the kind of line you hear a lot in conversations with customers. I think there's naturally a level of respect that comes from putting your cards on the table and openly sharing your motivations.  Being honest and ensuring there is no hidden agenda opens the space for difficult conversations.  It demonstrates respect and builds trust; this ultimately builds a foundation that allows you to tell someone something they may not want to hear, but is critical to move things in the right direction. 

As a part of Customer Success, we have shared goals with our customers - to ensure applications built on Appian drive real value and impact at our customers’ organizations. 

If a customer asks us for a specific feature that we believe will not lead to the goal they want, we need to challenge the request to make sure they maximize their investment. It can be uncomfortable sometimes, but it builds trust. 

It sounds like: 

“It’s a great idea, but I don’t think it will drive the value we identified for your goals. Let’s map it out.” 

We recently went through an exercise with our Customer Success team in Frankfurt to collect feedback from customers all around the globe. We discovered a consistent theme was that customers love working with us because we’re known as challengers. We don’t have an order-taker mindset, and customers expect us to be honest. We’re always thinking about what will be most valuable and make the greatest impact

2. Over communicate internally between teams. 

In Customer Success, there are lots of times we’re working in areas where we’re stepping into each other's domains — with the Sales team and different divisions within Customer Success teams. Being really open and having constant communication with these parties, to the point where it seems like oversharing is important. 

For example, I was working on a project involving a customer in a different VP’s domain.  In this situation, it’s within my purview to directly reach out to the customer.  However, before doing so, I reached out to the VP to discuss, learn their history and assessments of the customer, and get their buy-in for my outreach.  Technically I don’t need to take this extra time to collaborate; however, in this situation, if I go directly to the customer without first talking to the VP, it’s a sign of disrespect; it suggests I do not value the opinion and relationships of my coworkers who know them best.

Other times, a Sales coworker will call me up and say “hey, I’d love to talk to this customer. What should I know about them? Do you have any concerns?” 

These kinds of conversations are a sign of respect. It takes time and it means I have a lot of my day communicating with my team and others, but it’s intentional and needed. I believe it’s critical for the organization to function well and have a healthy culture where people trust each other. 

Customer Success team members collaborating in a meeting room at HQ. 

3. Focus feedback on behaviors, not assumptions. 

We’re wired to tell ourselves stories; we observe something and, almost instantaneously, we tell ourselves a story to rationalize what just happened. 

It’s much easier to have a respectful conversation about something you observed, rather than a judgment or an assumption you used as the basis for your rationalization. One thing I am working on improving myself, is the skill of giving feedback. In this vein, it’s essential that feedback focuses on behavior you observed and not your inference about what caused the behavior. 

Appian values debate and constructive dissent. You’ll hear in meetings people disagreeing with each other and challenging others. These situations will come up where there’s a risk you could take something personally and interpret it in a different way, so that’s where giving feedback and staying grounded in respect is so important. 

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Why I Returned to Appian Full-time After My Internship Sabrina and Enzo made the big decision to return to Appian after graduating college. Read what was behind their decision, and the highlights from their internships. https://careers.appian.com/blog/early-careers-and-internships/why-i-returned-to-appian-full-time-after-my-internship/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:00:00 GMT IMG 0466 (1)

Sabrina Schipper and Enzo Saba were interns on different teams and working on different projects at Appian, but this year, both decided to join as full-time employees. They shared what they weighed in that big decision, their favorite projects, and tips for future interns.

Meet Sabrina Schipper

Sabrina joined Appian as a summer intern in 2021 while studying marketing at the University of Delaware. Now she’s back as a full-time Marketing Specialist. 


Meet Enzo Saba

Enzo was a Cloud Software Engineer Intern at Appian in 2021 studying computer engineering at Virginia Tech, and now he’s returned as a full-time Software Engineer. 

How did you leave your first summer internship feeling? 

Enzo: I was feeling grateful to learn from a really supportive engineering department where everyone is so interested in what they do. In just two and a half months of my internship, I felt like I grew more than I did in a year of college. 

Sabrina: I didn’t want to leave, which is why I stayed on part-time through college and returned for another summer internship! I loved that the work combined my creative marketing side, business, and my interests in working in the tech industry.   

What is your favorite project you’ve worked on at Appian? 

Enzo: During my internship at Appian, I had the opportunity to work on a feature that would allow our customers to access resources in their managed networks using a private hostname. This feature aligned with Appian’s great emphasis on empowering customers to maintain ownership and control over their data.

I was thrilled to lead the design and implementation of this feature during my internship, which gave me a taste of the software development lifecycle at Appian.

One of the most exciting aspects of rejoining Appian on a full-time basis a year and a half later was witnessing the adoption of the feature by many customers. It was so gratifying to see that my team continues to build upon and enhance the feature, and that I was able to contribute to Appian's commitment to private AI and data security.


Sabrina: I got to create and launch our monthly newsletter to our Appian customers, partners, and community. I collaborated with coworkers across the Marketing and Community team, like Ben Dudley and Lauren Papagalos on understanding what our community is looking for, writing the content, designing the creative aspects and visuals. 

It’s a way to keep our community engaged and share valuable stories and tips with them. Along with hearing feedback from customers, it was cool too that my brother who’s a developer and uses Appian, and my dad who’s a fellow Appian employee also got to see the impact of my work right in their inbox too!

What made you decide to return to Appian full-time? 

Enzo: It’s easily the best decision I've ever made in my life to be at Appian. It’s contributed to the energy I have in my life outside of work too because I’m excited about my job. The company culture is aligned with the ideal environment I see myself working in — ambitious smart people, who respect each other and are so dedicated to knowledge sharing. I thought: if I was able to learn and do that much in a two-and-a-half-month internship, what can I do by working here full time and contributing for years? 

Enzo participating in the onboarding training program led by Customer Success

Sabrina: I knew the growth opportunities would continue to open up for me. What makes Appian’s internship unique compared to other internships I’ve heard from friends, is that there’s an entire program built for interns to network, learn and grow. You’ll enhance your educational experience and make meaningful connections that are going to set you up for success in the future. I genuinely attribute basically everything I've learned about marketing to Appian—it's experience you're not going to get in the classroom. 

What factors did you weigh in that decision? 

Enzo: When I received my return offer I compared it to similar positions in the area and was happy to see that it had a competitive salary well above other roles. During my internship, I learned there are many parts of a job that aren’t related directly to your day-to-day work. It’s so important to build relationships with your coworkers and be in an environment where you can value your mental and physical health. Having intern mentorships, and social events like paintball and team dinners contributed to that and I knew it would continue as a full-time member of the team. Along with the technical challenge and learning opportunities, this was another consideration in the role and I knew I’d get that at Appian.


Team paintball! 

Sabrina: After two internships and part-time work at Appian, I was debating if I should try working somewhere else to broaden my horizons. Was I boxing myself in with all of my work experience at only one company? After two years with Appian, I’d had three different managers on different teams within Marketing and I knew there were so many growth opportunities that it would never feel limited or boring. 

Sabrina and her teammates at the HQ office.

Which Appian values stuck with you during your internship? 

Enzo: Constructive dissent was important to me because there are many things I’m approaching for the first time from a new perspective. From when I started, I can be open to challenging what I don’t think makes sense. I can ask: why are we actually doing it this way? What about trying it from a different approach? Even if we don’t end up going with my suggestion, it leads to constructive debates where my input is valued.


Sabrina: I always felt respected and supported, and that led to opportunities to learn and meet people from all levels of the company. For example, I mentioned to my manager Shiv that I was interested in our product content and he said our VP of Product & Industry Marketing would be a great person to talk to. That afternoon, he introduced us, we set up time on our calendars and I met with our VP, got to ask all my questions and he was incredibly helpful and welcoming. This happened multiple times, and showed how much Appian appreciates interns. I always felt like a member of the team and treated as an equal which was really important to me.

Sabrina, and two other Marketing team interns celebrating National Intern Day. 

What tips would you give to future Appian interns? 

Enzo: 

  • Be curious. Showing that you're curious during your internship and even during interviews will give confidence to your team that you'll be successful in your role.
  • Get ready to learn, A LOT. You'll get to learn so much during your internship, and it's important that you welcome all the information. Sometimes it will be really useful to take a step back to consider things on a higher level, and to ask the right questions. 
  • Don't rush through training. If you find yourself finishing earlier than your peers, take the time to dive deeper into the content that's new to you. It'll impress your manager and show that you really care about learning the basics.

Sabrina 

  • Introduce yourself to people and start conversations. If you’re interested in someone’s role or a project they’re working on, message them. It can feel intimidating but you’ll see everyone is here to help. 
  • Show up for the social events and join the intern mentorship program. Making meaningful connections with coworkers will set you up for success. 

Learn more about being an intern at Appian here. 

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My First Eight Months at Appian Mexico Victor Kuri sees the Customer Success team building Appian history in Latin America. Read about the growth potential, stability, and work-life balance that brought him to Appian. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/my-first-eight-months-at-appian-mexico/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 26 Jul 2023 12:00:00 GMT Appian Mexico Bowling MC903196

When you realize the potential for growth Appian has here in Latin America, it’s pretty outstanding. In my first eight months as Technical Delivery Manager, I’ve been part of building our Customer Success team and see even more opportunity now than when I joined.

So why join Appian Mexico?

For me, it was:

  • The growth potential in our Customer Success team 
  • Stability at a company I could see myself staying for the long-term 
  • Seeing the impact of how my work could make Appian history in Latin America 

We’re looking for people who get excited about being part of a small team now that has big plans to grow. In eight months, I’ve already seen what that can look like. 

Supporting global enterprises in our customer base. 

Although Appian isn’t well-known in the Mexico City tech industry quite yet, we’re not exactly a startup. When I’ve shared some of the global companies we’re currently working with, people recognize this as a chance to be part of something big.

For example, how Deloitte Robotics automates 100+ processes with Appian, or how one of our finance customers, Citi chose to collaborate with Appian. It shows the opportunity to work with customers in the entire North American region and on a global team with exposure to different cultures as well.

Eight months ago, I started as the third employee in Mexico, and this summer we’ll have 16 team members and soon moving into a new office space. That speaks volumes about our efforts and it’s exciting to think as we grow in 5-10 years, we’ll be sharing stories about when we were merely five people in a room.

Appian also has a growing number of customers and partners in Mexico, and now we’re able to help support them further as we’re building our Mexico City Customer Success team.

Finding a place to stay and grow my career.

During my first week in the Customer Success Academy, I saw quickly that Appian really makes sure people can focus on learning without distractions or pressure during the onboarding experience. Everyone is respected for their time and the different ways they learn. 

I think the focus on the well-being of employees, as well as growth opportunities, is part of why people stay at Appian for a decade or their whole careers. Rogelio Cerrillo, Director of Customer Success, has been at Appian for almost 20 years through so much growth and is still so passionate about his work. That really stood out to me during my interview process and showed me this is a place to grow long-term.

The 3 measurements of success: Impact, visibility, and effort. 

Throughout my career in senior management and customer success, I’ve defined three dimensions of how I measure my job: impact, visibility, and effort. 

In past experiences, the equation has been a very high effort and long hours, sometimes with low impact or visibility. I believe to have a rewarding and fulfilling work life, you need to have a balance of all three.

Here at Appian, I think my position has a high impact in terms of growing our Customer Success team. It’s high visibility as I work directly with our leadership team. For every project and task on my daily to-do list, I’m able to connect back to how it impacts the company goals in Mexico.

How we stay connected globally.

The onboarding program for new employees and processes of how our Customer Success team works is pretty consistent across different countries at Appian, and that’s something I see as an important part of my role too.

I don’t want our Mexico team to come back from visiting HQ in Virginia, and then feel disconnected and like it’s a completely different environment at home. 

Affinity Groups are one of the many ways we have stayed connected with other Appian employees around the world. I recently joined AppianGreen as a co-chair and we’re planning monthly Green Talks on different environmental topics and lunch and learns partnering with plant-based local restaurants. 

Being part of Appian history in Latin America. 

We’re a small team now but have ambitious plans to grow to become a large enterprise in Mexico. I think that’s a pretty motivating reason to join Appian and be part of what we’re building today.

Learn more about joining our team in Mexico City. 

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Traveling the Software Underground Here at Appian, our clear engineering career tracks have paved the way for every engineer who works with us so that they can choose a career track that's meant for them. Check them out. https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/traveling-the-software-underground/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 28 Jun 2023 09:00:00 GMT Header 15

Below is a scrawny student in India with big hair and no life. Barely scraping through his undergrad in Electronics, he should be focusing on his coursework. Instead, he stays up late every night in the computer lab, hacking away at utility applications he can sell to small businesses. 

He dreams of being freed from the tedium of his coursework to find himself blissfully ensconced in a cubicle — just him, a computer, and code. 

Fortunately for this kid, his passion is also his salvation. Despite unimpressive grades, his portfolio of utility apps helps get him into a leading grad school with a new major, where he can finally dig deep into the world of software engineering.

Yes, I was that kid (sadly, minus the big hair now). Since immigrating to the US in 1989 for graduate studies, not only have I been fortunate enough to realize my dreams, I’ve gone far beyond them. In the intervening years, I’ve traversed a twisted path of roles and titles, and worked for a lot of different companies — three of which went public. What happened to me happens to nearly everyone — the vagaries of life intervened and affected my career choices, sometimes serendipitously.

What I learned in my long and winding journey from entry-level developer, to Executive Vice President of Engineering, has informed how we map out the career options of our engineers here at Appian.

 

 

The tracks.

That’s our map for the Engineering career tracks, which progress outward from the bottom left. Each colored line represents our two main career tracks:  

1. Technical

2. Management

You can choose your next stop when you get to the transfer station of a Senior Engineer. In this article, I’ll explain what each track entails, as well as why it’s designed the way it is.

As to why it’s styled like an underground transit system, that’s not an accident. Starting off at a new company can be like descending into a subway station in a new city; at some point you find yourself standing on a platform trying to figure out which train to get on. 

In my career, I’ve held nearly every one of those titles, due to chance or curiosity. I mapped out these tracks based on what I’ve learned so that every Appian engineer has an opportunity to explore and end up where they want.

 

The technical track. 

Stumbling onto the express.

When I took my first job as a Software Engineer, my goal was to become an Architect — write great code and become a technical guru by designing and coding complex software. But, I had no real plan on how to get there. I was going to do the only thing I knew how to do — code. I was single and had no social commitments, so I coded all day and many evenings. And, you know what? This was probably the best job I had in my career — I can’t remember being happier.

Within two years, I shot up to Senior Engineer. I didn’t know if that would lead to becoming an Architect someday since it seemed so far away I wasn’t even thinking about it (and didn’t want to). But, fortune favored me, and I got a bump forward in my career. This time it wasn’t because of my code, but because I met my wife. I wasn’t thinking about my career at all, but after getting married, we decided to move to Washington, D.C. to be closer to our families. With this move came the need to find a new job, and I got hired into a lead engineer role.

Learning how to be a coder, firefighter, and strategist.

With this new role came new responsibilities that I wasn’t prepared for. Remember, my life was nothing but code up until this point, and now I struggled with focus. How does one write production-grade code while dealing with random interruptions and urgent customer crises? To make matters worse, my boss started including me in discussions about new initiatives and strategies, which tripled my meeting load. I had to quickly improve my time management skills, and while that helped, it was still a challenging overlay of different roles — coder, firefighter, and strategist.

But it was exactly the experience I needed. With it, I was able to secure a new job as a Technical Lead (the equivalent of a Principal Engineer on our career map). I was living the dream: designing high-quality enterprise software, attending technical conferences, and working with smart engineers.

The technical train: Knowing how to get there.

At Appian, your career options are mapped out. If you want to start out focusing on code, that’s all you have to worry about because you’re already on the right track. While I was fortunate enough to have the necessary skills and opportunities at the right times to advance my career through changing jobs, you don’t have to change jobs to move forward on the Appian career tracks. 

We have formal promotion plans that cover everything you need to work on to secure your promotion (in fact, we built internal applications using Appian for this process). Want to know what skills you need to go from Engineer II to Senior Engineer? It’s all documented, and your manager will set up a plan for you to track your progress toward your goals, and periodically check in with you to review and adjust the plan when necessary.

To support your progress, we do more than identify what you need to work on, we also provide the training to get you there. Within Engineering, we’ve built an entire learning organization to grow your technical knowledge and the skills you need to be an effective contributor within the department.

That’s important because your contributions become more significant as time goes on. With every promotion, you increase your range of influence — something that’s also mapped out. 

Let’s look at the career map again, but with labels for the expanding spheres of influence:

The labels of “squad” and “group” refer to teams and themes. While the actual spheres of influence are more fluid, what you see above illustrates that as you progress on any track, you can affect change over a greater area.

The Manager and Coach.

Not everyone wants to stay on the technical track. After building a strong technical foundation, some engineers find that somewhere along the line they start to enjoy helping others get stuff done more than doing things themselves.

While I was a technical lead, my wife and I had our first child. Sleep suddenly became the most precious commodity, and life was getting hectic. I had always been a highly-organized person, but now I was the designated “organizer” for my team. My success on the first project led to being the coach and project manager on the next, and this trend continued. This meant I had less time for hands-on coding which bugged me — coding was my first love after all.

Frustrating as it was, at some point I stopped stressing about it. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, or maybe being a father gave me more patience and perspective, but I started enjoying the new work. 

There was something exciting about being able to increase my impact by connecting dots across teams. Keeping the team going while keeping sight of the big picture was a new kind of skill to develop. Some stinging peer feedback also enrolled me in my first experience with communication training; I was sent to an intensive multi-day workshop designed to help technical professionals learn how to communicate more effectively.

The Technical Delivery Role.

Keeping the team going and clearing away obstacles has proven to be a rewarding experience for a lot of people, not just me. Because of that, at Appian, we created a role for Technical Delivery Managers. This role is still technical but is also the talent manager for their team of developers and assigned a business unit. They work closely with teams across the organization, especially the Product team.

While the Product Owner is customer-focused and ensures we’re building the right features, the Technical Delivery Manager is responsible for: 

  • Ensuring the team is architecting, designing, and implementing the feature efficiently 
  • Managing cross-team collaboration and dependencies 
  • Leading their Squad’s career coaching, mentorship and growth opportunities 

The Management Track.

At the transfer station of Senior Engineer, there’s also the option to get on the management track. The Technical Delivery Manager role is one of the options within the Manager title. 

They didn’t teach me any of this in school!

My experience running teams opened up new kinds of opportunities that I hadn’t considered before, and I ended up getting a new job as a Development Manager. I don’t clearly remember how it happened. I’d always wondered why we needed managers in the first place and couldn’t imagine doing something more boring. One-on-one meetings, interviews, promotions and terminations — why on earth would someone ever want such a job? I guess my boss at the time saw some potential in me and convinced me to give it a try.

However, the competitive trait that had made me a successful contributor started holding me back as a manager. Contrary to my instincts, I was expected to recognize and promote other people’s ideas and contributions ahead of my own.

The thrill of leading a team and seeing a big impact.

I slowly started to get a handle on the growing number of people and projects I got to work with. I eventually reached a point where I could propose and deliver major programs. While I had only a sliver of time to code, I discovered that spearheading bigger projects and motivating more people to deliver them fascinated me. Instead of designing software myself, I was now designing teams to build great software. As a result of my team’s efforts, the company I worked for went public.

It was thrilling to not only be a part of this experience but also be a huge driver of it. It was an experience I wanted to have again, and I wanted to continue on this management track, so I found a new job, this time in senior management.

Feeling out of control as a first-time senior manager. 

This was not as much an escalation of my previous role, but a new kind of role I wasn’t prepared for. Senior management is another step removed from development, and for the first time in a long time, I felt out of control. As a lower-level manager, I could make things happen. I could task people that worked for me. I could roll up my sleeves and jump in when needed. 

However, as a senior manager, I was managing other managers who didn’t want to be directly told what to do with their teams. I had to learn to influence people through layers of management, and it wasn’t something I was good at. My boss was the CEO, and he told me that though I had a lot of potential, I was falling short.

Thankfully, rather than demoting me, or worse, letting me go, he elected to pay for an expensive executive coach to help me become a more effective director. Over the next year, my executive coach focused on my weaknesses, like a personal trainer, and taught me about things you don’t learn about in engineering school, like emotional intelligence.

The management train: Empowering people.

At Appian, the management track is the longest track, and the one that requires the most non-technical education. I was saved by having bosses that believed in me enough to help me get the education that I needed to be successful. At Appian, everyone on this track gets that education. We have many programs, like Appian University and the Managers Portal, to support learning and development. 

Managers here focus on people and work to make sure they are getting what they need to be successful. They meet regularly for one-on-one meetings and identify growth areas to make recommendations for promotion plans.

They also strive to get every engineer into the magical intersection of what they like to do (red), what they’re good at (blue), and available opportunities (green). Getting people into this zone is critical for their job satisfaction and maximizes their impact.

Going off track.

No matter how you feel today about where you want to go in your career, there may come a time when you want to visit somewhere else just to see what it’s like. For a lot of people, this often means having to leave their job just to explore another option.

Train hopping.

After 15 years of being the cost center of the companies I worked for, I started wondering what things looked like on the revenue side. When I occasionally presented our product vision or demonstrated our software, people complimented me on my communication skills and infectious enthusiasm. 

I wanted to try consulting, where I could interact directly with prospects, customers, and partners. I didn’t have this opportunity at my current job, but a former colleague invited me to join her at her boutique consulting company. I was in a comfortable place where I could try it out, so I accepted the offer.

New challenges in a new field of work

I had a lot of confidence going in — after all, I’d met every challenge I’d faced before, and had overcome them in style. I’d developed a wide range of skills and found great success. So, it was no surprise that I hit the ground running with the first project I was placed on: help a big customer bring agile development to their workforce. No problem. I went in and I assessed the situation and came up with a storm of amazing recommendations, all of which were enthusiastically received.

On the second cycle, I returned to the customer and saw that none of them had yet been implemented. I attacked that layer, reinforcing the value of my previous recommendations and identifying a number of process problems that resulted in the lack of follow-through. This volley was not well received, to say the least. 

Keep in mind, I was used to working at software companies, and driving efficiency and improving processes was how I made those places more successful. That was not the same role I needed to play here. The customer said something to the effect of: 

  • “While we like Suvajit’s energy, he’s overly aggressive and doesn’t understand how we work. We don’t want him as the primary on this.” 

And like that, for the first time in my life, I was removed from a project. It felt like getting fired. I was devastated.

Like all challenges I’d faced before, I was determined to figure this out and get good at it. This time, what I had to learn wasn’t a different way of saying something, but when not to speak. I swore I would master the “two ears and one mouth” (listen more, talk less) consulting mantra. And for the next six months, I wore a green wristband to remind me to talk less in meetings with customers.

Learning what wasn’t for me. 

I bounced back on my next assignment and repaired my confidence by getting good at this consulting thing. But, I also learned along the way that it really wasn’t for me. I yearned to go back to my roots and rejoin a product company. I was utterly fed up with chasing customer budgets and sales targets as a Managing Consultant. The long commute was also wearing me down, as was the frequent traveling. It put a strain on my whole family — we had recently welcomed our second child. Serendipitously, I got a call from a former boss with a new opportunity: Chief Architect at a company called Eloqua with the goal of transforming their decades-old platform. I took the job.

Even though I didn’t stay at the consulting company, it became a functional part of my experience. After the meandering of my professional life, I knew I had acquired the diversity of skills needed to pursue this big bet. I transitioned into the role of a Vice President at Eloqua and built an awesome team that developed award-winning software, which fundamentally powered the company’s IPO.

Safe train hopping.

Appian is a big place with many stellar departments and careers to be had. One of the reasons we’ve become so successful is our fundamental belief in retaining the best people. If you reach a point in your career where you wonder if maybe you’d like to try a different career, you’ll find it’s not just OK, it’s welcomed. 

Appian founders and executives actively support transfers between departments. This allows employees to try different jobs without having to leave the company. It also helps with cross-pollination of ideas and best practices. 

There are many people who have moved around within Appian and found a spot that is perfect for them, like:

  • Aleksi White who started as a Cloud Support Engineer and is now a Technical Mentor, or
  • Tanvee Badheka who started as a Quality Engineer intern and is now a Software Engineer II. 

They were able to try a new position and team, without the need to put their career stability at risk by leaving a job just to explore another option. Just within Engineering, we have many people who have moved between Product Management, Software Engineering, and Quality Engineering.

The map is not the territory.

Even though we make engineers wait until they’ve acquired a good amount of experience before giving them the opportunity to choose a new track, sometimes it isn’t until after a few more stops that they realize they want to go another way. If you decide, after getting to Principal Engineer, that you want to try management, you can!

However, there is no direct route to Senior Manager from Principal Engineer; you still have to make the transfer to the same place, which means you would work toward being a Technical Mentor or Manager first and get the appropriate training.

What’s your track?

Even as a busy Appian executive, I try to stay in touch with my inner technologist. I still code when I can to scratch my technical itch and to retain my efficacy as a software leader. I still personally manage some initiatives from time to time. I work closely with company founders and stakeholders to refine our product strategy. I partner with Engineering managers and leaders to foster a great culture, hire solid engineers, and encourage them to have fun while delivering software.

My life didn’t unfold as I had imagined, as I zigzagged my way through my career. Some of the best people I worked with have expressed gratitude about being paid to do what they love to do. My parting guidance is to discover where you want to go and go there. 

Don’t be afraid to hop onto different trains as your interests evolve; we’ve made that exploration safe. It has certainly given me a very fulfilling professional life.

Learn more about working in Engineering on our AppianLife blog. 

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A Decade In Review: Celebrating Ten Years of Appian Being a Top Workplace Award-Winner Hannah and Marco share their personal stories of being part of Appian’s growth from a small startup to a global tech leader, and why they’ve stayed here to grow their career. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/a-decade-in-review-celebrating-ten-years-of-appian-being-a-top-workplace-award-winner/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Mon, 19 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMT Blogheader2 (1)

When Marco Pescosolido joined Appian in 2001, it was a two-year-old startup with a handful of ambitious people and no Engineering team.

When Hannah Saunders joined in 2008, Appian was about 100 people with two offices.

They were both drawn to Appian because of the long-term vision and drive of the founders. They saw the potential of what the product could be and wanted to be part of a big impact.

Today Appian has over 2000 employees worldwide, and is celebrating ten years in a row of being named a Top Workplace award-winner in Washington, DC by The Washington Post. What began as a low-code platform startup, is now an end-to-end unified process automation platform helping customers around the world. 

Read on as we explore a decade-long trip down memory lane with Hannah and Marco. They will share their personal stories of how Appian has changed over the years and why they chose to stay and advance their careers.


Meet Hannah Saunders

  • Senior Manager, Proposal Team  
  • Joined as Office Manager in 2008

It was exciting to be part of Appian in its early days when we had progressive plans for growth. At the time of my joining, there was no Appian Cloud, and the term "low-code" was just emerging. Cast your mind back to 2008 when the way we used the internet was vastly different.

Now I’ve been through four office moves, eight different roles, and countless product and people changes. Going public in 2017 was a surreal moment. It was such a big career milestone because it felt like we’d made it, that long-term vision I’d joined for. That was a catalyst for our global growth that’s always focused on ambitious goals and the greatest impact.

Despite getting so much larger, I can still chat with the founders. My team still has a small community close-knit feeling. I think everybody wants to feel needed and valued at work, and I still feel like each person at Appian is able to see how their contribution is part of our bigger mission. 

Going global with the Proposals team. 

I’ve always seen my team as a microcosm of the organization because we work with every department and are part of every customer deal. When prospects or existing customers send us requests or solicitations, it’s the Proposal team that drives the response.

When I started as a Proposal Coordinator in 2010, there were two of us in Virginia. The team has expanded both in geography and in function to meet the demands of the market, and what our customers need. Information security for example is one of these new functions as it’s become such an important aspect of operating in the cloud nowadays, especially with customers in regulated fields like the public sector, financial services, and life sciences. 

As Appian grew globally, we needed team members who understood each country’s regulatory and legal needs. With different countries came new cultural differences and languages too. Now I lead our Proposals team of 11 people across five countries, and we manage requests in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and more. 

A few proposal team members eating lunch together at our headquarters. 

What support feels like when you need it most. 

It's easy to be supportive when things are easy, right? It’s a lot harder when you’re going through a tough time, or something goes wrong. At Appian, nobody here has ever faltered during those times. That's really huge and you only realize it when you’re going through it. 

For example, proposals are very deadline-oriented, and being able to adapt quickly is important, but can sometimes be stressful or chaotic. A while ago, I was responding to an RFP in an online portal and as I was checking my work the day before it was due, I realized I’d missed something and it needed to be redone. The deadline was in 24 hours.

I wrote to my team, and they immediately dropped everything else and rallied together to help me. We got it done well before the deadline and we won the deal. It’s those times where you realize you’re in a safe environment to share when something doesn’t go as planned. The attitude on our team is that we’re all working together towards the same goal and our first instinct will always be to provide support. 

On the personal side, I had back surgery last year and my team took things off my plate and allowed me to fully focus on recovery. I’ve seen coworkers do the same for others going through really difficult health situations. You can’t put a value on that kind of support and what it feels like. 

The people are the reason I stay at Appian and it’s these moments that remind me of why. We focus on hiring smart, caring, ambitious people. Thanks to being surrounded by motivating people, I can’t help but marvel at how far we’ve come.

Meet Marco Pescosolido

  • VP Engineering 
  • Joined as Consultant in 2001 

When I joined, Appian was explicit about looking for people of all educational backgrounds who wanted to make a difference in the world with technology. I was an electrical engineer and had been coding since childhood. I wanted to work in an intellectually stimulating environment with a diverse group of people, and that’s what I found at Appian. 

Over the past ten years, there has been a gigantic transformation. Our product is unrecognizable from a decade ago, which is something to celebrate! We always want to invest in the product and transform it over time.

Building the first version of our product and designing the Engineering team. 

Appian is not the kind of product you build once and you are done. It’s a platform to build software applications, it’s an operating system for enterprises, and an engineer’s dream project. You have to touch the entirety of the stack, right from the infrastructure, to databases, to the middle tier and the user interface. Our product exists because we’re always aiming to make applications ten times better and easier to build than you can achieve with traditional development tools. You really have to invent new things in every way, it’s not enough to conform to whatever is already out there.

This was our mindset when we built the product from scratch and still holds true. We were in the building mode days in the early 2000s, but I think it’s also this approach that has made us a tech industry leader today.

After a few years of building the product, I took on the Chief Architect role. When we started growing rapidly, I wanted to help not just on the technical side but with designing the engineering organization, so I jumped onto the management track.

We were intentional about creating processes that would scale and allow teams to have ownership over different parts of the product. We thought about the entirety of how we want to work long-term which I would say is a big reason we’ve been able to retain the culture of active collaboration we have today.

On the leadership team, we work hard to ensure everybody has the opportunity to shine and grow. There are growth opportunities at every level that don’t only involve being a people leader. We have Engineering guilds, Affinity Groups, and many ways to grow your career in Engineering.

Testing ideas with smart people, and asking them to find the holes. 

I believe good ideas happen because we put them to the test with other people we respect. We invite feedback and ask coworkers to find the holes and gaps, and dig into the corners and edge cases we haven’t thought about. 

Appian is the farthest you’ll find to a feature factory where someone hands you a design and you’re expected to just implement it no questions asked. It’s normal in an everyday meeting to challenge things and to ask hard questions.

This has led to some of our best ideas and milestones over the years. A few highlights that stick with me are: 

  • Creating a web-based process designer in the early days.
  • Moving to the cloud when it was still very new and innovative. We were well ahead of our competitors and worked quickly to make this happen. 
  • The invention of SAIL, our front-end technology, was transformative because it really defined us as a low-code platform.
  • Focusing on web APIs and open integrations helped us to find our place at the center of the enterprise tech stack.
  • Our Data Fabric is the latest in a long series of innovations. It lets you do way more with data already in your enterprise than the source systems were ever designed to do.

I’ve been at Appian almost my entire career because I’ve always got to build and invent new things here. The ambitious people and the ability to make a difference to transform our product are what continue to motivate me in my work today. 

Learn more about ways to grow your career at Appian, and the impact of our learning and development programs. 

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Qualipalooza 2023 Recap At Appian, quality is our top priority, and last month we wrapped up an incredible 8th edition of Qualipalooza! This annual Engineering tradition is all about enhancing the quality of our platform, and this year was bigger and better than ever… https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/qualipalooza-2023-recap/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 13 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMT BZ5A8330 (1)

At Appian, quality is our top priority, and last month we wrapped up an incredible 8th edition of Qualipalooza! This annual Engineering tradition is all about enhancing the quality of our platform, and this year was bigger and better than ever before. Here's a recap of the event:

🌎 Global Reach: Teams from all around the world participated, breaking boundaries and collaborating across continents. Together, we made a worldwide impact on improving the quality of Appian.

📆 Month-Long Celebration: Qualipalooza lasted an entire month, giving our teams ample time to choose a specific week during the month where they could dive deep into their chosen themes. Appian engineers focused on four key areas: better tests, better supportability, better tools, and better process automation. By targeting these areas, we aimed to enhance our platform's performance and user experience.

💡 Inspiring Innovation: Qualipalooza sparked creativity and innovation across all teams. Our talented engineers put their heads together, brainstormed ideas, and implemented improvements that will elevate the quality of Appian to new heights. Our CEO, Matt Calkins also gave a keynote on Appian quality. The team is excited to share the fruits of their hard work with all our users.

🌟 Making an Impact: By dedicating an entire week to their chosen themes, our teams made a tangible impact on the quality of our platform. They enhanced automation test suites, improved maintainability of our product, built powerful tools and improved the quality of code that will help support our customers more efficiently.

Thank you to all the incredible teams who participated in this year's Qualipalooza! Your dedication and commitment to quality are truly inspiring.

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Company Week Recap (Q1 2023) Get a sneak peak into the events that took place during our Q1 2023 Company Week. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/company-week-recap-q1-2023/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Fri, 02 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMT A S2A5317 (1) (1)

Every quarter, Appian hosts a "Company Week" to recap the impact our team made in the previous quarter, present company awards and host events that celebrate our employees and our values. This quarter our “Company Week” focused on teamwork, strengthening our employee bonds and fostering a sense of unity. Here's a quick recap of the exciting events that took place.

 

Quarterly meeting & employee awards.

Our CEO Matt Calkins traveled and presented the quarterly meeting from our brand new office in London. Employees are getting settled into the space and utilizing amazing amenities like the sky garden rooftop. We also recognized the outstanding efforts and achievements of our small elite teams and their commitment to our Appian Values.


AppianWomen self defense class.

AppianLife hosted this class at HQ to empower our incredible women with self-defense skills, ensuring safety, and confidence both inside and outside of the workplace.

Company-wide field day.

Embracing the spirit of collaboration and friendly competition, we united, had a blast, and deepened our camaraderie beyond the office walls. The maroon team came out on top with the trophy.

 

Thank you to everyone who made this week unforgettable. Let's continue to thrive and achieve greatness through teamwork!

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Growing My Customer Success Career and Musical Skills, Thanks to Appian Tarun is the recipient of our Appian Pillar Award. As part of his prize, he received a piano and concert tickets. Learn why this award holds such profound significance for him, and delve into his ten-year career journey with Appian Customer Success. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/growing-my-customer-success-career-and-musical-skills-thanks-to-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 30 May 2023 12:00:00 GMT Header3

When Tarun Abraham won the Appian Pillar Award, he said it felt like “a manifestation of my dreams.” 

Tarun is a Senior Technical Delivery Manager on our Customer Success team who’s been at Appian for over ten years. Outside of work, he enjoys playing the piano. He started learning to play a few years ago on an electric keyboard. Recently, he won a brand new piano as part of the Appian Pillar Award prize. 

The Pillar Award recognizes employees who embody the four Appian values in action with a personalized prize. The values are: 

  1. Work to impact (not completion)
  2. Ambition 
  3. Respect
  4. Constructive Dissent (with resolution)

We asked Tarun about the emotional moment he won the award, his career journey at Appian, and his most impactful projects. 


Congrats! How did it feel to receive the Pillar Award? 

It was the best feeling! At that moment, it made me realize all the hard work I’ve put in over the past ten years. Bob Kramer, Founder and General Manager at Appian, presented the award and was able to condense years into a ten-minute speech about my milestones and strengths. The speech left me feeling so proud and motivated. 

I’m someone who loves learning, both inside and outside of work. I think it’s important to try being a beginner at things even as an adult. So, in my 30s I decided to learn to play the piano. Having never played a musical instrument before, I purchased an electric keyboard and started taking lessons. A piano is expensive and as much as I always wanted one, I didn’t think I’d reach a point where I could justify that kind of investment. So when I received a piano as part of this award, it was a dream come true. It was so personal and my team knew how much learning piano meant to me. Now it’s a tangible piece of Appian that will always live in my home! 

In your over ten years at Appian, how have you seen the company change and grow?

I’ve seen our vision become more mature, but it’s always been about delivering solutions quickly to our customers to help address their business needs. I joined Appian in 2011 right out of college. During the interview, our VP of Product Marketing built a simple application through Appian in about a minute that had a form to take in data and display information. I was then able to use the application in real-time on my phone which blew me away. The fact that Appian had that kind of technological capability in 2011 was outstanding. I have seen adjustments to the platform happen over the past decade. I’ve learned a lot around customers’ needs, and still see customers having that same reaction to Appian as I did in my interview—amazed at what our product can do. 

I’ve found that many software providers look to build the best technology, but our focus is so much more than that. We ensure our product provides the most value to our customers, and adjust our technology based on that. Anyone could build cool product features, but it won’t matter if it’s not useful. We provide that tailored, personalized experience to our customers.

What’s a recent project at Appian you worked on that you're especially proud of?

We worked with a pet insurance firm whose main line of business was claims processing. During the pandemic, the firm experienced exponential growth and they planned to grow at the rate of 25% in revenue in the coming year. To support this growth target, they wanted to build new products and services, as well as expand to newer geographies. They also wanted to reduce their overhead costs. So claims automation was a very important aspect of their growth strategy.

Before Appian came into the picture, 60% of claims received by the firm for adjudication were sent by the pet owner via email to a common mailbox. These emails were manually retrieved and classified as claims by a dedicated team and then sent over to another team for adjudication. The process was very manual and not sustainable to support their growth strategy.

We automated the process by systematically retrieving the emails along with the attachments using our automation features, classifying the documents as claim related using our AI capabilities, and then finally sending the document to a custom machine learning model for automatic adjudication. Thanks to Appian, manual intervention by staff is only needed when there’s an exception.

I was excited to work on this project and it felt like a fun science project. I got to experiment with our AI features and saw the direct impact on how our customers could reduce claim costs through our technology with minimal human intervention. I learned that a lot of the work that happens in the pet insurance field is very innovative and then often gets applied to other industries in healthcare. I’m hoping the automation and design patterns we’ve established on this project can be used in other areas.

What makes you stay at Appian long-term? 

I’ve worked at Appian my whole career and there are three main reasons: 

1. The smart, bold people. 

When you’re trying to solve a difficult technical problem, you want to be surrounded by people who will challenge you and think of things in a different way. Appian has the smartest people I know who always bring a perspective to every meeting. It may be different than yours but people are willing to share, have an opinion, and want to understand your point of view. 

2. The commitment to our values.

An important part of a workplace culture is mutually respecting each other and diversity. I grew up in India and I’ve never felt any bias based on where I’m from. Your opinions are always valid. Your perspective is invited and valued. Our shared focus is how we’re creating impact for each other, partners, and customers. 

3. Working on challenging problems every day.

Being on the Customer Success team, I’m always working on cool new problems that keep me excited. I get to work in different industries and domains so you’re always learning. Every few weeks or months with a new customer, I start from scratch, figure out the root problem, collect all the data, build relationships, and then launch.

I don’t get bored. That was my fear before joining Appian, that I’d get stuck in a role doing the same thing over and over. There's nothing wrong with people sticking to a particular job, but for me, I knew I needed a company where there was lots of room to learn and grow.

Learn more about our Customer Success team here. 

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4 Ways Appian Values Working to Impact, Not Just Completion Tim Carroll, Technical Mentor, and Duncan Macdonald, Area Vice President of Customer Success, share how they see impact in their everyday work, from supporting non-profits to building trust with customers. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/4-ways-appian-values-working-to-impact-not-just-completion/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 24 May 2023 09:00:00 GMT Header (2)

Working to impact, not just completion is one of Appian’s core values that demonstrates how we work. It drives our collaboration, how we make decisions and how we work with customers.

Two Appian leaders shared their project examples and ways they’ve seen this value in action in their everyday work. 


Meet Tim and Duncan.

Tim Carroll 

  • Technical Mentor on the Software Engineering team
  • Started at Appian in 2014 in Customer Success

Duncan Macdonald 

  • Area Vice President of Customer Success
  • Started at Appian in 2013 in Customer Success

1. Helping DC Central Kitchen automate processes so they can focus on community impact.


Tim Carroll: DC Central Kitchen is a local non-profit and social enterprise that has been fighting hunger and poverty for over 30 years. Since 2019, we’ve partnered with them to provide our software for free and volunteer to help build Appian applications that automate their processes.

I helped start the partnership and still volunteer with a team of other engineering coworkers at the Kitchen. We’ve heard how Appian has helped them scale efforts to transform millions of pounds of wasted food into millions of healthy meals and distribute them to children, families, and seniors in the DC area.

Before our partnership, they relied on hand-written delivery sheets and data across multiple platforms, spreadsheets, and paper. We heard from their staff that many businesses come in with good intentions but leave after half-finished work. We committed to understanding their challenges and building apps that were most impactful to what they actually needed. Even after setting them up in 2019, we’re continuously working with them on how to improve. 

DC Central Kitchen video 

2. Improving features for low-code developers. 

Tim Carroll: Appian lets you pull in and connect data from different systems, which is a fundamental part of our platform. Our "data fabric," as it's called, makes interacting with data across systems really simple, but it wasn't always that way. We've made huge strides in this area over the last few years, and although I haven't worked on the latest improvements, I led an early feature that really simplified our efforts called "Service Backed Records."

Service Backed Records are how you add external systems' data to the data fabric. Say, for example, you want to connect your Appian database to a customer relationship management (CRM) system and want to keep the CRM system as the source of truth for customer information. You'd use Service Backed Records for that. It wasn't always easy to do though.  The problems with this type of record boiled down to it being an older feature that hadn't been updated to use the latest capabilities of the platform.  When I was a Product Manager, I received questions from our Consultants and low-code developers all the time about how this worked. The documentation tutorial contained thousands of lines of instructions and code and was difficult to understand.  

Inspired by working on improvements to our other integration features, I came up with a feature that, with a relatively small amount of development effort, let us reskin the whole design experience and make it a lot simpler. Around this time I was transitioning to be a Software Engineer and was able to build this new feature in addition to helping design it. Within a quarter, we completely revamped the developer experience to use all of our latest integration capabilities and make this so much simpler. It was a big success! It definitely had an impact on how low-code developers use our platform and commit to truly making every aspect low-code, and accessible. 

3. Building trust in Customer Success: How a 15-minute exec presentation led to years of impact.

Duncan Macdonald: My team started working with a customer who had originally asked for a few minor fixes, but we realized they required a total rebuild of their apps, which was a much bigger project. We saw how the systems they had previously built in Appian weren’t as efficient as they could be, especially as they were looking to scale globally. 

We didn't want it to come across as a sales pitch, but we felt that we had a responsibility and a duty to articulate to the customer what the real situation was, and not dress it up.

After days of research and working together with the client to understand their challenges, we proposed a bigger rebuild project. They were hesitant at first, but agreed to a 15-minute presentation with their executive team where I had to distill everything into a few slides. Within a few hours, they agreed with our approach and it sparked a great years-long relationship. 

I think that kind of transparency and honesty showed them that we do have our clients’ best interests as top of mind, and with our Customer Success team, we don’t just do what’s easy or exactly what the customer is asking for. This transparency really resonated with the exec team and I think it was a breath of fresh air for them. 

The client then started working with our Expert Delivery team and we continue to challenge them on how Appian can best support their business goals. For example, we recommended adding in multi-language architecture from the beginning because we knew they had longer-term plans to use the application across their global business.  Applying this foundational component early required less work to implement than it would to retrofit later and helped the client get that much more strategic value from the product. We’ve now established a trusting relationship where they know we’re always thinking about what will have the greatest impact on our customers.

4. Growing our global team across EMEA and APJ. 

Duncan Macdonald: I joined Appian ten years ago when our European team was about 15 employees and our London office was a tiny loft space. We have established our fourth office in London, which is located in an iconic office space known as the Walkie-Talkie building. We currently have more than 500 employees in Europe and over 2000 employees worldwide. Moving to this new office a few weeks ago triggered a lot of reflection on how far we’ve come, and our growing impact globally.

The community you work with is the most important part of work. It’s the people who help create a fun, safe, supportive environment and determine the kind of impact and vision you can have working somewhere.

Last year, I took a short break from the company, returning to Appian a few months later in a new leadership role. The time away from the organization reinforced my belief that we have an outstanding product and a formidable team at Appian. The sense of community and focus on impact as one of our core values has remained the same since we started in that tiny London loft office, to where we are today.

Learn more about employees’ experience working to impact on our AppianLife blog.

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Meet Belita Ferreira, Sales Director in EMEA & APJ and Leader of our International SDR Team Belita is the winner of our Appian Pillar Award for living our value of work to impact. Learn about her ten years at Appian growing the sales team in Europe. https://careers.appian.com/blog/sales/meet-belita-ferreira-sales-director-in-emea-apj-and-leader-of-our-international-sdr-team/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Mon, 08 May 2023 12:00:00 GMT Newheader

When Belita Ferreira started at Appian in 2012, the company was made up of 150 employees globally with very little presence in Europe. In the last ten years, Belita has not only been promoted four times to now be our Sales Director in EMEA and APJ, but she also built our international SDR team.  

Belita’s work over the years show the four Appian values in action: 

  1. Work to impact
  2. Ambition 
  3. Respect
  4. Dissent (with resolution) 

That’s why she was the recent winner of our quarterly Pillar Award. It’s given to an employee who lives Appian’s values through their professional achievements and Belita won a cultural trip to anywhere in the world. 

We asked Belita about her career journey with Appian, and the global growth and impact she’s been a part of. 

  • Sales Director in EMEA & APJ
  • Based in France 

In your over ten years at Appian, what has it felt like being part of the company’s growth around the world?  

It felt both exciting and scary! I was always so enthusiastic and passionate about our product and the culture. What made me successful as a salesperson at Appian was that I was able to transmit that passion to prospects who really wanted to learn more about our platform and the impact it could have on their business. 

I started at Appian as our first Sales Development Representative in France in 2012, was promoted to Business Manager of Europe, and now I’m Director of Sales Development in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific, and Japan (APJ). As Appian has grown in Europe and worldwide, it’s allowed me to grow my sales career here as well. After ten years, I still feel the same enthusiasm for Appian and love leading our incredible team of Sales Development Representatives (SDR).

With so much growth and change, I was afraid we would lose our culture. Would the growth mean we’d become a very different company? I’m so happy that our employee-first culture has stayed the same. You feel that you’re important working here. You can see the impact and results of your work and feel part of how we’re growing globally.

How have you seen the global impact of your work at Appian? 

We were very tiny in France when I started. I was the first SDR in the French territory, and nobody had heard of Appian. We were a mighty sales team of three in Europe: an Account Executive, a Solutions Consultant, and myself. 

With this team of three, we closed a $7 million deal with GDRF, France’s leading natural gas distribution operator. We were working closely with our US colleagues but had no marketing in Europe so this was incredible. It showed the power of the Appian platform. I love to speak about this because it reminds me how three passionate people can be as powerful as an army.

How did you approach building the international Sales Development Representative (SDR) team? 

In all my years at Appian, I’m most proud of building our very talented Europe and Asia Pacific SDR team from scratch. On my team, we have salespeople based in Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Australia, Singapore, and more. Working with so many different cultures as a manager, it’s very important for me to understand how everyone communicates and what part of sales they’re passionate about. 

Selling Appian in the US is a very different mentality than selling in Europe. Along with cultural and communication differences, there are restrictions on who you can reach out to in Europe because of GDPR regulations that don’t apply in the US. I love our peers in the US sales team and we learn so much from each other. Building our SDR team outside of the US was a huge step in the global growth of Appian and is exciting to be part of. 

I believe the SDR department is the engine of every company. As a leader, it’s important for me to always communicate how important SDRs are to the growth and success of Appian. Every sale starts with us. I tell my team that every time they pick up the phone, it’s like a first date. It’s a huge responsibility. You have 20 seconds to be the best you can be, to communicate effectively, and show the prospect that you’re really listening. People buy from people, and first impressions really matter.

Congrats on the Pillar Award! What was your initial reaction to receiving the award? 

It was magic! I was crying and taking in all the support and love from everyone around me. I get very emotional because I’m a perfectionist and can be hard on myself. I give my heart, passion, and enthusiasm to Appian and I’m so happy that they heard me with this award. 

This award is not only mine, it’s for our whole SDR department. It’s all of us. We nailed it and the founders recognized us. Now my name will always be there on this award and it means a lot because it shows that what I do matters.


Caption: Belita is the winner of our Pillar Award for living our Appian values.

What makes you stay at Appian long-term?

We genuinely care about each other. You feel it in everyday interactions, team meetings, and with recognition like this award. I still have a close relationship with our CEO Matt Calkins, where I Cc him on kudos emails to my team. I would never work for a company with lone wolves. Ever since joining Appian, I’ve always felt the generosity, smartness, and collaboration in our global team. Those continue to be core values of how we work today.

It’s not only from the founders, it’s everyone that feels a sense of ownership and is driven to make an impact together. That’s why I’m still here and want to be for another decade!

Learn more about growing your sales career at Appian.  

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3 Ways AppianHeritage Is Working to Create an Inclusive Culture Inclusion is an ongoing journey and incorporated into everything we do. Hear from AppianHeritage members what inclusion looks and feels like in action. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/3-ways-appianheritage-is-working-to-create-an-inclusive-culture/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 03 May 2023 12:00:00 GMT Shutterstock 1788823562

Creating an inclusive culture is an ongoing journey that’s never finished. It means intentionally valuing unique traits and differences everyone brings to the table. 

That’s part of the mission of AppianHeritage, one of our Affinity Groups.

AppianHeritage celebrates and supports employees of all races, cultures, and ethnicities by providing resources and education, professional development opportunities, and support to all employees regardless of their background. 

Here are three ways we’re working to create an inclusive workplace culture: 

  1. Committing to continuous education
  2. Making space for people of all backgrounds and focusing on listening
  3. Building talent pathways that support diversity and belonging

AppianHeritage team members share how it’s important to celebrate heritage days and months, like Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, and more. However, these events are only one step in the journey to inclusion and our mission is to celebrate all individuals year-round. We asked three AppianHeritage members what that looks like in action at Appian.

Committing to continuous education.

Meet Pat Camilo

  • Senior Manager, Appian AppMarket
  • AppianHeritage member

As a Dominican, I’ve found that being diverse allows us to see challenges from a different perspective and it brings the opportunity to be inclusive, adding value to the people who surround us.

When I was job searching, one of my criteria was to find a company that valued the importance of having Affinity Groups. I believe companies show they actually value diversity and inclusion by supporting employee-led groups that provide a safe space where we can share our different cultures. I’ve been involved with Affinity Groups for over 10 years, educating people about the challenges and struggles that other cultures have faced, as well as the triumphs and achievements that they have made throughout their careers. Shortly after starting at Appian about a year ago, I joined the AppianHeritage Affinity Group. 

Celebrating cultural history, beyond special days 

At an AppianHeritage event a few months ago, my colleague Max spoke about how Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day, despite what most people think. It was a lightbulb moment for me that sparked my interest in chatting with him in a podcast format about the history of the celebration and Mexican culture to help educate others.

For eight years, I have worked with the Hispanic Organization for Leadership & Awareness (HOLA) as Co-chair, and STEM Lead and Community Outreach. I was also a professor in Florida for four years. Throughout my entire career, connecting with people from different cultures and helping educate others has always been my passion. 
There are so many forms of education, beyond a classroom or training, that have been really important in my career and that we focus on in our Affinity Groups like AppianHeritage: 

  • Mentorship: The advice I give to young people is to find two mentors - first is the person you want to become, and second is who will help you get there. We even have a mentorship program at Appian that our affinity group AppianWomen started.
  • Expand your global network: As Appian is opening new offices in Mexico City and Chennai, it’s especially important we have a diverse team who understands cultural differences. Through Affinity Groups we can connect and learn from each other globally. 
  • Learn about coworkers beyond their job title: Being part of an Affinity Group, you see a new side of someone and get to know their background and interests. It’s given me an opportunity to put myself out there and allow coworkers to see new parts of me that aren’t related to my everyday work. 

Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many talented people from different countries, ethnicities, and cultures. While I’ve learned different ways of thinking, I also realized that so many people don’t have these opportunities to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the diversity that exists around us. Affinity Groups are so important because they spark these conversations and provide opportunities for people to always continue learning. 

Making space for people of all backgrounds and focusing on listening.

Meet Jasmine Richardson 

  • Manager, Revenue Accounting
  • AppianHeritage member

I’ve worked at Appian on the Finance team since 2011, and it’s been amazing to see how we’ve grown not only in number of employees, or going public as a company, but also our growing diversity in leaders. 

At Appian, you see women in leadership positions, and senior managers from all different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. When I started, there was limited diversity at the company, but that’s changed as Appian has been deliberate about creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. I’ve seen this through being part of the AppianHeritage Recruiting sub-group where we work on ways to diversify our recruiting process and work closely with our HR and Recruiting teams. 

The AppianHeritage community has allowed me to connect with other Appian employees of color and meet people outside of the Finance team who I wouldn’t otherwise meet. The group has created a safe space for me and other people of color to strengthen our sense of belonging at Appian. 

What creating a safe space looks like.

To me, a safe space is a place where you are able to share your opinion and are asked about your views and experiences in an environment that’s truly open. It’s where people are celebrated and embraced and all employees feel valued and belong, regardless of background, thinking or work style.

After several incidents of police brutality in 2020, I appreciated how AppianHeritage stepped up. After George Floyd’s death, employee support was brought to the spotlight. I had directors and VPs reaching out to check how I was doing, express their concern, and ask if I needed time. This moment in history was so sad and upsetting so it meant a lot that people took the time to see if I was okay.

AppianHeritage hosted a few “Let’s Talk” events which provided space for people to connect with each other and share experiences. We also hosted a book club where we read So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo that brought up new topics for some people about race.

We had a discussion about it afterwards where we talked with other group members about how we’re feeling, how we’ve been affected and shared personal experiences. People were keen to learn and really listen. By reading the book together, it gave members a lot of insight without people of color having to do so much of the legwork educating others. 

AppianHeritage also hosts and attends other affinity group events throughout the year. In February, we celebrated Black History Month with a catered lunch from HalfSmoke Restaurant, a Black-owned restaurant in the DMV. In October, we celebrated Diwali with good food, company, and of course, lights! In March, we celebrated Women’s History Month with a happy hour and motivational speech by one of our very own employees.

 

Employees celebrating Diwali at Appian HQ.

 

Building talent pathways that encourage diversity and belonging.

Meet David Aponte 

  • Senior Sales Enablement Manager, Solutions Consulting 
  • AppianHeritage Chair

In AppianHeritage, there’s an understanding that we all bring ourselves to the company with our unique backgrounds and identities as humans, not just employees. 

Everybody has different things to contribute given everyone’s diverse backgrounds and cultures. I’m Jewish and Puerto Rican, and through being part of AppianHeritage, I’ve learned about my own identity and other people in a way 

that I hadn’t before.
The goal of AppianHeritage is not only to give people a place to connect, and participate in social events — it’s also about making sure company policies and goals help support diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Being mindful in our recruitment process. 

The tech industry is often associated with not having as much diversity as it should and we want to be really intentional about how we hire and welcome new people to the Appian team.

We work closely with the Talent Acquisition team, we review our job descriptions to identify any biased language or requirements. We now reach out to more historically Black colleges in our recruitment efforts and strive for diverse Appian representation at career fairs. We meet with students and provide feedback on resumes and interview best practices, and are transparent about the Appian interview process.

People shouldn’t have to feel like their identity is holding them back in any way. We recognize that people want to feel like a part  of a community. Feeling a sense of belonging from the moment you join a company is really special, and that’s what we strive for. 

My past role at Appian on the Talent Development team involved professional development delivery, and we recognized everyone has a different learning style and it’s important to determine peoples’ preferences, ensure inclusion is part of all our internal practices, and treat people as humans first.

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From Science and Commerce to Tech: Meet Three Women in STEM at Appian Australia To celebrate International Girls in ICT Day, three women on our Australian team shared their career journeys, top digital skills they’ve learned, and advice for young women interested in STEM. https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/from-science-and-commerce-to-tech-meet-three-women-in-stem-at-appian-australia/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 26 Apr 2023 12:00:00 GMT Smallheaderpng

Anna Harrison, Grace Naughton, and Jennifer Lu studied different programs within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at the University of Sydney.

Today, they work together at Appian Australia helping solve customers’ technical challenges. To celebrate International Girls in Information and Communications Technology Day, they shared what drew them to a career in tech at Appian, what they’ve learned, and tips for growing in a technical career path. 

Their main advice for girls interested in pursuing a career in STEM — challenge what’s already out there, be open to all opportunities, and surround yourself with supportive women who inspire you.

Meet Anna Harrison

  • Consultant, Customer Success 
  • Education: Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering and Commerce (Finance major) at the University of Sydney 

Meet Grace Naughton

  • Solutions Consultant 
  • Education: Bachelor of Advanced Science (Chemistry major) in Financial Mathematics & Statistics at the University of Sydney 

Meet Jennifer Lu

 

  • Senior Consultant, Customer Success 
  • Education: Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Psychology major) at the University of Sydney 

This year's theme for International Girls in ICT Day is “Digital Skills for Life.” What do you think is an important digital skill for every young woman to learn?

Anna: I would say programming, web, and app development. At the heart of all technologies is the ability to code and understand multiple languages (e.g. Python, Java, SQL). Along with this, coding enhances your ability to solve difficult problems whilst using critical thinking. Although coding can seem complicated at first, with consistent practice you will see fast progress, improve your problem-solving skills and feel creative while doing so. 

Grace: In today's world, where a significant amount of communication occurs online, developing the digital skill of confident and effective virtual communication is crucial. Being able to advocate for yourself, confidently address peers, teachers, or customers, and ask for support will help accelerate your growth. This skill transcends any particular field or area in STEM, and provides so much value personally and professionally.

Jennifer: A really important skill for everyone is creative problem-solving. It addresses the crux of a lot of our day to day tasks, and it’s only something that you get better at with time and easily translatable to any industry. In conjunction with that, digital communication skills are really valuable, regardless of what industry you work in.

How has working at Appian helped you develop your digital skills?

Anna: Coming from a non-technical background, Appian has introduced me to understanding how technology is created. Appian has taught me to always think about scalability and performance and how you can implement technology so that it can be used for years, always benefiting our customers. The culture of Appian is extremely supportive and being surrounded by so many ambitious and intelligent people creates a motivating environment.

Grace: Appian has provided me immense opportunities for continuous learning and development. I didn't come from a technical background, so I've developed skills and understanding in so many new areas of technology, like automation, integrations, coding languages, other software products, and so, so many acronyms. I've learned a huge amount about our Appian product and the technical landscape in which we play, and I've developed invaluable consulting skills to understand how technology can accelerate businesses across a range of different industries. 

Jennifer: Working at Appian has provided so many opportunities to work with a very talented group of individuals who are all invested in working together as a team and building each other up. Learning from colleagues not just in Customer Success, but other departments too, has been a fantastic opportunity to better understand the interplay of different systems with one another and the impact that technology can have on our everyday lives.

What inspired you to pursue an education and career in the STEM industry?

Anna: I’ve always enjoyed problem-solving and learning how new technologies can benefit you and other people. As it’s constantly changing and evolving, there is always something new to learn and you are never bored or doing the same work every day. I was always interested in not only technology, but also biotech, science, and finance. Technology allows you to work in, and learn about, multiple industries at the same time.

Grace: The opportunities provided by an education in STEM are endless. I've had a passion for STEM since primary school — the way in which these subjects explain the world never ceases to amaze me. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do or what career I wanted to build (in fact, I'm still not sure!), but I knew that continuing education in science would open up doors I didn't even know existed. The hard and soft skills learned last a lifetime and can be applied to so many areas outside of the direct field of study.

Jennifer: As someone who has a lot of questions that live rent-free in my head, the scientific method has always really appealed to me, and it felt natural to gravitate towards an industry driven by this. In an ever-increasingly digital world, working in tech really allows you to explore so many different pathways.

What is your advice to any young woman considering an education or career in the STEM industry?

Anna: Always be confident in your abilities. Everyone brings their own unique skill set, knowledge, and ideas to the workplace. Being surrounded by other successful women in STEM provides guidance and inspiration.

Grace: Do it! Any education in STEM will build a strong foundation to serve as a stepping stone, no matter which direction you end up (even outside of STEM!). You don't need to commit to a certain career, or even have a solid idea of what you want your job to look like. Start somewhere you enjoy, and say yes to the opportunities as they pop up. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone, advocate for yourself and be proud of your achievements! 

Jennifer: There are a lot of preconceived notions as to what an education or career in STEM looks like. I'd encourage any young woman to challenge what's already out there, and be open to opportunities that come their way. Make opportunities for yourself and always be willing to learn! 

Who’s a woman in STEM who especially inspires you? 

Anna: I always looked up to Damyanti Gupta as she was one of the first female engineers admitted to a college in India and then went to work at an automobile company. When applying for a job within this industry when there were minimal females, she was consistently turned down. But was confident in her interest in the engineering field and her own ability, to become one of the most successful women in engineering.

Grace: Chiara Neeto is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Sydney, and was one of my first lecturers (and probably one of the few female lecturers I had throughout university). I was immediately impressed with her ability to communicate her passion for chemistry, and her genuine interest in the learning and development of her students. I loved how she encouraged us to embrace challenges and uncertainty, knowing that there was always an exciting outcome or learning opportunity on the other side.

Jennifer: Marie Curie, the physicist, chemist, and Nobel Prize winner whose impressive achievements speak for themselves! I remember first reading about her life when I was in primary school. What really stuck with me was her journey to a career of such success in spite of all the challenges she faced both in her personal and professional life. This drove home how fierce and determined her passion for discovery was, and it really inspired me to want to approach my endeavors with that same energy.

Be surrounded by supportive women at Appian.  

We hope Anna, Grace, and Jennifer’s stories leave you with a glimpse into what it’s like to work at Appian surrounded by a strong community of women in tech. 

AppianWomen is our Affinity Group that supports women through mentorship, professional development opportunities, and community building. Part of that work is celebrating the unique career journeys of women across teams and continents. 

One of the many ways Appian connects women globally is through the AppianWomen mentorship program. Learn how Christine Danzi built the mentorship program and its impact of facilitating over 170 mentorship matches with members participating from around the world.

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Meet Paige Rathod, Senior Sales Development Representative of the Year Paige Rathod started as a Workplace Experience Coordinator managing events at our Sydney, Australia office and is now a Senior Sales Development Representative. Read about her experience growing with the APJ Sales team. https://careers.appian.com/blog/sales/meet-paige-rathod-senior-sales-development-representative-of-the-year/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 11 Apr 2023 12:00:00 GMT Screen Shot 2023 04 11 At 10.10.36 AM

Meet Paige Rathod, Senior Sales Development Representative

Paige Rathod started at Appian in 2020 as the Workplace Experience Coordinator, leading events in Sydney while adapting to the changing rules of the pandemic. A year and a half later she was looking for a new challenge so moved to join the Sales team in the APJ region (Asia-Pacific and Japan).  

In her first year after moving to the Sales team, Paige won the Senior Sales Development Representative of the Year Award. At our annual Sales kickoff in Orlando, she was recognized for her ambition, leadership, and work that impacts our customers. 

We asked Paige about her career journey in Sales, what she finds most rewarding about her work, and what it’s like being part of the growing Appian office in Sydney, Australia. 

What sparked your interest to move from Workplace Experience Coordinator to Sales Development Representative (SDR)?  

In the workplace role, I coordinated team events and meetings and I loved working with the Sales team. We coordinated one trip to Hunter Valley, a wine region outside of Sydney, and over a bonfire one night, I got to know my Sales team colleagues and their work sparked my curiosity.

I wanted to make a bigger impact at Appian. I wanted to help our company grow and have more visibility globally. I joined the AppianWomen mentorship program and was paired with Luke Thomas, our Area VP in the APJ region. Having him as my mentor gave me really good insight into the sales organization and how it worked. That started to spark my inner competitiveness. I talked to other Sales colleagues and found I shared similar ambitions to make a global impact at Appian and the career growth intrigued me.

There are many paths to grow your career as a Sales Development Representative at Appian. I love mentoring others and the management route to a SDR Manager is most exciting to me. Our team in Australia is small right now, and our Sales team reports to Europe. As the APJ region grows, there will be even more  opportunities to grow and that’s something that really excites me!

How did your team support you during your transition to the Sales team? 

It’s hard having that first conversation with your manager that you want to move on, especially when there’s no negativity to the role. I just wanted more of a challenge and felt ready to try something new that would be internally rewarding for me.

My manager and team were happy for me and helpful during my move to the Sales team. I went through a four-week virtual training where I had a daily morning meeting with a US colleague to ask questions and go through some sales role play activities. I didn’t have any proven sales experience on my resume so I’m very appreciative that they saw how my skills could translate and provided lots of ways to learn. 

Appian recognizes that employee interests can evolve over time, and is committed to fostering internal mobility within the organization. If an employee expresses a desire to explore other areas of the business, we are open and willing to collaborate with them to identify potential internal opportunities for professional growth and advancement. It’s great that it’s so common at Appian which makes these conversations easier.

What impact have you seen in your sales work over the past year? 

Growing our pipeline and focusing on revenue generation in APJ is the simple answer. That's what Appian needs to succeed and grow, and it feels fulfilling to have my work so clearly tied to our business growth. 

I work a lot with public sector customers. The way I see it, the work that we're doing is not just helping a company's bottom line, it's helping the citizens that use the services that the government is providing. I love that way to think about the impact I’m making in my role through our Appian product. 

Congrats on being The Appian SDR Of The Year Award winner! How did it feel to win the award? 

It was overwhelming, I had to hold back the emotions! Recognition is something important to me at work. So to have that recognition on a global level in front of 800 of my peers was incredible. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in my first year and it was an ambitious goal I set out for myself when I moved to the Sales team but didn’t think I’d actually get it. Hitting numbers is one thing, but my manager talked about how the awards are also about the Appian values, being there to help people, working to impact, and stepping up as a leader. 

I'm also so happy that our APJ region is being recognized on such a large global stage like that. A Solutions Consultant colleague of mine was also recognized as well as a few others. So it's just really exciting that our region is growing in such an incredible way and getting noticed and celebrated for the talent that we have.

What do you find most rewarding about your work? 

I really enjoy the challenge and then seeing the direct impact of my success with our customers. I'm an internally competitive person, so when I’m surrounded by ambitious people doing well like I am at Appian, it makes me want to as well. 

When I think back to a few years ago, it’s incredible seeing how far I’ve come. I almost didn’t apply for the job at Appian because I’d never worked in the tech industry before and doubted whether I would be successful. Now, I have such a different mindset where I see where I can go with Appian and see the future growth knowing it’s up to me as long as I put in the work.

The growth in our region is incredible since I started and that’s really rewarding to be part of. I work with Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore and we’re bringing on new team members to focus on building out Japan. 

As you said, our APJ team is growing! For people interested in joining the team, what would they find at the Sydney Appian office on a typical day? 

We have a really fun atmosphere that you can hear over lunch with the back and forth of ping pong balls and lots of people together chatting in the kitchen. We’re a close-knit group in Australia that works hard, but when we have some downtime, we take the time to relax. Everyone comes into the office three days a week and every few weeks we meet for a game night and you’ll find people shooting hoops in our new basketball arcade. 

Our affinity groups are amazing, and we host social events with groups like AppianPride and AppianWomen with everyone on the team. They’re about mentorship, helping people get the most out of their time at Appian, and making new connections in our region and globally. 

See our open job postings based in Australia. 

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Celebrating One Year of Engineering Growth in Appian Chennai Diwakar Devapalan, Quality Engineering Manager, was the first engineer at Appian Chennai and now is part of a 60-person team. He shared why he joined the low-code industry and how he’s building features to help customers around the world. https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/celebrating-one-year-of-engineering-growth-in-appian-chennai/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Mon, 03 Apr 2023 12:00:00 GMT 20230303 Appian Marketing Photos 0072

Meet Diwakar Devapalan, Quality Engineering Manager, and the first engineer who joined Appian Chennai.

I’m the kind of person who likes to work in small teams and see them grow. I was the first Quality Engineer at my previous organization which grew to over 100 people. So when I saw the opportunity to become one of the first Appian employees in India last May, I didn’t want to miss that chance to be part of something big. 

Now, a year later, our engineering team is up to over 60 members with aggressive plans to grow to 120 this year. The growth opportunities and technical challenges of helping globalize our platform for customers are what’s so exciting and rewarding about working here.


Growing our engineering team from 1 to 60+ members in less than a year. 

Many of us in Chennai were very new to the Appian platform. We established  a collaboration model where our engineering squad is made up of team members in Chennai and the US. Despite time zone differences, we've been able to scale up rapidly in Chennai by close collaboration efforts with our US colleagues. Both teams adjust when they start and end their days and it's worked well because we all enjoy working together and make the effort to collaborate. 

I started as the first Appian engineer in Chennai, working with a few others in a coworking space at Urban Square, on OMR. Six months later, we acquired additional space in the building as our team grew. Within another three months, we expanded again to take over another floor. It really speaks of how quickly we've been able to accommodate our growth and welcome new members in.

As I watched Suvajit Gupta, Executive Vice President of Engineering along with other US team members inaugurate our new space a few weeks back, I was struck by how we'd been a single-digit numbered team less than a year ago! We heard from Suvajit and sales leaders about their vision for growth which is all pretty exciting to me. 

Diwakar (left) and Appian Chennai team members in the newly expanded space in Urban Square, OMR. 

The psychological safety at Appian is another reason we’ve been able to grow so quickly with a great, collaborative culture. There’s no micromanagement. We can question the decisions made by managers, and ask about what impact things have. Respectful dissent is in fact encouraged. When CEO Matt Calkins and our executive team say this, it’s actually implemented. 

Helping lead the low-code industry in India. 

I’ve worked in engineering for about 10 years, but always in high code with languages like Java and C#. When I learnt about the low-code industry, I was a little skeptical at first. Is there a future in this? 

Over the last few years, I started to see how fast low-code applications have grown and it’s been staggering. I saw how powerful Appian is to allow low code developers to build simple to large-scale solutions to automate business processes. We’re helping global companies like Deloitte accelerate their processes to support professional services specialists around the world and make their work easier and more efficient. 

Appian has several implementation partners in India. When I started at Appian Chennai, we were known primarily within this circle. A year since, Appian is a well-known player in the Chennai engineering space. The awareness has been growing and that’s really exciting to be part of. As the low-code industry in India grows, so does our team. 

The goal of our engineering squad is to help globalize the Appian platform. We’re building features to make Appian easier to use for our enterprise global customers and it’s pretty exciting hearing from our leaders on how this will have a big impact across the company. 

Building features to help global customers.

Work to impact (not completion) is the Appian value I appreciate the most. 

Every time we start working on a release we are not just looking at completing the features but we think from the end user perspective on how we can make it better and how we can make it easy for the user. We have been agile enough to accommodate changes in scope and take in additional work to ensure we roll out features the best possible way.

For example, we focus on features that make it easier for our global partners and customers to use the Appian platform. For example, we heard from our product managers that customers operating across different countries and languages were struggling with different currencies on the platform.

Every time low code developers had to format a currency, they had to use different app functions in Appian and this was inefficient. Our Engineering squad updated the feature to have a single function that applies to any currency, which makes peoples’ lives easier, especially for low code developers and solutions teams. This was one of the features I was most proud of building this year, because we could really see how it impacts our partners and customers’ everyday lives.

We’re also working on functionalities to better serve our global teams, working across different countries, time zones, and languages.

A picture of Appian employees at a recent happy hour event in Chennai.

If you’re in Chennai, Appian is probably the most exciting place in tech to work at right now. 

There’s a high bar that everyone at Appian strives for. Everyone here comes with strong technical experience and we learn so much from each other and from our global Engineering teams. I’ve never felt like I’m just another person or individual, I always feel part of the team.

By joining our Engineering team, you get to build new features to help globalize our platform and be part of a company that’s scaling up and committed to growing in Chennai. 

Learn more about our development center in Chennai.

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How Customer Success Consultants Learn to Build in Appian Matt Berry, Manager of Technical Training Development on our Customer Success team, joined Appian because he saw the vision in our product. Now his team trains employees, partners, and customers globally on that vision too. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/how-customer-success-consultants-learn-to-build-in-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:00:00 GMT P1002599

Meet Matt Berry, Manager, Technical Training Development

When I began learning about Appian during my job interview process, it made me wish I had this product throughout my ten years in the military. 

It could’ve solved inefficiencies and many other everyday problems. On any given day, as a manager, I was logging into ten different systems to solve various problems and check on status issues, this consumed a lot of time.  I realized the Appian platform could have transformed those systems into a one-stop shop and saved me so much time and frustration in my day to day.

I saw the vision of the Appian product and now as Manager of Training Development, I get to help others see this vision too. My CS Education team leads training for all technical employees, partners, and customers. When you join Appian in the Customer Success (CS) team, whether you’re based in the US, EMEA, Mexico, or anywhere around the globe, you’ll be part of an extensive training program in your first month.

Three onboarding steps for new Customer Success Consultants.

We have a company philosophy that every employee should be a great advocate of Appian and be able to speak to its impact. In your first three days at Appian, regardless of what team you’re on, you’ll see a product demo from one of our instructors. They go over the fundamentals, and the main product components. 

All technical employees then go through 12 days of EmployeeAcademy, and CS employees receive an additional 5-day Bootcamp. In all, this process takes up to a month.

     1. Employee Academy: Building your first Appian app

Every employee who will be hands-on building applications using Appian participates in Employee Academy for 12 days after orientation. This includes our Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Customer Success, and other  departments. 

Over the first seven days, you’ll learn everything about how the Appian platform works and have daily exercises to try it out. In the first week, you’re doing it piecemeal. The next step is doing it on your own with a real customer use case. 

     2. Project Week: Five-day agile sprint

The second half of the Academy is where you’ll build an application for a customer with your instructor as your coach. 

It’s in an Agile sprint style so you’ll start the day by sharing with the team what you’ll get done, what problems you want to solve, and any barriers you’re facing. It’s not really learning anything new, but it’s the chance to try out everything you learned in the first week with a team and an advisor. It’s intense! If you ask anybody who’s been at Appian for a while and they’ll tell tales of their project experience.. They’ll also look at that first application they built and think it would be so easy to do today knowing what they know, but in your first few weeks, it’s a lot to learn! 

In one training session, years ago, there was a software development manager in my class with 20 years of experience. During Project Week, he built an application that looked great and did everything it needed to and I asked him: how long would this have taken you if you had done it in Java or one of the other languages you were used to?

He said if he didn’t sleep, and worked all weekend, he could have done it in three months. With Appian, he was able to do it in a week. There were nine other students there, fresh out of college, who had also built a similar app during Project Week. Can you imagine the power of that? It was an incredible moment where all of us in the room were able to listen to the real impact of our Appian product. 

     3. CS Bootcamp: Solving customer problems 

This program is for new CS team members and focuses on reinforcing delivery best practices and understanding our customers.

For any given technical problem, there are probably 5-8 ways to solve it through the Appian platform. You’ll tinker around and find everyone in the training will come up with a different variation of the solution. Then we take it to the next level and add in the constraints and scale our enterprise customers are at. 


We find that, usually, all five solutions are going to work when it’s just you working in this tiny controlled environment. But now think of our customers who are running your processes 10,000 times a day at an enterprise scale, like at a big bank or government institution. It could be 10,000 people running 300,000 processes a day and you have to figure out how to do it with a solution that doesn't crash the system or slow them down. Out of the original 5 or 6 ideas that would have worked at a small scale, there’s likely only one solution that will meet the needs of a specific customer and it’s part of your job to discover what that path is going to be.

We take new employees through many customer use cases. We talk through questions like: 

  • How do you find the best solution for an enterprise company? 
  • How do you support customers who have processes that are changing as they scale? 
  • What questions do you ask customers to ensure you really understand the problem?

CS Education team: The spiderweb to Appian globally. 

Our team on the CS Education side is interesting because we connect to everybody globally in some way. We lead training for new employees, partners, and customers across the globe and with our hubs in the US, the UK, Spain, Australia, and Mexico. 

I like to think of us as the spiderweb that connects to everyone, helping educate our community about the impact of Appian and how it helps you solve problems.

As we’re building our CS team in Mexico City, all employees there will go through this training and we’re excited to have them on board to help us grow the CS team. 

Join the CS team where the best idea wins. 

When I joined Appian, I was coming out of a military environment where everything is about the status quo. You’re encouraged to not rock the boat and stick with the way it’s always been done. I had never heard anybody say the best idea wins, that was unheard of.

At Appian, if somebody has an idea that challenges the status quo, people stop, listen, and give them a chance to try it. If it works, then we establish a new way of doing things or open up a new role. We create opportunities for people to try and find better ways to do things across the board.

This was all new to me, but an environment I really appreciated. Now it’s one I’m happy to be part of and encouraging of on our team.

Joining the CS teams means being part of an environment where innovation and healthy debate are part of how we work.

Pavel Zamudio-Ramirez, our Chief Customer Officer & Senior Vice President said it best that Appian is “leading the movement to define the future of technology.”

Read more from Pavel about how you’ll see the impact of your work on the CS team.
 

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Holiday Celebrations Around the World at Appian Travel and Workplace Events Manager, Christa Zeladonis, takes us behind the scenes of our 10+ global Appian holiday events. Hear about the planning and browse through our photo highlights. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/holiday-celebrations-around-the-world-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 21 Dec 2022 12:00:00 GMT IMG 0147

Hi, I'm Christa! I’m the Travel and Workplace Events Manager at Appian. In my role, I work to curate an elevated workplace experience through planning internal events and coordinating engagement opportunities for Appian employees, both based in an office or working remotely. 

This year, I had the pleasure of leading the planning of 10+ holiday celebrations with teams around the world! 

It was a chance to celebrate and recognize employees for their work over the past year; a feeling that lasts much longer than just the day of, or the week after an event. My goal for each of these events was for attendees to leave feeling connected to their coworkers and the greater Appian team. 

In addition to hosting events in each city in which Appian has an office, we identified hubs with 20 or more employees in the area and hosted events there, which included 8 cities across North America.

Being a global company, I wanted to ensure that I took into account the cultural nuances of each location. I partnered with regional teams for the EMEA and APAC region events, and I started with a consultation with the local teams as they know their people best. There are also many cultural differences and nuances that make a celebration look very different in different parts of the world, which was so interesting to learn about. 

As part of the consultation, I asked things like: 

  • What would a really fun, celebratory event look like for you? 
  • How well do people know each other? 
  • What kinds of activities does your team really enjoy? 

If it’s an environment where everyone is already close and sees each other every day, it’s a very different setup than if it’s the first time meeting in-person for many people. When I learned more about what kind of experience they were looking for, I helped with the research and logistics to make it happen. This led to formal dinners, cocktail parties, escape rooms, ping pong, dancing, and so many more events over the past month! 

Here were some highlights and our favorite photos from this year’s global celebrations! 

North America

We hosted events in Washington DC, New York City, Boston, Raleigh, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, and Toronto. These celebrations ranged from dinners and cocktail parties at unique venues, to more interactive events like ping pong and escape rooms, which the Boston and Denver teams enjoyed.

The largest event was a cocktail party held in downtown DC at a boutique hotel with about 1000 guests, complete with food, drinks, and live entertainment including a band that had guests dancing all night. 

Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)

Appian employees in London, Spain, Germany, and Italy gathered to celebrate this month. In London and Berlin, we hosted cocktail-style events with live music, food, and drinks. In Spain, the team coordinated a dinner party at a chic Sevillian restaurant.  

Asia-Pacific region (APAC)

Our Sydney and Melbourne teams took advantage of the summer weather in Australia and celebrated by getting out on the water for a dinner cruise and boat party! 

Feeling connected and all the “warm fuzzies.” 

Creating these experiences and incorporating details that surprise and delight attendees are what I find really rewarding about my work. For example, the event hosted in Washington DC for HQ employees featured interactive poets that wrote poems on-demand for guests, and the party in London included caricature artists for guests to have a fun keepsake from the event!

It can be hard to describe, but it’s these opportunities to engage with coworkers through unique experiences and “warm fuzzy” moments that leave people feeling connected.

Planning these events globally was a big team effort! The Workplace Experience and Facilities teams and regional leaders around the world were instrumental in organizing these events, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with such dedicated colleagues.

I love seeing all the moments of connection captured in the event photos and am super excited to carry this momentum into 2023!  

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Thankful for Appian: Support and Strength through a Tough Time Pat Finley was diagnosed with leukemia last October. Thanks to Appian benefits and his team's support, he could fully focus on recovery. Read to learn how he became the fastest person to complete a marathon after getting a bone marrow transplant. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/thankful-for-appian-support-and-strength-through-a-tough-time/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 23 Nov 2022 12:00:00 GMT 692E6F48 D692 4924 8FC6 9EAC6BEE91EA (1)

I started working for Appian right out of college in the Fall of  2020. Around my one-year anniversary at Appian, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). It’s a type of blood cancer that starts from a mutation in the white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow.

The benefits that Appian provides to its US employees include short-term and long-term disability insurance and medical leave which were my first lines of support. I didn’t think I would ever need to utilize them but was so grateful to learn more about these resources and use them through this tough time.

After six rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant later, I am back working at Appian as a Consultant on the Customer Success team. I also recently became the fastest person to complete a marathon after getting a bone marrow transplant!

Throughout this experience, I was always thankful. Everyone deserves to be treated the way I was by their workplace while going through something like this. This inspired me to share my story as a thank you to Appian, my coworkers who made up my support system at work, and to now pay it forward to others.

Not only do you have to beat cancer, but you also have to figure out how to pay the bills.

The Appian benefits offered including health care, disability leave, and medical leave, allowed me to focus on recovering and not have to worry about the expenses that come along with cancer treatment. 

I moved back to Philadelphia to get treatment at the University of Pennsylvania, which meant I was also still paying rent at the time in Washington, DC. The disability insurance took care of both the treatment and my rent. 

I was off for nine months as a combination of medical and disability leave after my diagnosis from October 2021 to June 2022. Anytime I needed something or had questions with insurance, Ivy Vo, on our Appian benefits team, was always there to help. 

There are a lot of logistics to figure out when you are sick, and it is easy to feel like you are the only one going through it, however, I felt supported the entire time.

Thanks to my Appian team, I could focus on getting better. 

After I got my bone marrow transplant from a donor in Germany, I was in the hospital for a month. Then it takes about six months after that to recover. You’re not allowed to see anyone or go back to work because you have a brand-new immune system. 

My team and my whole department at Appian were super supportive. They checked in with how I was doing and were so kind, sending me gifts and best wishes. They even sent me the newest Xbox that you couldn't get in stores anywhere which was awesome because I was alone in quarantine for months! I read about 55 books during that time. The support from my Appian team was more than I could have imagined. 

I also wasn’t sure about my timeline for coming back to work and they never forced the issue. It always felt like my team had everything covered so I could focus on my recovery. Like I said the entire time, I was treated the way I would want anyone to be treated. 

Big thanks to the specific Appian people who were so helpful: Richard Clos, Hayley Zauner, Anthony Reale, Ken Hinerman, and Ivy Vo.

My support system when I came back to work.

In early June, I had made significant progress and was feeling much better. I was ready to get back to a normal routine. I never felt pressured to return to work before I was ready or cleared by my doctor. My advisor Ken and project manager Anthony worked with me to help create a schedule that would ease me back into it.

Returning  to work was a big step in terms of my recovery. 

Going through chemo and radiation is tough both physically and mentally. Since my work at Appian is mentally challenging and stimulating, coming back was a great way for me to gain back that mental strength. It meant a lot that I could come back to Appian and be part of a team, after focusing on myself for so long. 

Being a contributor on the Customer Success team is a direct way of measuring how much progress I have made in my recovery. It feels good to finally help others on my team after I had been the recipient of help from so many people during my treatment. I have been able to start back at work at my own pace which aligned with client project work. My team is so happy to have me back and have been so understanding and accommodating when I need calendar adjustments to log off or take a break. There are still many appointments, checkups, and blood work infusions after treatment. This took time and energy and my team helped set up a schedule to prioritize this. 

Seven months after my bone marrow transplant, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon. 

After being diagnosed, at first, all I could think about was how my diagnosis would change my life forever and handicap me from doing all that I wanted to accomplish in life, chief among them—running a marathon. 

In April 2022, I could barely stand up for longer than a minute without needing to sit back down.

In August, I couldn't run more than a mile because my body was still weak. It seemed like I would never reach the light at the end of the tunnel—my goal of completing a marathon in October. But I continued working out because I knew my body would continue to respond. 

September came, and suddenly, I felt like I could push myself to longer and longer runs.

In October 2022, I became the fastest person to complete a marathon after a bone marrow transplant(or so my research tells me)! Appian even covered the cost of the marathon with the Life + Health Spending Allocation as another added benefit.

Finishing that race was the sweetest vengeance I could give to cancer. 

I had never ran a marathon before. The event energy was incredible and brought me back to playing high school sports. Although I was running on my own,  it felt like I was part of a team and everybody was aiming to finish together.

I hope that my story can be an inspiration to help other people get through similar battles when they cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The end is always there. Even if you can’t see it, you just need to keep pushing forward. The light might be just around the bend.

Feeling thankful and paying it forward to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 

It truly takes a village of people to beat cancer, and I was the beneficiary of so many different people's hard work and care. On another note, my sister is currently battling acute myeloid leukemia for the fourth time in four years and just had her second stem cell transplant this past September. She fought cancer before me and is a big reason why I ran and was able to stay confident throughout this process.

My sister and I have been the recipients of multiple treatments developed by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a global leader in the fight against cancer. 

We have come so far in battling this disease, but we still have much more to accomplish. I’m thankful for the support I received from my parents, family, coworkers, doctors, nurses, and my German donor. Without all of you, I would not have been able to do this. 

I would like to pay it forward to the next person and I’d love your help.

If you’re feeling inspired, you can donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through my GoFundMe here. All donations will be provided directly to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to support its mission. 

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Helping Veterans Transition From Military to Tech Brian Bender, Customer Success Manager, and US Air Force veteran, shares his experience, and the impact of AppianVeterans’ work. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/helping-veterans-transition-from-military-to-tech/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Fri, 11 Nov 2022 12:00:00 GMT DSC09743

I’m an Iraq War veteran and transitioned from Active Duty service in 2009 after serving in the United States Air Force. My transition to the civilian sector occurred during the Great Recession, which created a turbulent job market. I went to countless job fairs and applied to so many positions, but was struggling to communicate the value I would bring to a company.

In my military career, I had a significant amount of responsibility. While deployed, I led an Area Defense Operations Center (ADOC) which coordinated the movement of approximately 60 defense personnel. However, communicating how my experience applied to a whole new industry was a difficult task. 

The AppianVeterans affinity group at Appian aims to help others have a better experience transitioning from military service and to a corporate environment. We’re a community that has served in the military and first-responder roles, helping alleviate barriers so people can really shine. 

Building the AppianVeterans Affinity Group. 

The AppianVeterans group was just starting when I joined the company and I was immediately drawn to help get it going!

People may not realize that a lot of employees at Appian had an entirely different life in the military before coming here that still continues to influence their current work and how they approach things. It’s pretty special to connect with other veterans from all walks of life and on various teams who have made the transition from the military to a corporate environment. 

I joined Appian during the early days of the pandemic when it could feel pretty isolating working remotely. AppianVeterans provided a much-needed community for me to connect with others who have uniquely shared experiences. We’re partnering with the charity Wounded Warrior Project for some upcoming events, and worked closely with our recruiting team to help educate others on barriers veterans may face. 

Breaking barriers for veteran job seekers at Appian. 

We’re all about advocating for veterans and one of the first projects we took on was improving our recruiting process. There is a lot of knowledge, skills, and abilities you gain through the military that can be difficult to translate into a corporate work setting. 

We worked closely with the Appian Talent Acquisition team to build a skills matrix. This involved educating the team on what to look for in veteran resumes and the context of what skills and responsibilities are behind military titles. 

For example, a Non-Commissioned Officer role or a certain achievement medal may not mean anything to you if you don’t know the context. AppianVeterans can help fill in the gaps and show recruiters that this likely means they’re in charge of 30+ people and have developed strong leadership and management skills. 

3 Tips for veterans looking to transition out of the military. 

I used to teach at the Deloitte University CORE Leadership Program where I helped veterans transition from the military to the private sector. The heart of the program was about breaking things down, and here are some tips I would give to veterans that are making the transition: 

     1. Follow your strengths and interests. 

Don’t focus on specific titles or industries at first. Think about what kind of work excites you. I worked with one veteran who came in saying he wanted to be a management consultant. But after chatting, it became clear that he was most interested in financial analytics and auditing work. After we identified his strengths, he pursued a career in finance and six years later let me know he’s the Senior Vice President of a Top-5 National Bank!

     2. Build your network. 

Transitioning from the military involves getting in contact with the right people and learning about what is required for different corporate roles. Do your research by finding people who are in roles you’re interested in and learn about their experience, training, and responsibilities.

     3. Get clear on transferable skills. 

The challenge can be showing how your military experience relates to the job you’re applying for. When you identify your strengths and a job opening, I guarantee in your military background, you’ll have an experience that backs up how you’ll be good at that. Leadership and managing a team well while under pressure are a few very transferable skills from military to corporate settings. Think of specific examples you can share in the interviewing process. 

“Do the right thing even when no one is looking.” 

Integrity is one of the core values of the U.S. Air Force. That’s about doing the right thing even when no one is looking. I’ve taken that with me in my career and see that in people I work with at Appian. I don’t know how else to put it, besides that people at Appian just genuinely care. 

We had an event where all the Affinity Groups at Appian’s headquarters were set up outside the office and employees could walk around and learn about each group (see picture below).

People asked about our experiences, and how they can help or spread the word about our AppianVeterans. They followed up and a few people from other Affinity Groups invited us to partner on shared events. 

Being a veteran means you have this entirely different life and career before Appian. 

Leaving that event, showed me people just want to help and are curious to understand something that’s so meaningful to you. 

Learn more about Appian Affinity Groups here. 

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How We’re Building our Customer Success Team in Mexico Lorena Espino, VP of Customer Success Strategy, shares what the new Appian Customer Success team in Mexico will look like, and what makes her so excited to be part of it. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/how-we-re-building-our-customer-success-team-in-mexico/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 09 Nov 2022 12:00:00 GMT APN25256

Hi, my name is Lorena and I am Area VP of Customer Success Strategy at Appian. I grew up and studied Engineering in Mexico. My family and I moved to the US ten years ago. I’m super proud of my roots in Mexico and very excited to be part of the work thats helping the Appian Customer Success team expand in Mexico City. 

I joined Appian because I wanted to be part of a fast growing company that is helping build the future of tech. I also joined because of the quality of the people at Appian. Everyone cares and is committed to delivering significant value to our customers. In particular, the Customer Success team is genuine, thoughtful and curious. We all have a voice, and thrive in a culture where the best idea wins. We all learn from each other and from our customers and believe that by working together, we can deliver better outcomes. 

In that spirit, I want to answer some questions you may have if you’re considering joining our new Mexico City Customer Success team. 

What makes Mexico City the best place to expand the Appian Customer Success team?  

Mexicans are problem-solvers. We are very creative and always looking to innovate and change things for the better. We are respectful and listen to each other's ideas. We are optimistic people who want to contribute and use their generosity for good.

These are the elements of Mexican culture that are also values I see at Appian every day, which is why Mexico is a great place for the expansion of our team. 

Customer success is about helping and doing better. With our platform, we help our customers improve their key processes and foster innovation. We know our product is of value to customers all over the world. We have partnered with our customers to build great solutions for health sciences organizations, environmental initiatives, and educational institutions among others.

Appian has a growing number of customers and partners in Mexico, and we’re excited to help support them further with our Mexico City team. 

How does the Mexico-based Customer Success team work with their US-based coworkers?

We are all on the same team! The Mexico-based team members will be working with customers in the US, expanding their exposure and customer base to companies outside of Mexico. We will all be working together to deliver great experiences and support to our customers in the US and Latin America. If you are working as a Customer Success Consultant in Mexico you’ll be working directly with international customers throughout the entire life-cycle of projects. 

How does the Mexico City team stay connected with the global Appian team? 

Appian is a global company with hiring hubs around the world, so we are very deliberate about making sure people feel connected wherever they are. We have a mentorship program where everyone in Mexico is connected with a leader at Appian who is not on their direct team. Learn more about the program here. 

The Customer Success leadership team in the US will be regularly visiting the Mexico City office, and we already have a calendar with everyone’s rotation throughout the year. There will also be opportunities for employees in Mexico to visit our US head office in Virginia.

I’m a remote employee based in San Francisco and it’s my first time working as a fully remote employee.   There are so many company-wide programs and Affinity Groups to join at Appian that help make you feel connected. I feel like I am fully part of the team and do not notice a difference in being remote. We also have our small Appian community in the San Francisco Bay area, so I have never felt alone.

What are the career growth opportunities for team members in Mexico? 

The Appian office in Mexico is starting with Customer Success but it’s going to grow quickly to expand our teams in Sales, Business Technology, Engineering, and more. We want to provide employees with opportunities to learn both the technical and business sides of Appian. We’re not looking for candidates who are only super technical, we’re also looking for those interested in being part of growing their careers and our business together. 

In Mexico, it’s traditional to work in the specific field that you studied for your whole career. If you study mechanical engineering at university, for example, you may go to a production plant and work as a mechanical engineer for years. That is not the case at Appian, we are looking for talent, not for specific degrees. 

What’s unique about Appian is that there are so many opportunities to learn and grow regardless of your degree. We care about people developing their careers and we have learning and development programs set up to do just that. It’s common at Appian for employees to change roles or even teams within the company. 

Why join Appian Mexico? 

Innovation, respect, and generosity are core values of Mexican culture that Appian employees live by every day. You can expect to feel immersed in these values when you join our Appian Mexico Customer Success team. You’ll be setting yourself up for an exciting career with many growth opportunities and the chance to learn from coworkers around the world. I’m so proud of Mexico and I’m so excited to be part of this growing team.

Learn more about joining the Appian Mexico team here.

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Ways to Grow your Engineering Career at Appian Career growth is built into your experience in Appian Engineering. Learn about common engineering career paths from Engineering Manager, Ankit Mehta. https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/ways-to-grow-your-engineering-career-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 01 Nov 2022 12:00:00 GMT APN16403

Hi, I'm Ankit. That's me up there on the left. I started at Appian six years ago as a Software Development Engineer and after a few years, I wanted a new challenge. I talked about it with my manager and learned about a few career paths you can grow into in Engineering at Appian. I decided to go towards the people management path.

Now I’m an Engineering Manager, (my fancy title is Technical Mentor of Software Development) and part of my role is making sure career growth is intentional and supported for Engineers at Appian. Here are a few of the main paths you can grow into at Appian, and the support you’ll get from the team. 

Technical Track: Senior Technical Leader

You want to continue being an individual contributor and focus on technical skills. If you’re interested in moving to a new Engineering role, Appian provides opportunities for people to switch roles and teams for a quarter. After quarter rotations, there have been Software Engineers becoming Product Managers and so many others.

For example, Tanvee Badheka, is now one of my direct reports and did a quarter rotation on another squad before joining them. She was working as a Quality Engineer for more than 2 years but was interested in focusing and expanding on her technical skills, especially in the area of performance engineering. So, she joined a new team and worked on performance tests, performance investigations, data analysis and really enjoyed it and this summer she moved to the same team in a Software Engineer role. 

Management Track: People Manager 

You want to lead a team of talented engineers. I quickly learned this was my route! Now I’m an Engineering Manager and it’s been a smooth transition and also a big learning curve with lots of support.

There are many resources to help new managers at Appian. I completed the internal Appian MBA program earlier this year where there’s a set of courses, book discussions on managing teams and leading people, and opportunities to meet and learn from my peers across the company. It also gave me a chance to interact with people working for Appian in different countries and allowed me to understand how leaders in different cultures and areas of the world operate. 

Learning and “Indie Time” in Engineering. 

So where do you get to explore these different career paths while you’re working in your current role? We have dedicated time for learning and development. 

Appian Engineering allows 10% of your time to go towards “Indie Time.” It’s a chance for Engineers to focus on things like experimenting with building something new, learning from other coworkers, or taking an online class. Engineers can also work with people (by joining guilds, chapters or book clubs) on different squads to take on new roles and learn about areas like project management to see if that’s what they want to pursue.

AppianTalks is an interesting bi-weekly program where Monday over lunch someone from Engineering shares a project they’re working on or goes into depth about how they work, or talks about a new technology or skill they have learned recently. I’ve learned a lot from these sessions and it’s a great way to learn more about what is involved in different roles.

The matrix structure allows me to be a coach, not a micromanager. 

The Appian Engineering team is structured in business units like low-code, discovery and automation, and cloud. There are squads in each business unit that focus on the day-to-day activities that support their group’s release work.

It’s a unique structure where my direct reports are not necessarily in my squad. Each squad has a few Software Engineers, as well as Quality Engineers, and a Product Manager. With this structure, I am able to provide another perspective without getting into the weeds with them in everyday tasks

It’s not my job to micromanage. My direct reports work autonomously in their squads on processes and delivering the best work. My role as a manager is to be a coach and help with their career progression. I’m a leader of people, knowledgeable of our agile processes and our technology. It involves understanding each employee's goals, having recurring 1 on 1's as dedicated time to get support and provide them with constructive and positive feedback, and also motivating them to build great software. I am also on a specific engineering squad where my goal is to make sure I can help the team deliver their features on time. This involves helping them connect their work with a purpose, navigating inter-team dependencies and having crystal clear expectations. 

For example, Tanvee started in her new role as a Software Engineer and started reporting to me as her manager, while she was in the final month of her master's program. Her schooling was the priority so as a manager, I ensured her onboarding was efficient and helped clear the way so she could focus on her classwork as well as share her learnings with the team. In Tanvee’s case, I could tell she’s someone who always goes above and beyond when she commits to something. I reassured her, “No one is expecting you to know everything when you start a new role!” As a manager, it’s important to help take the pressure off people when you can see they need to hear it. 

Grow your Engineering career at Appian.

These are just three of the many paths you can take as an Engineer working at Appian! Many employees have transitioned to new roles, teams, or even departments without a college degree in that area. We hire talented people from many backgrounds and understand career interests change over time.

Learn more about traveling the software underground and the three main career tracks from Suvajit Gupta, VP of Engineering.

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My Customer Success Work as a Board Game Working with customers to create an automation strategy is a lot like a board game. Zach Kahn wrote up the rules, how to play a turn, and how to win points. Ready to play? https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/my-customer-success-work-as-a-board-game/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Mon, 24 Oct 2022 12:00:00 GMT Chancecardsartboard 2

I get together regularly to play board games with my friends. After one particular engrossing session of Catan, something clicked, and I saw a lot of similarities between that game and how new strategies are developed every day as Appian customers plan to automate their core business activities.

Further inspired by the co-operative gameplay dynamics of Pandemic, I began to draw up a framework for what Appian Customer Success (CS), the board game, would look like, and how it would be played. After one round of play you’ll be hooked, and inspired to join the CS team for real. Ready to play?

Introducing Appian Change Engine: The Low-Code Game.

Appian Change Engine is the latest craze taking over boardrooms worldwide. Players representing Appian Customer Success (CS) work cooperatively to identify solution opportunities, empower clients to make strategic automation decisions, and rapidly build software projects. It’s a race against the clock to provide business value. Fortunately, Appian CS is equipped with a Low-Code platform and delivery methodologies that empowers consultants to solve business problems and rapidly provide value.

Set the board.

Players start off by analyzing the board, which is a representation of a client’s organization. The team must decide where to pick their first automation project. Depending on where the project lands, it may have a variance of delivery time, business impact, and growth potential. The project will start generating business value points right away. The organization’s other areas will start generating business problems. The goal of the game is to generate more value points than problems. Identifying that first opportunity is key to setting up a successful automation strategy.

Choose your player.

Player tokens can only be in one place at one time so knowing where to focus their effort is critical. Player token locations will determine where value points are focused. Different teams will have different strengths that can be utilized when making tactical decisions. Each team plays a valuable role in the overall delivery strategy. At this time, players cannot utilize RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
to play their turns for them.

Play a turn.

Each turn will result in players pulling chance cards, which represent events that could happen in the lifespan of an engagement.

Positive chance cards contain scenarios such as: 

  • Successful functionality deployed
  • Insights gained from sprint retrospective
  • Beneficial requirements discussion

Negative chance cards contain scenarios such as: 

  • Increases in scope
  • Shift in external dependencies
  • Additional testing required

With any project, it’s impossible to know what the cards will hold. Each roll of the dice at the end of each turn will determine the amount of value points current projects are generating, and the amount of new problems that pop up. Problems can also arise on current automation projects in the form of technical debt and feature enhancements so it’s a good idea to continue to invest some points in operations and maintenance.

Seek out growth opportunities.

If players have earned enough value points, they can spend it on new automations. Creating a new automation in a selected area stops the creation of business problems and starts generating value points. Players will think strategically about where their next automation should be. Current projects can be expanded upon with value points or linked to new projects for even more efficiency gains.

Get an Accelerator Card.

Players can convert points to accelerator cards to deliver value even faster. Contained in this deck are offerings such as: 

  • Appian Accelerate to establish governance and make it easier to maintain apps with tailored expert advice. 
  • Appian Academy to equip team members to deliver functionality faster through online and in-person training courses. 
  • Appian Spark to uncover new automation areas through an interactive workshop-style engagement. 

Accelerator cards can be played at critical moments to turn the game around. 

Claim victory.

Players compete cooperatively to try to deliver as much value to the client before too many problems arise — Think market forces, new regulations, or technological requirements that are fundamentally changing how the client conducts their business. If players can deliver enough value points (can be viewed as a return on investment), before the problems (costs) overtake the client, the automation team will have formed a successful partnership. The client’s success is the main goal of the game. 

New ways to play.

Appian is an evolving product and service. The platform is enhanced every quarter to make it easier to deliver code faster. New offerings, such as Process Mining, are made available to help discover automation opportunities. Customer Success is constantly adapting to meet the needs of our clients. With changes frequently occurring, there are many ways the game can be played over time.


Shall we play a game? 

If your organization is considering automation tools, you can count on our Customer Success team to be there to support you to be at the top of your game! 

We are always looking for consultants and developers who want to jump in on the fun. If you or someone you know is interested in working with us, please check out our open job listings.

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For a more visual way on how to play check out the reel I created!

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New Role, New Master’s Degree, Same Company: My Career Journey at Appian Tanvee Badheka got her master’s while working full-time in Engineering. Hear her story, and the Appian support she got along the way. https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/new-role-new-master-s-degree-same-company-my-career-journey-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 19 Oct 2022 12:00:00 GMT Header2

I’ve always wanted to get a master’s degree but didn’t know when the timing would be right. I was working full-time on the Appian Engineering team and didn’t want to leave my job to go back to school. 

With support from my manager and team, I was able to do both—work full-time at Appian while taking classes for the Management of IT program at the University of Virginia.

In the past 6 months, I graduated with my master’s degree and was also promoted to Senior Quality Engineer before changing roles to become a Software Engineer II at Appian! It was a packed year of school and work and lack of sleep, but I hope it also shows other people weighing their career options that it’s possible.

Here is my story of how I started as a summer intern and got to where I’m at now, and the help I received along the way.

From intern to Quality Engineer to Software Engineer with a master's in Management of IT—all at Appian. 

I stumbled upon Appian in my undergrad at Virginia Tech. As an international student from Indonesia, I wasn’t eligible for most DMV internships because they were federal-adjacent. I was losing hope until I found out about Appian. I joined for the summer as a Quality Engineer Intern and then I joined full-time in 2018 after I graduated!  

After growing my skill set as a QE for 2.5 years, I started thinking through where I wanted to go in my career and was weighing my options last year. Do I want to go the technical route, or towards the management track? Do I focus on software engineering or IT management? 

After speaking to my manager, Diana and a few more senior colleagues, I decided I wanted to build a foundation for the people management track. I figured I could continue to develop my technical skills working at Appian and through online certifications and courses, but a masters in IT management would set me up well for the direction I wanted my career to go in, in the long term. Upon sharing my decision with Diana, she was so helpful and supported me by writing my letter of recommendation for my grad school application. 

Following the desire to strengthen my technical skills at work, I also started a conversation with her about wanting a more technical role at Appian. I was terrified to ask, but I really wanted to explore Software Performance as an area of focus. I had grown very interested in this subject after starting to learn about it to support multiple software performance-focused features on my teams in the first two years of my career as QE. Diana advocated for me to be part of our quarterly rotation program where I could work on our Performance and Reliability Engineering team for a quarter to learn and try it out.

After this rotation, I started my master’s in September 2021 and during the year-long accelerated program, I’ll be honest—my whole life was work and school! My typical day looked like working until 5:30 p.m, dinner, and then off to either class, group project meetings, or readings. 

In August 2022, after a promotion to Senior Quality Engineer earlier in the year, I changed roles to a Software Engineer II and joined the team I had previously rotated with, while in the last month of my master's degree.

I felt like Diana and my current manager, Ankit, understood the mental load of taking on two big things at once and I really felt heard. It was a lot of change in one year! But I loved the challenge and the constant learning.

Diana had advocated for me to be promoted and helped me balance school through the past year.  Ankit encouraged me to use my Learning Time or take a few Fridays to focus on my last month of school. Every other Monday, Engineers have “Learning time” to focus on learning and development or experimenting with new projects. “You do what you need to, and we’re here for you,” was his reassurance. He also made sure to check in on me consistently as I transitioned into a new team and role.

I also want to thank Matthias Lee and Silpa Mittapalli for playing an instrumental part in advocating for my role change and supporting my career growth. Matthias, a Distinguished Software Engineer at Appian, inspired me to explore Performance Engineering further and has mentored and vouched for me throughout this process. Silpa, a Director in Software Development, went above and beyond in making my role change a reality. I am so grateful for their support.

How my teams at Appian helped me through grad school. 

I learned to be okay being the person who says no sometimes, and that it’s okay (and needed!) to ask for help. Since I switched teams at Appian a few times during the year of my master's program, I was upfront with my new teammates about my tight schedule, and how much I appreciated their accommodation. 

I got a chance to meet Appian folks as I interviewed them for my assignments about AI/predictive data modeling and concepts of IT governance. I learned how other groups in Engineering and departments outside of Engineering operate! I was also lucky enough to get to know other Appianites that had done the same masters degree as the one I was doing.  It was a very enlightening experience for me and I am so grateful that everyone at Appian was open to sharing their knowledge with me. 

Lastly, I had the opportunity to mentor a few new Engineers on the team and share my experience. I think it was helpful to show that it is possible to do school and continue with your education while working full time.

Connecting the dots from class assignments to everyday work.

In classes, I got the chance to learn about how different teams work and how business decisions are made. This was a much higher level view than my everyday engineering tasks. It helped me empathize with other roles in meetings.

For example, in one class we learned about the relationships and sometimes natural tension between Product Management and Engineering teams. Product owners have to be ruthless at prioritizing and managing so many inputs from other teams. Engineers often push back against anything that compromises the quality of the product. My class readings and lectures helped me bring a new perspective to our biweekly meetings with the Product team at Appian understanding their point of view and the pressure they’re under.

There were also many technical lessons I brought back to my Appian work. 

Our first module was about Enterprise Architecture and we learned a lot about data management. Those learnings put all of Modern Records' Data modeling features that I was working on at the time into a whole new perspective for me. It made different jigsaw pieces in my head all click together. It also gave me an opportunity to share some of Appian's Low Code Data released features with my UVA classmates and professors!

I got to graduate in August with my family who came all the way from Indonesia. It was also the first time I’d seen them in three years since the pandemic so it was a huge celebration! 

Reflecting back, I thought I had to choose between the two career routes. However, I am lucky to share that Appian has empowered me to pursue both avenues - grow my technical skills and take a step toward a future in management. I plan to keep pushing myself to learn new concepts and technologies so I can continue to grow in my new role!

It all started with an open, candid, and what felt like a scary conversation with my manager Diana about where I wanted to grow. This story wouldn’t be complete without her own words too. 

Now I’ll hand it over to Diana to share her experience!

Mentor, manager, and biggest cheerleader: Meet Diana Chavez.

I’m a Quality Engineering Manager at Appian and I believe you need to have a good, trusting relationship with your direct reports and understand their interests and motivations. It means giving people new opportunities and then asking: 

  • How do you think you did? 
  • Did you enjoy that work? Was it a mix of fun and challenging? 
  • What skills do you want to learn? How can I support you? 

Those are the kind of questions Tanvee and I would chat through after her quarter with the Performance & Reliability Engineering team and during her master’s degree. 

Tanvee was always a top performer at Appian. She is driven by curiosity and has never been satisfied with just doing her work, she always goes above and beyond. When she was an intern, she went ahead and found a tool to automate the work she was doing to be more efficient. She created the feature and prototyped it on her own. It was so impactful I still remember it five years later! 

Tanvee always let me know about opportunities she was considering. That was great because then I could do something with it, and explore different ways she could grow at Appian and help show her what training or education she’d need to get to the career she sees herself in.

High efficient teams that work the best together are the ones where people feel heard and seen. I see my job as a manager to listen, asking the right questions, and helping guide people to see what those paths can look like for them.

I’ve been at Appian for 13 years and I’m grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had to grow my career. Now as a manager I’m happy to give back to others and support them in their career paths. 

Congratulations to Tanvee—master’s graduate and new Software Engineer!

Learn more about ways to grow on our Engineering team. 

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5 Programs to Support Your Learning and Growth at Appian Kelly Kennedy on our Talent Development team helps people navigate career transitions. Learn how her team supports employees on their career journeys at Appian. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/5-programs-to-support-your-learning-and-growth-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 21 Sep 2022 12:00:00 GMT Teampic3

Before I joined Appian, I worked at a university helping students figure out their life and careers after school.  

I’ve found that I really enjoy working in the transitions of life, helping people navigate the complexities and ambiguities of trying something new. When you’re changing jobs, careers, or industries, there’s a lot of uncertainty. 

I felt this in my own experience with Appian. When I joined, it was a shift to work in a corporate tech environment and didn’t know what to expect.

Today, I work on the  Talent Development team and there are a lot of similarities to my past roles. So much of my day to day work is about helping people find a strong, supported place to launch and grow from. 

I want to share five ways we support employees’ learning and career growth. 

Meet Kelly Kennedy

1. Appian University

This is our very own online course library and curriculum that has everything from onboarding training to team-specific technical courses.

We partner with each department and determine the skills their team needs to learn, and then work with in-house and external experts to create courses based on those needs. Sometimes it includes people management skills like emotional intelligence, or specific technical expertise. Other popular courses are on employee development topics, such as navigating difficult conversations, and how to develop your leadership skills at work. 

2. The Manager Portal 

Even when you’re experienced in your career, becoming a people manager for the first time requires a big shift in how you work. It’s a very different role than an individual contributor.

With many Appian employees being promoted and growing into manager roles, our Talent Development team asked:

  • How can we clarify what to expect when you’re a manager? 
  • What training do new managers need for the transition? 
  • How are we providing resources that are easily accessible? 

We created the Managers Portal that lives on our home intranet with resources, training that’s available, and information on how our team can support people.

3. Leadership workshops: Presentations, managing up, and career transitions 

Career development workshops are offered throughout the year to all employees, either by an in-house expert or a guest speaker. One of our most popular ones was on managing up about understanding the context behind decisions and pressures your manager is under. Another popular workshop is on presentation skills, and how to adapt your presentations when your audience is in-person, online, or a hybrid. 

It’s also very common at Appian to have employees transition into new careers and new departments within the company. To help facilitate that, we host workshops featuring leaders across teams and people who have grown into new career paths at Appian through following their interests.  

4. Mentorships

Appian has eight employee-led Affinity Groups that play a key part in creating community and opportunities to meet coworkers outside of everyday work. The AppianWomen Mentorship Program matches women across the company and offers career growth opportunities and networking. Christine Danzi, AppianWomen Mentorship Program Leader, shared her experience developing the first mentorship program.

AppianRise supports personal and professional development for employees early in their careers. They organize a mentorship for interns every summer, and aim to make your first job less isolating. 

5. The Appian First Friend Program

To be set up for success, sometimes you need that one person in your corner, cheering you on. We ensure new employees have that person from the moment they start with Appian. The First Friend Program is part of orientation for all employees when they join. You’re paired with a buddy on another team to get that warm welcome, and have a go-to person you can turn to. 

Being set up to learn and grow at Appian isn’t just set programs you can participate in, it’s having a built in network of people who will encourage you along the way. 

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What’s important to remember about learning and development is that your career interests change over time. The goal is to give employees a strong place to launch from that sets the tone for their whole experience at Appian. 

I’ve realized most of my work across different jobs and industries relates back to building communities that help people feel a sense of belonging. That’s what I’ve found in my role now at Appian as well. To grow in your career, you need to be in an environment that supports your learning, and that’s what these programs are really all about. 



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Being An Appian Intern: Real World Experience and Mentorship For Emilio Cano, the mentorship program was a chance to learn beyond his everyday tasks -—from rock climbing, to how Appian works. Hear why he and mentor James Sterchi call it a highlight of their summer. https://careers.appian.com/blog/early-careers-and-internships/being-an-appian-intern-real-world-experience-and-mentorship/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 07 Sep 2022 12:00:00 GMT APN16968

Emilio Cano joined the Appian Engineering team for the summer and was most excited for the technical challenges. After three months, he’s leaving with different takeaways than he expected; things like how a software company operates, the different career paths in tech, and the positive impact of having a mentor.

At Appian, interns are split into small groups and matched with a mentor. This program is organized by AppianRise, our Affinity Group that supports professional development for employees early in their career. 

Emilio and four other interns were paired with James Sterchi, who started his career at Appian right out of college and remembers what it’s like to join your first workplace. Emilio and James shared their experiences, what they learned, and what advice they’d give to future interns.


Meet Emilio Cano

  • Environmental Engineering student, Princeton University 
  • Machine Learning Intern, Summer 2022

Meet James Sterchi

  • Associate Solutions Consultant 
  • Mentor, AppianRise

What was your first mentorship group meeting like? 

Emilio: After our first week of orientation sessions and meeting so many people, I was expecting another meeting of sitting back and learning when we met James. I could tell immediately it had a different vibe. He didn’t have a slideshow prepared and didn’t spend a lot of time talking. 

It was very personal, tailored to our group, and James genuinely wanted to learn about who we were and what we liked to do. We set up weekly Tuesday meetings where there was no agenda, which was great! In our group of five interns, there were two Sales interns, two Engineers and one in Marketing.

James: I started the first meeting by asking: What do y’all want to get out of your term this summer? This group is for you, however you want to use it. We found out pretty quickly that it would be most beneficial to focus on social events and getting to know each other beyond our day to day work. They were all pretty excited to be paired with interns from different teams so it was also about learning what other departments do to give a more holistic view of Appian overall.
From that first meeting on, we just had a blast. I think the open, casual approach really worked well because we didn’t just sit around and ask everyone what they wanted to do when they got older — that’s what everyone asks students! Sometimes we’d play ping pong, or go for a walk around the office. By creating this open environment for genuine conversations to flow, it often led to deeper, more meaningful discussions.

Walking around our HQ office in McLean, Virginia.

What was your favorite meeting or event? 

Emilio: One of our group members, Aidan, loved rock climbing, so one night we all went rock climbing which was really fun! He taught us about bouldering and led a few activities. After this event, I became closer friends with everyone in the group and the meetings became something I was really looking forward to each week.

In one meeting, James walked us through what his day to day looks like and how he creates demos for other companies. Another time, the Sales intern scheduled a cold call during our meeting! We all actually got to hear how he talks about the Appian platform to potential customers. Since I’m on the Engineering team building the product, it was super cool to see how other teams and customers actually use it!

James: At the end of the summer, a few of our mentee and mentor groups got together for an escape room and dinner. We were at this long table and the interns were asking anything and everything that came to mind— rapid fire questions about Appian, our experience, career advice, etc - things of that nature.

I could tell they felt comfortable asking us all about our experience. It was really nice to see that level of transparency with everyone. I definitely need to give kudos to my intern group for how enthusiastic everyone was throughout the summer, and to AppianRise for organizing the program. It was a really stellar group and I feel like the mentors learned as much from the mentees as they did from us.

Aidan, one of the interns, is a big rock climbing fan so one night we went out and he taught us all about bouldering. 

What were the main things you learned over the summer?

Emilio: I got a lot more than just the technical learning, thanks to the mentorship program. I learned about the context behind how our Appian platform is used across teams and with customers. That kind of deeper understanding and view of the product is something I haven’t gotten with past internships. 

It’s so different coding at a software company than coding for class projects! In school, you get the scaffolding and the one file you write your code in, and that’s it. When you’re working, there’s so many other variables. You have to be aware of what other people are working on, how all the files connect, and things are always changing. Knowing technical languages and tools are only one part of working as an Engineer, and there’s so much I took away from the summer about the actual experience of working at a software company with a team.

James: First off, I learned how to absolutely race through an escape room.

All of us after we set the Georgetown Escape Game Record!

But in all seriousness, I learned TONS from the mentees. I would try to stay quiet and listen for most of our meetings as they always had insightful things to say and experiences to share.  I learned new ways to message Appian (my job) from Raif. I learned the inner workings of our product from Jacob and the impact of data science on sustainability from Emilio. I was taught advanced climbing techniques from Aidan, and I could write a whole book on what I learned work ethic wise from Frankie. They thought about things differently than I did, and brought fresh perspectives to the day-to-day at Appian. I found that I learned the most by listening and giving them the time to process and chat through things, and genuinely taking the time to get to know them. I'll definitely do my best to carry this approach going forward in anything I do.

What advice would you give to students starting their first internship?

Emilio: There’s more to the internship than just the day to day work and tools you’ll learn. Get to know people and ask about the culture. There’s also so many career paths you don’t know exist until you work somewhere, so take the time to learn about what other people are doing and what jobs are out there! 

James: Just have fun with it. Go in with an open mind, explore things outside of your day-to-day role, and consider that you’ll likely get out what you put in. Take the time to get to know others, learn more about the things that interest you, , and try to make the most out of your brief time there. There are plenty of tools, resources, and people to help you succeed, so don't be afraid to go out and try something new!  If you dive headfirst into the experience, you'll have the chance to learn so much more about the role, the company, and yourself. 

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The AppianRise intern mentorship program is one of the many ways they help employees early in their careers. Learn more about how AppianRise makes your first job less isolating.

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Innovate on the Appian Low-Code Platform by Joining Our Chennai Engineering Team Ideate, Innovate and Collaborate on the Chennai Engineering team. Learn about our growing platform team and apply to join. https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/innovate-on-the-appian-low-code-platform-by-joining-our-chennai-engineering-team/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 30 Aug 2022 12:00:00 GMT Blogheader

Appian Chennai is a first-in-class Software Platform Development Center in a city that predominantly focuses on the IT Services and Manufacturing sectors.   As part of the Appian Chennai Engineering Team, you will have the opportunity to innovate across the Appian Platform.

My name is Wasif Akbar, and I’m the Director of Software Development at Appian. I’m leading the setup of our new platform development center in Chennai, India. Joining our team is an exciting opportunity to ideate, innovate, and collaborate with talented team members in an agile environment, in a fast growing, brand name multinational.

What can you expect joining the new team? I’ve been asked many variations of this question, and I want to share my experience at Appian, how the Engineering team is structured, and why now is an exciting time to join the growing Appian Chennai team.

High Code v Low Code v No Code.

The Appian Platform is the market leading Low Code, No Code platform, but what does that really mean?  

Historically software programming was really low level programming moving bits and bytes around until the advent of programming languages such as C, C++.  Then came High Code Object-Oriented languages such as Java and C# and countless supporting frameworks that abstracted the technical complexity of the previous generation.

Low Code, No Code Platforms further abstract the technical complexity by providing users with a combination of pre-built software components and designer tools for all layers.  This allows Low Code developers to quickly design, drag, drop, and configure components to build simple to large scale, industrial strength solutions to automate any business process.

The Appian Platform consists of three major modules; Workflow, Robotic Process Automation and Process Mining.  When engineered together, they dramatically speed up the digital transformation journey for our customers. Appian engineers work with high-code languages to build the Low-Code, No Code platform that customers use. It takes tremendous engineering creativity and innovation to create a platform that is both easy-to-use and also powerful enough to support global, enterprise use cases.

Balance between structure and agile.

I’ve worked in software engineering for more than 20 years and have worked across a broad spectrum of teams from start up to fully mature software development teams.  One key challenge has always been to create Agile teams that are able to innovate at a fast pace and find a balance between Structure and Flexibility.

One of the biggest surprises I encountered with Appian is how effectively the team has implemented the principles of Agile and Agile2. The Engineering team is organized into several Business Units.  Each Business Unit is further organized into Groups.  Each Group is then further organized into small, agile squads of about ten team members.

Each Business Unit and Group has a head of Product, Development and Quality Engineering while Architecture, UX Design and Technical Writing are shared services across all Business Units.  

The squads focus on the day to day release work, while the Groups focus on quarterly goals and the Business Units on annual goals.

Across these three layers we have a precise balance of people, process and tools that enables innovation and collaboration amongst the Chennai, Europe, Sydney, and US-based Engineering teams.

Working on the Chennai Engineering team, you’ll be connected to the global Appian community and platform ecosystem. 

Build with leading edge tech.

The Chennai Engineering Team is a High Code Software Development team consisting of Product Managers, Software Developers, Quality Engineers, UX, UI Engineers and Designers. As an Engineer on Appian’s Chennai Team, you will be working with our modern tech stack and writing code in Java, Python or Selenium, or using frameworks like WebDriver, FitNesse or Locust, depending on the role. See more about our tools on our Engineering Tech Corner.

We are currently hiring for High Code Engineering across different functions to work on the Appian Platform.  It is an opportunity for talented Product Managers, Quality Engineers, UX Engineers and Designers to work on a market leading, innovative platform for a fast growing, brand name, multinational. 

Are you interested in being the next member of our Chennai Engineering team? Come join us!  See our current job opportunities here.  

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Joining the Appian Chennai Team: What to Expect Courtney Connolly answers common questions she’s heard from candidates, and shares her experience staying connected to the global Appian community. Read more about what to expect on the Chennai Engineering team. https://careers.appian.com/blog/talent-acquisition/joining-the-appian-chennai-team-what-to-expect/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 25 Aug 2022 12:00:00 GMT 20220609 Appian Gettogether 0030 (2)

Hi everyone, I'm Courtney. I’m the Head of People & Culture based in Sydney, Australia, and I’m leading recruitment for our new development center in Chennai, India!

I was part of setting up our Appian office here in Australia, and it was an exciting time in the beginning where we were in start-up mode building the team, while also being connected and supported by our global Appian community. That’s the stage we’re at with our Chennai team!


That’s also what makes it a really great time to join with so much opportunity to grow and lead. We know if you’re thinking of applying, you probably have lots of questions. What would my experience look like? How will the Chennai team actually feel part of the Appian team?

Here are some of the common questions we’ve been getting from candidates and what you can expect joining the Appian team. 

What growth opportunities are there at Appian? 

We are planning for high-growth in Chennai, which means our first few employees won't be a small group for long! Since we’re in “start-up mode,” there are many growth opportunities to take on a variety of roles and leadership positions in the future.

You’ll find many stories of Appian employees here long-term because of growth and professional development opportunities. Myself included —I started at Appian in 2013 as Lead, University Talent Acquisition and since then I’ve grown into four different roles, first based in the US and now in Australia! 

How does the Chennai team stay connected to the global Appian community? 

The Chennai team works closely with the US-based Engineering team with regular meetings and projects they collaborate on. The Engineering team has already expanded in other offices around the world including London, Berlin and Seville so you won’t be the only international team! 

Recurring check-ins help with staying connected to global teams. For example, I lead and am part of a larger global team; and fortunately, I have regular meetings with my US, Europe, and India-based colleagues.

Appian Affinity Groups and our many Google chat spaces are great ways to stay connected as well! The Affinity groups do their best to host outside of US time-zone friendly virtual events, which is another fun way to remain connected to other employees across the globe. I’m a mentor in the AppianWomen and started the AppianPride group in 2017.  

There are also dozens of Appian Google chat spaces which can be joined by anyone across the company. These groups tend to be topical, making it easy to connect socially (for example: one of my favorite groups is called Pet Parents where employees are regularly sharing photos of their pets!) 

Will it feel like an island being in this new office?

I’m known for being very honest and direct so admittedly, I’ve felt this way at times living in Australia. However, the feeling is short-lived, and there are so many ways to take advantage of the virtual ways to be connected. Joining Appian Affinity groups has really helped me meet new people cross-regionally and cross-departmentally!  

You should also absolutely work from our amazing office as often as possible! We're excited to host weekly meals and a myriad of events — particularly in the coming months with so many new joiners starting each month — which provide easy ways for people to feel connected. 

What is the interview process like? 

The interviewing experience is a two-way street; you should be interviewing your prospective team, as they are interviewing you.

I like to think of our Appian recruiting team as “keepers of the culture,” and we want to get to know you well and ensure you can really get to know us too.

This means the interview process may seem long. We put in the time to get to know candidates well and give you the opportunities to learn about us and Appian to ensure it’s a good match for you. 

Here are the three steps you can expect in the interview process at Appian:

  1. Phone screen with recruiter (based on resume)
  2. Hiring manager interview (behavioral questions and resume-based)
  3. Final technical and culture interviews. This involves four separate interviews comprising of: 
    1. Two technical interviews with Engineering team members 
    2. Behavioral interview with Engineering team member 
    3. Culture interview with Appian Executive (may or may not be within Engineering department)  

You can expect phone calls, emails, and Whatsapp messages from us.  

We’re learning and this is a chance for you to learn about us, too, to see if it’s a good fit. Learn more about tips for how to succeed in your Appian job interview

Why Appian? 

So if you’re still on the fence whether Appian is for you, I’ll tell you the main reason I’ve stayed here for more than nine years — it’s the people.

You’ll be joining a team of curious people who always show up to help. I cannot overstate enough the value of working alongside managers, peers, and direct reports who share comparable professional drive, dedication, and focus.

When people talk about their dream jobs, I smile to myself because I really feel like I’ve found my dream job here at Appian (although to be clear, I don’t believe in any one definition of “dream career!”)

It’s the same answer to the question of “Why Chennai?” It’s quite simply the people. When Appian assesses why and where to launch in new geographic locations, we place people and culture at the heart of our decision making processes. 

Learn more about our Appian Chennai job openings here.

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How AppianRise Makes Your First Job Less Isolating The AppianRise Affinity Group creates a community for young professionals. Learn how they’re helping people spark connections. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/how-appianrise-makes-your-first-job-less-isolating/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 18 Aug 2022 12:00:00 GMT DSC09751

Coming out of college into your first job can be overwhelming. 

You’re used to a rigid schedule, studying, and focusing on a test score. Then you come into the workforce and you have more flexibility over your time and projects, and it’s a lot to learn. Similarly, for making a career transition, it can feel like starting from scratch. 

That’s where AppianRise comes in. It’s our Affinity Group that creates an inclusive community dedicated to sparking meaningful discussion about personal and professional developments for employees early in their careers.

Cece Cizek Kirkwood and Rishab Iyer are AppianRise board members, and both know what it can feel like to be isolated at work. Now they’re leading AppianRise initiatives to help others on their early career journeys. 

Meet Cece Cizek Kirkwood. 

  • Engineering Analyst
  • Inclusion Chair, AppianRise 

Creating a space where it’s okay to say “I don’t know.” 

I lead the onboarding committee for new hires in engineering and I’ve seen how it’s a big jump to transition into your first full-time job, and experienced it myself. Through AppianRise, we want to be able to provide some structure, and create a community and space where people know that it’s okay to feel a bit lost at the beginning and that you’re not alone. It’s also about creating a space where it’s okay to not know your five year career plan. No one really does! 

When I joined Appian, it was a career switch for me. I had studied business in school and stumbled into non-profit fundraising. I was good with people, wanted to make a positive impact on the environment, and grew into three positions at the non-profit I was at. But, eventually, I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes operations and project management work. 

When a friend reached out about this position at Appian, I didn’t check all the boxes. I didn’t know if it was exactly what I wanted to do. But it matched with the skills I had and wanted to keep working on, so that’s how I got here! 

There’s so much pressure growing up to have a plan and know what career you want. I hope that our work with AppianRise creates a space where people know that it’s okay to not know.

What you don’t realize in school is that everyone is figuring it out, even at a workplace. People change, and people’s interests in work change too. If there’s something you want to try, you can, and you have the support behind you.

Appian has proven for myself and others that you can grow here. Being able to help people do their jobs better is really fulfilling, and that’s a lot of what I do today and what I love about AppianRise. 

Helping spark new connections across Appian. 

We’ve heard from so many AppianRise members that they join to meet people outside of their everyday work. It’s a hub to connect with others you otherwise wouldn’t meet at Appian. When we can help build connections between someone in engineering and someone in marketing for example who don’t otherwise work together, it’s so cool to hear stories about how having another peer in their corner makes such a difference in their work experience. 

Here are a few of the events and initiatives we’ve led with AppianRise:  

  • Podcast and book club 
  • Professional development workshops on managing up, and ways to grow in your career
  • Partnered with Appian Engineering Guilds to host talks on leadership, and implicit bias
  • Social events like happy hours and trivia nights 
  • Mentorship program 

AppianRise table at one of our happy hours at HQ. We handed out AppianRise swag.

We host many events open to everyone, but sometimes the small and intimate ones are most meaningful. We have a podcast club where we pick a podcast to listen to and then meet to chat about it. One meeting only four people showed up and I remember thinking it’s too bad there wasn't a big turnout. But after the event, every single person messaged me saying how great it was to make those connections. It makes me so happy to hear stories about how people build these connections across teams at Appian.

Meet Rishab Iyer.

  • Consultant  
  • Mentorship Outreach Chair, AppianRise

Community of young professionals. 

I started at Appian in August 2020 and was looking for a way to meet other coworkers. Working remotely can be isolating and takes intentional effort to feel connected. I’m on a small team with others at director or VP levels and it allowed me to have a new network and community within Appian. 

Now being part of the AppianRise board, it's a totally different kind of work than my customer success work and I love the variety it brings to my work weeks. I lead the mentorship program, which pairs interns with Appian employee mentors who they can learn from throughout their term. It involves lots of coordinating, meeting with mentees and mentors, and providing resources and guides for people to draw from. 

Being the matchmaker behind mentorship.

 I’m the one behind the curtain helping coordinate the matches! I work closely with our HR partner who interviews all the interns. I meet with all the mentors who have volunteered to better understand their personalities, skills, and hobbies to see who sounds like a good match. We especially look for mentors to have 3-5 years of experience who can easily relate to the feelings of your first job. 

Here’s what the mentorship looks like: 

  • Meeting at least four times during the intern’s term 
  • Participating in AppianRise events 
  • Having someone in your corner, someone on another team to chat with for questions and support 

We provide email templates and guides to spark conversation but we leave a lot up to the mentors to see where it goes. I still talk to my mentee from last year who isn’t returning to Appian but followed up to say how much he appreciated the program and to have someone to lean on and trust during his first term.

There’s been so much interest from Appian employees to be mentors, we actually couldn’t take everyone this year and had a waitlist. It has shown us how many people see the value in mentorship and want to pay it forward to others. 

When it comes down to it, our work with AppianRise is about creating a community and making people feel less alone. We know your first job or making a career switch can be overwhelming and figuring out where to grow in your career is hard. Being part of it has made my Appian experience so much better. 

AppianRise is for anyone looking for community and professional growth, tailored to young professionals. We’re all about setting up programs for support, and creating a hub to make it easier to build connections.

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Why I Joined The Appian Mountain West Sales Team Enterprise Account Executive Neal Stanfield was searching for a company disrupting the tech industry. That’s what led his tech sales career to Appian. https://careers.appian.com/blog/sales/why-i-joined-the-appian-mountain-west-sales-team/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 27 Jul 2022 12:00:00 GMT IMG 3840 (1)

Before I joined Appian, I was noticing a big shift in the technology industry. 

I saw  lines of business like finance, R&D, sales, HR, manufacturing, and product development looking outside of IT to advance their digital transformation. IT was their go to for support and definitely not driving innovative disruption. 

I kept seeing speed as a distinguishing factor for the most advanced environments. They could pivot, iterate, respond, and adjust with the market. Customer feedback drove change. Change was embraced and feedback was sought after. 

I wanted to work for a disruptor, a company that could help customers achieve their objectives faster while increasing meaningful business impact. That’s what led me to Appian. 

  • Enterprise Account Executive 
  • Joined Appian December 2021
  • Based in Utah 

Searching for a disrupter company.

My job search involved talking to a lot of different people across companies to learn about how they approached their work. I looked into RPA companies, consulting, and big tech players like Amazon, AWS, Azure and Google. I spoke with large integrators, consulting firms and the reseller partner community.

I had never heard of Appian, but when a recruiter reached out I took the meeting. I was astounded by the Appian platform. It would allow customers to take any business process with any team and any applications and make it a single digital workflow to be used on any device at any time. It was the use case for complete automation, to drive speed of business outcomes. 

Everything started lining up as I did more research about Appian. They won Gartner’s Customers’ Choice Award every year and across four categories, Global Enterprise $10B+, Large Enterprise $1-10B+, etc. They were the only vendor that is recognized as a leader across Digital Process Automation Software, Intelligent Business Process Management Suites, Dynamic Case Management, and several other categories. 

In June 2021 there was a Total Economic Impact study done by Forrester to examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises realize by deploying Appian. The key findings were that customers on average accelerated application development by 17x, improved time-to-value of application by 50%, simplification and automation of application portfolio reduced costs by 50% and improved employee efficiency by 7,800 hours annually through Digital Process Automation (DPA). 

Within the partner community, I found major consulting firms like Accenture, KPMG, PwC and Deloitte with entire Appian practices built out. Appian has been the enabling platform during some of the most disruptive and transformational periods over the years. Customers included major finance institutions, healthcare payers and providers, life sciences, high tech, media, manufacturing, government and education. 

Use cases were not limited to one or two lines of business either. Customer retention was almost 100% and once a customer had used the Appian platform for one use case, it would spread to all lines of business. I found one customer used Appian in over 65 different use cases.

Lastly, one of my most unexpected findings was that the founding leadership and owners who developed Appian in 1999 were still leading the company today. These leaders weren’t sitting back in their chairs waiting for success either. I listened to the 2019 Appian World conference key notes and CEO, Matt Calkins blew me away with his sincere interest in people, his innovative vision, and his college grad drive for taking Appian to the next level! 

In the end, I realized Appian was exactly what I was looking for. 

Top 3 reasons I chose tech sales at Appian. 

I went from having zero prior knowledge on Appian to joining the team as an Enterprise Account Executive. Here are the main opportunities I see working in Sales at Appian: 

  1. Market share and opportunities for the product 

The Appian product is the next competitive edge for advancing business outcomes. I believe our unified low code automation platform is ahead of its time by enabling faster time to business outcome. .

Companies want market share, speed, and overall lower risk. By using Appian, our customers don’t have to pay high end developers or wait years for a solution they need today which drives lower cost and improved efficiencies. I saw a huge opportunity for what the product could do, providing the flexibility of custom code and the speed of an off the shelf solution. 

I believe Appian is the next AirBnB or Uber. In just six months, I am seeing how it’s changing our approach to work and how companies operate. 

In tech, we all know things break. But when you have a solid technical product with systems in place and a track record of responding quickly with fixes, it makes a world of a difference for your customers. In my first six months at Appian, my customers haven’t had any major outages or technical problems that have impacted performance at all. 

As a salesperson, it’s reassuring  to stand behind a product that has a history of delivering to its customers. I’ve heard from our clients first hand about the positive impacts they’ve experienced. With a solution like Appian, you don’t have to question if your integrity is on the line while working in Sales. The appian platform delivers every time.

     2. Customer reviews and retention rate

As mentioned previously, Appian has a five star ranking from our customer reviews by Gartner, and was named a Customers’ Choice in the latest Gartner Peer Insights Report. Last quarter our cloud subscription revenue retention rate was about 120%.

When I joined Appian, I wanted to hear directly from the customers about their experience. I met with many customers face to face and asked them to be honest with me and tell me what their experience was with the platform. What stood out to me most wasn’t what they said but how they said it.

Our customers smiled ear to ear and told me how much they love Appian. Additionally, some of them even said they’ve won awards in their organization because of the impact the Appian platform has had on their business. 

These interviews with our existing customers showed me that Appian customers truly love the platform and the Appian teams that partner and advise them. 

     3. A culture of iterating and experimentation 

I believe the best tech companies aren’t the biggest, they’re the ones that respond fastest to customer needs. I could tell from the start people at Appian were open to trying new things and not limited to the way things have been done. 

For example, I recently requested permission to host an event with our field marketing team. I had some of our existing customers speak about their experience prior to and after moving to the Appian platform. The audience had both customers and prospects. Since then, I have had multiple meetings with net new customers and have the flexibility to get creative to develop new business. There’s a lot of financial opportunity at Appian in the Mountain West market and it's an exciting time for our growing Sales team here.

What I learned from the inside at Appian during my first 30 days. 

It’s all true. Appian is still amazing, even after you join the team. 

In my first month at Appian, I made an effort to meet at least one person every day to learn as much as I could from others. I talked to colleagues in marketing, sales, and management. I asked about their work, how they are successful and their tips for how I could be successful in my new role.

Many people went out of their way to help me. They listened and provided valuable feedback. I was given resources and directed to best practices. I was surprised at how much is prepared for us to be successful. In fact, Appian has adopted a methodology to sales that I have never seen before. And, it’s not just this year’s training that will eventually be forgotten. It is ingrained in all we do and part of the common language between sales, operations, delivery and support. 

People here want you to be successful. They believe in Appian and see us as a real team, not just as individuals. I met one of the founders and they are  just as invested and tenacious as when they started the company. I know I am important here and my efforts are making a difference. This gives me purpose. It drives me every day. 

You’ll have a meaningful impact working at Appian. We’re not 20,000 employees, we’re 2,000. You need to come with a lot of grit and you have to be interested in building and innovating in creative ways to solve sales problems. But, it’s worth it. Believe me. We really do make an impact and the company makes it worth it financially to us as well. They really do value us. Each one of us. 

I’m honored and thankful to have made the move to Appian. I left my last company after being there for 7 years. Considering the change was definitely uncomfortable but after looking deeper, it was worth it. Appian made it worth it. 

Friends, if you have questions or would like to learn more about Appian, I’d be happy to chat. 

If you’re interested in joining the Appian Sales team, see our current job opportunities here

 

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Visibility and Equality: What Being A Part of AppianPride Means Inclusion is personal. AppianPride members Rebecca Rosalia and Mike Todd share what creating safe spaces means to them. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/visibility-and-equality-what-being-a-part-of-appianpride-means/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 23 Jun 2022 12:00:00 GMT Headerpng

Talking about what makes a workplace inclusive is personal. Everyone has a very unique experience and it can be difficult to describe what that looks like without hearing real people’s stories. 

AppianPride aims to create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ community members and allies. What does being part of AppianPride mean to you?

We asked Rebecca Rosalia and Mike Todd who shared their experiences with AppianPride, the impact they see across the company, and top resources to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community. 

Meet Rebecca Rosalia.

  • Workplace Experience Manager 
  • Based in Virginia, US  
  • Co-founder of AppianPride

Back when Affinity Groups were fairly new Appian, it made sense to have a Pride group. We were a growing company and needed to have representation and to create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. I co-founded the group with Courtney Connolly and when we proposed the idea to HR they were quickly on board. 

AppianPride membership is a little different than some of our other groups because it’s very often invisible and up to individuals if they feel comfortable self-reporting. Employees can join as LGBTQ+ community members or as allies but I think there’s a higher level of confidentiality around a group like this that’s crucial in creating a safe space.

Inclusion is a personal experience. 

I came out midway through my employment here. I just started bringing dates to events and nobody looked twice at me or said anything. Nobody cared and I appreciated and respected that. My orientation has nothing to do with how I’m received by other people. It’s never changed anything at work. 

It’s hard to explain what inclusion means to me. I can only speak to my personal experience and how it feels to be part of a place where you feel valued and welcomed to be yourself. 

So much of your workplace experience is dependent on your manager and your direct team. Even if people work for the same company, they can experience a very different environment and culture being on another team. That’s why it’s so important to have Affinity Groups focused on creating change and inclusive policies throughout the company. It needs to be intentional or it’ll slip through the cracks. AppianHeritage and its work creating an inclusive culture is another crucial piece of this work, and there’s always more we can do to create safe spaces for people.

Why Affinity Groups matter. 

I’ve worked at Appian for 14 years and we’ve changed and grown a lot, but the open and accepting culture here has been consistent. It was never a surprise that AppianPride was welcomed, it made sense and we had the initiative to start it.

People here are good humans who want to do the right thing. AppianPride is focused on community, engagement, and education and this translates into leading many initiatives throughout the year. 

I knew we were an open and accepting organization. Being part of campus recruiting events and sharing stories of AppianPride made it that much more powerful. So many people have been hired because we talk about AppianPride and our Affinity Groups at campus job fairs. It matters to people. They want to be part of an organization that values and prioritizes creating safe spaces like this.


Meet Mike Todd.

  • Consultant
  • Based in Sydney, Australia
  • Lead, AppianPride APAC (Asia-Pacific region) 

The Appian team in Australia is a close-knit small group so often everyone gets involved in our AppianPride events. We celebrate Mardi Gras in February, host happy hour socials, lead training sessions, and partner with LGBTQ+ charities.  

For example, our AppianPride group recently organized a team event going to the Sydney Comedy Festival! A bunch of the festival themes were about LGBTQ+ topics and it was a fun event to get together outside the office. Coming up for Pride Month, we’re leading a team event where we’ll do the iconic Bondi-Coogee coastal walk to raise funds for a local charity. 

AppianPride organized a team event going to the Sydney Comedy Festival. 

Rewarding to see impact. 

Being part of AppianPride has given me something at work beyond the day to day job I’m contracted for. I’ve  shared ideas with people from other parts of Appian in Europe and the US who I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and it’s exciting to be part of creating this larger community. 

It’s rewarding organizing AppianPride events and then hearing from people that they are learning and gaining exposure to diverse topics. What’s common knowledge for me may be totally new for someone else and creating a safe space to ask questions  is what we aim to do. 

I hope this encourages people to feel more comfortable within the company and to come to work more authentically. That's what I hope is the real impact.  

3 Ways to learn about Pride this month.

While it's great to be a part of training sessions and Pride social events, it really  hits home when you hear someone’s story. Whether that’s through a conversation  or hearing a real person’s perspective in a movie or book. It's important to actively seek out those resources.

If you’re looking to learn and find some of these stories, here are 3 ways to start: 

  1. Browse the PFLAG blog. AppianPride has hosted trainings with PFLAG, an organization that supports the LGBTQ+ community and allies in the US through education and advocacy.  

  2. Read Honeybee by Craig Silvey. It’s a book about an Australian transgender teen and their experiences and friendships. I read it and personally had never thought about many of the topics they discussed. Reading this book about the life story of a transgender person was really powerful.

  3. Follow Matt Bernstein on Instagram. On a lighter note, Matt’s account is a fun way to keep up with current events in the queer community, with a bit of comedy too! 

There’s an overwhelming amount of resources out there online, but I hope these 3 help you learn something new! A big part of AppianPride is getting together as a community, and learning and sharing experiences. Creating a safe space means listening without judgment and always being open to learning something new. 

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Pa-ppian: Life As A Dad At Appian In 2014, Paul Mayeur joined Appian right before he was going to become a father to his first child. 8 years later, he excited to share an updated entry about how he has been able to grow both in his career and as a father. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/pa-ppian-life-as-a-dad-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Sun, 19 Jun 2022 12:00:00 GMT Shutterstock 1684800766

Then:

September, 2014

Hi everyone! I’m Paul and I started working at Appian in September of 2014 as a Quality Engineer. When I accepted the job, I knew my wife was pregnant with our first child but we  hadn’t really told anyone just yet. Like most companies, Appian kicks off orientation on the first day and I used that time to ask questions about how our benefits could support my family.

Since I had been only employed for a few weeks, I figured I wouldn’t be able to take time off. Luckily, my manager told me not to worry; he was happy to be flexible with my schedule and allowed me to take time off to spend quality time with my first child. From that moment, I knew Appian was different when it came to caring about their employees, and encouraging us to be present during life’s most precious moments. I truly felt supported from the start. 

Another form of “support” I received was through the internal “Parents’ Group” chat. It is an awesome resource for parents and provides a space for us to ask each other questions, such as: “Does anyone know of a good summer camp for 12 year olds?” or “My daughter is learning to program, are there any cool new toys you recommend?” Colleagues even offer clothes or books that their kids no longer use. This group has really helped me over the years.

Now:

July, 2022

Eight years later, I am still at Appian and happy to say all of the above still rings true. I am now a Lead Quality Engineer and have been able to grow both in my career and as a father too.

We have welcomed another addition to our family! Our first is now seven (time flies!) and our second is going to be four next month! Not only has my family grown, but Appian has also grown. We now have around 1900 employees spanning the globe and offer all parents 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave. Appian is flexible with when we can take the leave as well. I have seen new fathers take 4 weeks initially then 8 weeks once their partner has to return to work. This gives the parents almost 6 months time before needing to consider daycare! 

Speaking of daycare, Appian now has a daycare (Celebree) at our Headquarters in McLean, VA. This is a great opportunity for parents to get accustomed to their children entering daycare because they are within very close proximity. Coming from a parent who utilizes this daycare, it is great to know I can run downstairs at any time just to check in on my kids. There have been times where I could pick them up for a quick lunch in our cafeteria or have a picnic outside. Some of my favorite memories are driving to and from work because my kids are with me. My wife often says she is jealous because I get to drop off and pick them up every day. 

There's a lot of engagement within the kids group chat.  I enjoy updating other parents with the latest kid news.

The “Kids" group chat room is still going very strong and we have some of the most amazing conversations. They range from “My kid loves the tv show Bluey, everyone must watch it!” to “How do I stop my kid from taking one bite out of every pickle in the jar”? I even enjoy just updating my coworkers on how I am able to spend time with my kids. It is really fun and insightful to talk to everyone about their personal experiences. As we grow as a company, more and more of my coworkers are joining the parenting life. Regardless of size, Appian continues to show they care by sending a box of goodies to every new parent as they adjust. 

Box of goodies sent out to new parents and their child.

There’s many parental perks at Appian that I enjoy on a day to day basis. My personal favorite is the overall work flexibility. Our informal policy of “get your work done” and be “transparent with your team” has allowed me to take time off to enjoy special moments with my kids. I have been able to chaperone their school field trips which was something I always dreamed of doing before I was even a parent. Another perk is our headquarters. My kids beg me to bring them to the “daddy’s toy and snack office.” In fact, Appian just hosted an annual “Spring Fling” at HQ, which was a family friendly event with carnival games, food, and music to officially kick off summer. I took my kids and they especially loved the dunk tank and cotton candy machine. They are already asking when they can go back again.



Picture from our Spring Fling event at Appian HQ. 

Here at Appian, we value the whole-person, and all aspects of their lives and I have seen it firsthand through the support I have received as a father. So regardless of whether you have to drop your kid off before work, or pick them up early to go to piano lessons, Appian encourages you to do so. If you are a new parent at Appian (or are not working with us yet), rest assured: you’ll find a great home here. Check out our open positions and apply today!

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Agile In Action: How We Built Appian Portals Leading with agility means being open to new ideas everywhere, even while playing Wordle. Product Manager John Rogers shares the behind the scenes of testing and building Appian Portals. https://careers.appian.com/blog/engineering-and-product/agile-in-action-how-we-built-appian-portals/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Thu, 16 Jun 2022 12:00:00 GMT Mainheader

I got into playing Wordle in December 2021, like many others around the world. The daily word game had me hooked. 

I was also focused at work on building Appian Portals for our launch in March of 2022. At its simplest, Portals allows applications made through the Appian platform to be publicly available. 

To really test the new features, therefore, we needed to make something public - internal testing wasn't going to realistically replicate the usage pattern for an app that can be used by anyone, anywhere in the world. I got the idea to create Pordl, a version of Wordle using Appian. Our thinking was to put some real world stress on Appian Portals to experiment and learn all we can about how to make it better. And doing it with a game was a way to get broad participation.

I’m John Rogers, Manager of Product Management at Appian. After being here for more than eight years, I've seen how we lead with agility as a company. I’ve also personally been a part of so many projects that lead with agility at its core. The growth of the Appian Portals product team was one of them. The project required a lot of creative testing (yes even with a word game!), and iterating our planned approach as we discovered new customer needs. 

If you dropped in once per month throughout the past year, there would likely be at least one major feature or plan that changed each time you checked in on Portals. That’s how we work — we’re agile and adaptable to change.

Making Pordl public, and inviting people to find the bugs. 

Appian Portals lets Appian customers use low-code tools to create public, dynamically scalable UIs for their external users — think of insurance quotes, surveys, onboarding, and more. 

Full transparency: games are not our sweet spot. Appian is mainly used to build applications that help improve efficiencies and workflows within businesses. But in order to go live with a successful project we have to test features, and what better way than making a word game that’s already so popular?

I am proud to say that I built the game myself. I’m not a technical developer but the great thing about our product is that you don’t need to be an expert to create apps in Appian. The team latched onto it and within a day of releasing Pordl, we'd already pinpointed multiple bugs in Appian Portals (two performance issues, a functional error, and several good enhancement ideas were just the start). It was a fun way to test, because it didn’t feel like we were asking people to do us a favor, they were just excited to play the game. 

Appian employees and people in our greater community enjoyed trying it out, which put the eyes on it that we needed. We wanted people to poke holes in it and ask questions in order to continue to improve it. 

We got questions like: 

  • Why is this so slow to load? 
  • What if we made the share button a different format? 
  • How can we make the user interface more similar to Wordle? 

Caption: When we released Pordl we got lots of great feedback and people were excited to test it out! 

Our team was on top of making the changes our audience wanted to see, and this gave us even more ideas on how to make Appian Portals better. Ultimately, we had hundreds of players around the world play almost 9,000 games of Pordl. This was thousands of hours of realistic testing — and needless to say, it would have been far beyond the capacity of my team to do this much testing purely internally!

This is one example of “dogfooding” at Appian, where we use our own product to help us internally and test how it will work for our customers. In the real world, apps often don’t behave the way we think they will, so the more testing the better. 

The Portals team started as an agile experiment.

The ability to create public apps through Appian has been highly requested for years - before Appian Portals, the only way to use an Appian app was to have a user account and log in. But the approach technologically on how to allow public access and have the greatest impact for customers was unclear. 

So we started the Portals project with what we call a discovery pod, or a “discopod.” It’s when we get a small group of people together to explore the hard technical questions to see if something is possible. 

We didn’t just move 15 engineers on the project right away. Before we do a large development investment, we want to ensure we've got an approach and scope of functionality that our partners and customers agree is valuable and addresses their needs. Our discovery pod first wanted to understand how it would work, asking how quickly can we move with this and what does it take to get something real that our customers can test?

The disco pod found an approach that was easier than folks thought it would be. We discovered that a recent initiative to improve our offline capabilities for mobile apps had given us a new and exciting option for the technical foundation of a public app capability. That’s when we decided to move to the next stage - testing the beta prototype with customers, getting their feedback, and using that to determine how much internal time and resources to dedicate towards building Portals.

Pivoting based on customer needs. 

We have a very active Appian Community with customers who were excited about Portals and keen to help us figure it out. We partnered with the Customer Success team and found Appian developers at multiple customers and partners who wanted to be part of it. We were clear with this beta program that Portals was in very early stages, and we expected some areas not to work, or not to work the way they needed it to — that’s what we needed their feedback on! 

The beta program was highly successful, and while there were plenty of bug reports and suggestions from our beta testers, there were no foundational challenges to our approach - in fact, our beta testers were much more open to a release with fewer features than we'd been thinking were necessary.

Throughout the process, we were open to change. Every week, we’d ask ourselves: 

  • What did we learn this week? 
  • What surprised us? 
  • How can we apply this to the project? 

For the Portals launch in March 2022, we wanted to ensure we were including the features customers said they couldn’t live without. If it wasn’t super valuable for customers, we added it later to the product roadmap. This really represented our agile way of working where we prioritized moving quickly and iterating along the way. 

We’re still learning the best ways to run beta programs, but found this was a great way to get our Appian community involved early on and help us make it the best it can be. Providing early access to Portals to selected customers when it was 20% built was a new way for us to test. We were upfront that we hadn’t worked out the kinks yet and were still missing major features, and it was valuable having customer input at such an early stage that we could easily change our priorities based on their feedback. Feedback on a feature that was 90% built would have been much more painful and disruptive to incorporate.

New level of challenge: Building software that builds software.

My favorite kind of hard problem is the "platform thinking" that working at Appian requires — you can’t just think of one kind of app or set of users, because our customers are using Appian across many industries. The Appian platform is software that helps others build software, and that creates a lot of new and complex challenges in our work. 

With every feature we build, we need to think through it and test it in a really comprehensive nature so it helps customers who have so many different use cases. Appian is used to build apps for customers working in insurance, pharmaceuticals, government, transportation and more. It forces you to think about product development in a much broader way.


This means that working on the product team at Appian requires a lot of adapting, asking questions, and change, which makes for exciting work. It can even mean jumping on a word game trend, that sparks an idea, that creates an experiment that helps us test something in a new way. 

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Celebrating Pride and Supporting the LGBTQ+ Community AppianPride members Johnny Allain-Labon and Mandi Kelly share what creating a safe, supportive environment for the LGBTQ+ community looks like in action. Read about how Appian celebrates Pride year round. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/celebrating-pride-and-supporting-the-lgbtq-community/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 08 Jun 2022 12:00:00 GMT Header (2)

When Johnny and Mandi first joined Appian, on different teams and in different continents, it was a priority for both of them to join AppianPride.

AppianPride is about celebrating and fostering a safe, equal, and affirmative environment within the larger Appian community and beyond within the LGBTQ+ community.

To celebrate Pride Month, we’re shining a spotlight on our AppianPride Affinity Group. Johnny and Mandi shared their experiences getting involved with the group, how they’re pushing for change at Appian, and what tangible actions people can take to create a more inclusive environment. 

Meet Johnny Allain-Labon.

  • Senior Consultant 
  • Based in London, England  
  • Lead, AppianPride EMEA (2020-2022)

The actions that make inclusion intentional.

When I was applying to work at Appian in 2019, one of things that stood out to me was that my recruiter Courtney Connolly had her pronouns in her email signature. It was the first time I’d seen it in a professional setting and sent a signal that this is a place that’s open and welcoming of LGBTQ+ people.
Courtney is an icon within Appian. She’s hired so many people in the company, and now is Head of People and Culture in the APJ region. In my interview, she talked about her own story of founding the AppianPride group and when I joined that was really a priority for me to get involved. 

I’m now the lead of AppianPride in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). To be inclusive, it doesn’t just happen. You have to put intentional time, money, and resources into practice. For us at AppianPride this has involved: 

  • Leading trainings on Trans Awareness and Allyship 
  • Organizing social events to bring together AppianPride members internationally
  • Partnering with the Campus Recruiting team to be part of the Appian diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives at colleges
  • Fundraising for local charities supporting the LGBTQ+ community 

Through these initiatives and meeting so many Appian colleagues around the world, I’ve seen how it’s not just about our jobs, it’s also about connecting people who care about their impact on the world. 

Measuring by how we give back to the community we serve.

I think the primary measure of employee resource groups like AppianPride is about how much they give back to the communities they serve. 

One way we accomplished this last year was through a remote and global fundraising campaign. We called it Do Good and Get Strong: A virtual triathlon for LGBTQ+ charities and people from Appian regions across the world were able to participate. It was about being active, and people could choose to run, swim, cycle, or walk and track their distances while raising money for local charities supporting the LGBTQ+ community. There was an app on the Appian Home internal site with a leaderboard to show how well people were doing and everyone got really into it! 

Members participated in the fun AppianPride event called Do Good and Get Strong: A virtual triathlon for LGBTQ+ charities! This is me running for the fundraiser.

Each region raised money for a charity close to them. In the UK we raised funds for Switchboard, an LGBTQ+ helpline. Other organizations we’ve partnered with that are great resources for the LGBTQ+ community and to learn about allyship include: 

  • The Trevor Project provides information and support to LGBTQ+ young people.
  • PFLAG supports the LGBTQ+ community and allies in the US through education and advocacy. 
  • Mermaids supports transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse kids and their families in the UK. 

Meet Mandi Kelly. 

  • Quality Engineer 
  • Based in McLean, Virginia 
  • Inclusion Liaison, AppianPride

Being an Engineer + AppianPride Inclusion Liaison. 

AppianPride has allowed me to get to know people beyond my department. As a Quality Engineer, most of my day is focused on databases but when I’m doing AppianPride work it’s very different, fun, and helps break up the sometimes monotonous day. 

I got involved in AppianPride right when I joined because I wanted to find a community at work. I love planning events that bring people together over common interests or a shared interest in learning something new. We meet every other Monday to plan upcoming social events, training sessions and fundraising initiatives, all around celebrating and supporting the LGBTQ+ community year round. 

Always striving to make Appian better.

I’ve had a really positive experience working at Appian, but at every company you have to recognize there’s always ways to improve. The Affinity Groups often function as a push for change.

We have a big Google sheet that we call our “Listener Spreadsheet” that all employees can access and see a list of volunteers in AppianPride that they can chat with. It lists names and contact information and who’s in the LGBTQ+ community or an ally. Sometimes all people need is a great listener and that’s what this document aims to provide — we’re happy to listen to anything you need to talk about, discuss our identities , connect on relatable experiences , and just chat. People face many invisible struggles and this resource is one way we hope employees can feel safe and surrounded by allies at work. 

In the past couple years, here are a few other ways we’ve made changes to support the LGBTQ+ community at Appian: 

  • Created guidelines about transitioning in the workplace. 
  • Updated our restroom signs at the office to be gender-neutral. 
  • Created an inclusive dress code.  

Language matters. In the dress code section of our handbook for example, it states: "Whether or not to dress according to traditional norms or wear clothes that allow you to express your gender identity can be a difficult decision. Appian embraces LGBTQIA-inclusive attire so you may feel comfortable wearing clothes typically associated with your gender identity including gender-neutral and androgynous clothing. Human Resources is also available to talk about your specific situation." 

People don’t care one way or another who your partner is or what clothes you wear. We’re all here because we have individual skills that brought us into this job. We choose to stay at Appian and be part of Affinity Groups because we care about creating an environment where everyone is respected.

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Inventing the Future of Tech From the day you join Appian, you’ll be greeted by impactful work. Pavel Zamudio-Ramirez, Chief Customer Officer, shares what impact looks like in Customer Success and across the company. https://careers.appian.com/blog/customer-success/inventing-the-future-of-tech/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 31 May 2022 12:00:00 GMT Shutterstock 739242352 (1)

When you join Appian, you are joining an organization that will listen to your ideas and provide you with opportunities to make substantial change. We thrive on collaboration and a culture where all employees are encouraged to challenge and elevate one another. Employees are empowered to make a positive impact in support of our customers and within our organization and greater community. 

Defining the Future of Technology.

I’m Pavel Zamudio-Ramirez, Chief Customer Officer & Senior Vice President, Customer Success. Before I joined the tech industry, my career was in management consulting, where I worked with organizations on capability development, business transformation, and innovation. In these various roles, it became clear to me that every organization is or is on its way to becoming a software company, where applications are part of the business and not a peripheral development. 

As organizations realize their software needs, the world will need experts in building applications that help us collaborate and achieve our business goals. The Appian low-code automation platform is the next generation of enterprise software that will enable organizations to achieve this. Appian is leading the movement to define the future of technology. 

Focusing on Impact.

We have always had a strong professional services team at Appian, but we knew that we had to further develop in order to support our customers’ future needs. The  Customer Success team provides technical advice and helps customers design and develop applications- but that is not all we do. We are committed to the success of our customers, meaning we enable them to quickly obtain value from our technology while leveraging it to foster innovation.  Appian is home to the best Appian practitioners in the market — how do we keep it that way?  

Every employee on our team is able to point to their impact shortly after joining. Our new hires complete a comprehensive and engaging training program where they gain actionable practices, allowing them to quickly start developing applications and contributing to projects. After only a few weeks, new hires will find themselves on a project delivery team, working directly with our customers. 

The roles on our team are created with both the customer and employee in mind. How do we ensure the best value for our customers while enabling our employees to have meaningful careers? We focus on impact. 

Take our Success Management team, for example. The Customer Success Managers, or CSMs, proactively guide customers through the product lifecycle by helping them identify new and better ways to use our technology. They help customers anticipate future business needs, taking them from building simple functional applications to developing high value, mission critical applications for their business. 

CSMs work closely with our delivery teams, which include both consultant and architect roles.  Consultants work directly with customers throughout the entire life-cycle of projects to define, design, and implement business process based solutions with Appian technology. Architects are trusted technical advisors to our customers, and act as key technical leaders for our delivery teams. The consultants and architects on our teams are not only experts at building and scaling Appian technical solutions, they also quickly become business process experts in the various customer industries they support. 

Some of our Customer Success team members gathered at our Headquarters to meet for the first time!

Our Education Services team plays a critical role in our success as Appian continues to grow. The demand for Appian talent has never been so high, and our Education Services team is essential to support this demand. This team impacts every  employee in their first weeks at Appian,  through our new hire training program, Academy.  Academy ensures that our new employees are equipped with the skills they need to be successful in their Appian careers. Education Services also trains thousands of Appian partners and practitioners every year, helping them improve their skills, and ultimately enhancing their careers.  

Every Customer Success employee can pinpoint the impact that their work has on our customers, and our organization. This is part of the culture at Appian — we hire people who are problem-solvers and want to see the direct impact of their work. They want to create results of significant value, not just check a box. 

Be a part of leading the change. 

The majority of the  world we will live in 5-10 years from now hasn’t been invented yet. When you look at your life and what you did today, how much was invented in recent years? The world will never be as slow as it is today and this degree of acceleration isn’t going to slow down. We need to get ahead of it and be adaptable. 

We recognize this at Appian, and we know that the majority of the organization we’re going to be in five years may include roles and teams around technology that hasn’t been invented yet. But while the roles may change, we will continue to hold onto our culture of innovation and our dedication to impact. 

If you are looking to combine your business acumen, passion for technology and penchant for innovation, consider joining our team!  The Appian Customer Success team is obsessed with great customer outcomes, and we’re hiring!  Check out our team’s career opportunities here. 

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Behind the Scenes of Appian World Director of Events Marketing, Emily Casanova, shares her highlights, surprises, and the moments that made all the hard work worth it. https://careers.appian.com/blog/marketing/behind-the-scenes-of-appian-world/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Wed, 25 May 2022 12:00:00 GMT Screen Shot 2022 05 17 At 2.19.19 PM

Appian World 2022 in Florida this April had so many great moments. You could feel the energy in the room and the stories of how people connected with others keep coming in. If you were not able to attend or are looking to watch a session you may have missed, you can view all of the event session recordings here.

To pull back the curtain on the planning of the event, we talked to Emily Casanova who leads her small but mighty Events Marketing team that organized Appian World. 

How did it feel when the event all came together? 

It felt like a big family reunion — with (a lot of) hugs, smiles, and even some happy tears! So many of us were meeting in person for the first time. You could look around and see the excitement on peoples’ faces. This energy carried through the entire week.  

During the opening keynote, I looked around and realized that I had not seen this many people together at a conference in three years. That is a long time! Seeing how full the room was and feeling that energy was a powerful moment. I felt proud and excited for what our team had accomplished.

A big highlight for me personally was getting to meet Malala before her keynote session. She was everything I imagined her to be and more. 

Were there any surprises that came up during the week? 

No matter how prepared you are for an event there will always be unexpected obstacles that pop up out of nowhere. 

For example, right before the morning keynote on day 1, the escalator broke. This required 1,400 attendees to use 2 elevators in order to access the keynote room. Talk about a stressful moment! But everyone was so happy to be there and people saw this as an opportunity to catch up with old friends or meet new ones while waiting.

Behind the scenes there are so many things that come up last minute, but that is par for the course. The team is flexible and always ready to pivot at any given point throughout the event.

How was the planning experience this year compared to the past two virtual Appian World events?

Planning for a virtual event versus an in-person event is very different. Appian World in March 2020 was scheduled to be at the Diplomat in Florida. Of course we had to pivot to be virtual, but that made this year’s event even more special for our team.

After making the pivot to virtual in 2020, we were tasked with planning a virtual event in four weeks. This was a very challenging time as virtual events were new to me, to Appian, and to the entire events industry.  We were one of the first big virtual conferences in spring of 2020 and it paid off with more than 4,000 attendees tuning in from around the world. Looking back I am proud of what we accomplished and it made me a more well rounded event planner! 

In 2021, Appian World was also virtual and although it was a success with a solid turnout, we found there was less enthusiasm from attendees compared to the previous  event. Virtual event fatigue is real.

I think I can speak for most by saying we are all thrilled to be back in person and back to doing the work that we love! 

What was the most rewarding part of the event? 

The days (and nights) are very long leading up to Appian World and watching all of our hard work come to life is hands down the most rewarding part for me. I walked away feeling so proud and lucky to have such a strong and dedicated team working alongside me. Shout out to Katherine Miller, Mallory Livingston, Christina Grau, Tara Burwell, and Christa Zeladonis for their amazing work on this program, none of this would have been possible without them!

Additionally, it is pretty inspiring when you take a step back and look at the various teams across the organization that are involved in the planning and execution of this event. Every single person within the Marketing organization touches this event in one way or another. As our CMO, Denise Broady, always says “it takes a village” and that could not be more true when it comes to planning Appian conferences.

What do you hope people left the Appian World week feeling? 

An overwhelming sense of connection.  Connection to the Appian Community and to the possibilities that Appian can bring to their organization. And most importantly, I hope people left the event feeling inspired. 

Next year’s Appian World program will be in San Diego on May 1-3. It will be here before we know it so mark your calendar now!

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How We’re Bringing STEM Education to Youth in D.C. Casandra Woodall brings her experience as a classroom teacher to lead Appian Thrive — a program that provides STEM education to youth in DC. https://careers.appian.com/blog/life-at-appian/how-we-re-bringing-stem-education-to-youth-in-d-c/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Tue, 03 May 2022 12:00:00 GMT DSC06296 (1)

I’m Casandra Woodall, the Education Outreach Director at Appian, and I’m excited to talk about Appian Thrive, a program that brings STEM education to students in D.C.. It’s one of the ways Appian gives back, and coming from a background in education I’ve seen how it serves a need in our local community and creates an impact.

From classroom teacher to tech company. 

I’m a former educator and started my career as a classroom teacher. Education advances equity and ensures every student has the opportunity they deserve to pursue the future they want. That’s my north star — it’s guided my career in education and led me to Appian.

I’ve worked in government at the Department of Education, at nonprofits who introduce tech into classrooms, and now I manage the Appian Thrive program which coaches and teaches students about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). 

Appian employees volunteer to be coaches and support operations and we work with teachers, parents, and students to develop curriculum. We are able to bring transformative experiences including our weekly after school STEM program to the DC Public Schools and Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC). Together we’ve built something that changes students' lives.

 

Our Appian coaches working with 7th grade students at CHEC in D.C..

Students get to explore STEM early on. 

The Appian Thrive Education Outreach Program started in 2020 as a way to give back to our local DC community and empower students from historically marginalized communities to thrive and achieve their goals. It’s a weekly after-school program that started with students in sixth grade and we continue with the same group of students every year.

Appian reevaluates and creates the yearly curriculum, working closely with parents, teachers, and administrators through the cohort's high school graduation.

We have more than 100 Appian employees volunteer with the program; and 30 coaches to help with the weekly curriculum and activities. We’ve also partnered with Appian Affinity Groups for events, collaborating with AppianWomen to plan an Hour of Coding for middle and high school girls at CHEC. These gatherings have been a fun way to introduce computer science and the basics of coding to the classroom. We also worked with AppianHeritage and AppianWomen to host guest speakers who are willing to share their education and career journey with students and inspire them to explore careers in STEM and beyond.

It’s all about exploration and providing opportunities for students to be curious, creative and think about what they’re interested in and what they’re good at. They also get the chance to learn about careers they didn’t know existed from Appian employees who coach and mentor students. If students never pursue a career in IT or tech, I’m okay with that, that’s not the goal. It’s that they have opportunities to explore new things, and be curious and creative, and those skills you can apply to anything. They’re learning critical thinking skills and have the ability to do so in a non-academic setting and low-risk environment, surrounded by supportive coaches. 

The program activities include: 

  • Robotics League 
  • Design thinking challenges 
  • Industry field trips 
  • College visits 
  • High school internships 
  • Mentorship with Appian employees 
  • Volunteer and community engagements 

The Robotics League was a big hit last year! We had Appian volunteers come in each week and teach students about block based coding through LEGO in a very visual hands-on way. Everyone was divided into small teams, assigned a coach, participated in a series of challenges, and competed against each other at the end of the year. It's more than learning about coding, it's about teamwork, problem-solving, collaboration, and learning from each other. 

Students and coaches in a Robotics League session. 

Showing up for our community in a way that matches their needs. 

Part of how Appian operates is that we work to impact and this applies to this program too — we don’t just want to be one and done, give a handful of textbook resources for students to learn and that’s it.

When we decided to do this program, we invested the people, time, and resources needed to have a real effect on young people. That’s why we modify the curriculum every year, experiment to see what students enjoy doing, and work closely with the school and parents to collect feedback. It takes time to build trust with students and Appian coaches, so that’s why we have one cohort that the program sticks with as they grow older.

From my background in teaching and in the education field, I’ve seen how there’s a gap in students having opportunities to learn about STEM. Especially with students of color and young girls, they don't always see themselves in STEM field roles.

At the local high school, students can be eligible to enroll in what’s called the IT Academy, but we heard from educators that students were often nervous to take it. It can feel really daunting if you’ve never done coding before. By introducing STEM to students at a younger age through the Appian Thrive program, we hope to take away some of the anxiety and make it feel possible for them.   

Giving back to our community is important at Appian, but we wanted to ensure we were doing it the right way — first talking to our community and doing our research to understand their needs. We want to find what problems they were facing, and what we could help solve. 

One of our students in the Appian Thrive program keen to learn robotics and design thinking! 

Making an impact with youth. 

I’ve been most inspired by the students and how they stick with it. It’s a voluntary after school program and the fact that these students keep coming back week after week shows we’re doing something right. They’re excited to do more learning after the school day! 

One student enjoyed our Robotics League so much they enrolled in a STEM program at a local college. Actions like these prove we are making a difference, and multiplying that by all the 120 students in the cohort and 100+ Appian volunteers, that’s a lot of impact.

It's fun watching the connections grow; and seeing students letting their guard down by; talking about their personal lives and challenges at school with the Appian coaches. This builds trust and I’ve heard from our coaches how meaningful and rewarding the experience has been for them too.  

Often Appian coaches want to give back because they had a teacher or mentor help them when they were young, or early in their career, and they want to help create that experience for someone else.

Managing the program and training our volunteers is a lot like teaching. It’s about learning how to coach students, build connections, and approach conversations with curiosity and show how you care and believe in them. 

It’s powerful seeing the trust built through this program and students gaining skills and confidence, knowing that they have people cheering them on, who are in their corner. 

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How AppianWellness Supports Our Employees’ Physical and Mental Health Health always comes first. Learn how AppianWellness leaders provide programs and resources for all employees to help with their whole-life wellness. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/how-appianwellness-supports-our-employees-physical-and-mental-health/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Mon, 02 May 2022 12:00:00 GMT Shannon

Your health is always top priority, and that doesn’t stop when you get to work. 

At Appian, we want to ensure that health comes first, and that prioritizing your wellness is celebrated through events, programs, and how we work on an ongoing basis.

That’s the focus of our AppianWellness employee-led Affinity Group. Its mission is to enhance organizational and personal health. It’s dedicated to providing all employees with access to physical and mental resources for the betterment of their whole-life wellness.

Founder and Chairof AppianWellness Jamie Blechman, and Board member Isa Herold shared why the group is important to them, and how it’s created a healthy community across the company.  

Meet Jamie Blechman-Stone.

  • Benefits Lead, HR Total Rewards
  • Chair, AppianWellness

How AppianWellness became one of our largest Affinity Groups. 

My background is in exercise science and kinesiology so focusing on wellness and health is something I am very passionate about. You’ll find me out on a run over lunch or the person reminding others to take those breaks throughout the work day.

When I started at Appian in HR managing benefit programs, part of my role was building the wellness side of benefits. We launched AppianWellness in 2018 and I really enjoyed leading the group as we grew to involve members across teams and our global offices. 

We set up ongoing events that support physical and mental health and create a community where people can talk about it. Here are a few: 

  • Wellness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month where we bring in speakers, host social events, and organize classes like outdoor yoga, puppy therapy, and more 
  • Meditation group meets twice a week
  • Manager training for mental health awareness 
  • “Desk-ercise” sessions in our London office and virtual where people learn everyday exercises to do throughout the day to help with back pain and stress 
  • Digital detox sessions where we talked about healthy habits around tech
  • Mental health workshops from our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) provider 


We held yoga classes outside of our HQ office during Mental Health Awareness Month!

I am a firm believer that mental health and self-care are top priorities. Many of our events are focused on mental health, especially the last couple years. We want to alleviate burnout and make sure we’re providing a safe space for coworkers to share about mental health and get access to support they need. 

Two new additions for all employees we’ve added to our benefit offerings this year are: Ginger, an app that offers mental health support through coaching via text and video-based therapy and psychiatry, and Headspace, a meditation app. Here’s more on 5 Mental Health Resources We Provide to Support Our Employees.

Connecting almost half the company for a fitness challenge. 

In 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, we were talking in the AppianWellness chat about how so many of us felt isolated and lacked motivation. So we started a month-long fitness challenge where people could join a team, do any kind of activity, and track it in an app, all while raising donations for charity. 

It helped with camaraderie and feeling connected with coworkers all around the globe. Because it was virtual for everyone, our coworkers in Australia and Europe had the same experience as we did in the US, and it was so fun to see everyone’s progress and feel connected. 

We treated it as an experiment but were surprised to have almost 500 people participate, about 40 percent of Appian at that time! Since then, we’ve done four fitness challenges. 

That was also the start of us incorporating virtual aspects of every AppianWellness event to include co-workers at other offices. If we have a speaker at our HQ office, we always try to record it and same for in-person events at our other office locations. 

We’re always thinking outside the box about what else we can do for Appian employees around the world and it’s awesome to see the ripple effect of that impact. When someone reaches out after an event to say how they appreciated it, or how it shifted their mindset around their own wellness journey, that’s really fulfilling. Now AppianWellness is one of our largest Affinity Groups with over 400 members worldwide!

Meet Isa Herold.

  • Quality Engineer II 
  • Co-Chair, AppianWellness

Focus on physical and mental health sparks great conversations. 

I would consider myself a pretty active person — I have played soccer my whole life, and in recent years have gotten into running, yoga and hiking. That’s why I was initially drawn to join AppianWellness, but learning about the groups focus on mental, emotional and even financial healthis what stuck with me and made me want to get more involved. 

I started at Appian during the pandemic and found it hard to meet people remotely. I wanted to get involved in something outside of my day job at Appian, and decided to apply when positions opened for 2022. Now as co-chair on the Board, I get to communicate with members, plan events and help people feel engaged and included.  

I’ve learned how wellness means so many different things to people, and we all have different reasons for getting involved. We had one member who joined AppianWellness and said “I just want to preface, I don’t work out, but I’m very interested in mental health!” Although the initial perception of a Wellness group might be that it focuses on physical well-being, I would say that AppianWellness members have an equal, if not greater emphasis on mental and emotional health.

Our AppianWellness chat room is very active. Every Monday in our chatroom channel, I send out a message about upcoming events with a link to our calendar. Throughout the week, members often ask questions about upcoming events or challenges, or for recommendations on everything from smart watches to mental health tips. We give shout-outs to people who have recently accomplished something like running a marathon, keeping up with an exercise habit, or going to a meditation retreat. 

AppianWellness gives people a community where they feel included and a space they can share with people with similar interests, where they can keep each other accountable and learn new things every day. 

My top 3 favorite AppianWellness events.

  1. Mental health awareness month

Last May, we partnered with AppianAbility, an Affinity group that supports those with physical disabilities or neuro diversities to host a mental health panel. We organized nature walks and yoga classes at HQ, and I organized an Appian Bike to Work Day along with AppianGreen, where people could track their bike rides online. This year, we have scheduled walks around the lake at HQ with healthy snacks, mindful coloring break sessions and a virtual meditation workshop with AppianAbility. Our mission to support employee mental health overlaps with so many other Affinity Groups so it’s great to work closely with them for this month’s activities! I am also very excited that we will be bringing back virtual fitness classes with Barry's Bootcamp. When I first joined Appian in the summer of 2021 and was working remotely, these classes were a great way to meet people and interact with them outside of working hours. 

     2. Puppy de-stress event 

Who doesn’t love puppies? Last year, we partnered with Wolf Trap Animal Rescue, a local DC organization for a puppy de-stress session and had a great turnout. It was a chance for people to take a mental break from their work day and get outside. We had a few people reach out to us directly after to say they came back to work feeling so much better! 

Two pups at our puppy de-stress event partnered with Wolf Trap Animal Rescue!

     3. Meatless Mondays for Vegetarian Month 

We’re organizing this initiative now that I’m especially excited for! For Vegetarian Month in October we’ll be sharing recipes for creative dishes to try that are meatless and encouraging people to share their favorites.

Events are open to all employees and what I’ve loved about AppianWellness is that your involvement is whatever you want it to be. You can go to events and be part of our chat group, or go full throttle and join the board. You’ll be guaranteed to meet new people at Appian you wouldn’t otherwise have met, and join a community of people cheering you on in your health and wellness activities.

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Let's Get Planting Learn how AppianGreen is making the Earth a cleaner, greener place. AppianGreen Inclusion Liaison, Shiv Raghavendra, shares how plants help the environment and clean our water. https://careers.appian.com/blog/affinity-groups/let-s-get-planting/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Fri, 22 Apr 2022 10:00:00 GMT Headerfinal

Hello, green folk of Earth, my name is Shiv Raghavendra. I’ve been at Appian for three years as a Senior Marketing Analyst, and I love talking about marketing technology and being green!

I have always tried to be green with anything that I do. Pre-pandemic, I used to bike to work, except on really cold days. Sorry, I was born in Chennai, India and I love the heat (not global warming!). I’m vegetarian, and love planting vegetables at the Appian community garden at our HQ. You’ll find me at AppianGreen events and always happy to share about how we can be more environmentally friendly as a company, and in our everyday lives. 

How AppianGreen is making the Earth a cleaner place.

The mission of AppianGreen is to reduce our carbon footprint and come up with innovative ways to make Appian and the Earth a cleaner, greener place by encouraging sustainable practices with education, awareness, and community outreach. I like to describe it as a bunch of fun people trying to make Appian and the world around us a better place. 

There are many ways we aim to do this, including:

  • Company-wide events — one of my favorites being the vegetarian potlucks where we eat vegetables from our community garden!
  • The community garden of course, a small plot of land by the kitchen at HQ. 
  • Working with the Corporate team on how Appian as a company can reduce our carbon footprint and invest in green tech. 
  • Partnering with other Affinity Groups, like AppianWellness for Bike to Work Month. 
  • Educational sessions on different environmental topics led by AppianGreen team members. For this year’s Earth Week, we’ll be learning about topics like microplastics and water conservation. 
  • Maintaining the Horseshoe Trail at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park in Clifton, Va, which we adopted in the fall of 2020.

Participating in events like these and learning about the community garden sparked my interest in taking on a leadership role within the group. I wanted to participate directly in the work we’re doing across the company and in the community. 

This is our community garden where we grow our own plants at HQ. 

3 Ways plants help the environment and clean water.

Celebrating Earth Week should always include learning new things about the environment and a call to action. Here’s something you may not know about water: planting native species can significantly support the overall health of our bodies of water. 

As everyone knows, water is the elixir of life! However, with the advent of industrialization, our rivers and water sources are being polluted on a daily basis. According to the CDC, an estimated 2.2 billion people need access to safe drinking water with 884 million people without any water services.

While most Western nations have access to sources of safe and potable drinking water, contaminants like copper, arsenic, and microplastics, are found in the tap water of every single state in the nation according to this study by NDRC.

So what can we do to save our water? According to BlueThumb, plants are part of the answer. Here are three ways planting native species can help clean  our bodies of water and benefit the environment:

  1. Long-rooted native plants retain and infiltrate more water, decrease soil compaction, and filter out pollutants.
  2. Native plants require fewer inputs (less mowing and watering, no fertilizer or pesticides), leading to lower costs.
  3. Native plants provide habitat for pollinators and songbirds, protecting biodiversity.

There are some great local organizations that do this today, including two in the DMV area: Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners and Arlington Stream Monitoring.

There are many local resources for our remote community and Appian offices around the world. We encourage employees to reach out to AppianGreen team members to help look for similar organizations in their areas!

As spring is approaching, get out your gardening supplies and help the environment by planting! I’m excited that we will be starting up our community garden again this year at Appian Headquarters.  We will be both helping the environment and growing great ingredients for our next vegetarian potluck. 

Reducing your carbon footprint. 

I hope you learned something new about planting native species and that your learning continues not only during Earth Week but throughout the entire year! 

Take a few minutes to calculate your carbon footprint and think about some simple ways you can be more environmentally friendly today. It could be to try going a few days on a plant-based diet, or setting up a compost at your house or workplace. 

For more tips, learn from another AppianGreen board member Kevin about 5 Ways to Go Green.  

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How to Grow your Tech Sales Career as a Sales Development Representative at Appian Starting in tech sales means many career paths ahead of you. Learn four career routes you can take as a Sales Development Representative. https://careers.appian.com/blog/sales/how-to-grow-your-tech-sales-career-as-a-sales-development-representative-at-appian/ 6e224a72-0085-42ab-99f2-6b08f75bbcff Mon, 28 Mar 2022 12:00:00 GMT Shutterstock 2024994203

Starting as a Sales Development Representative (SDR) opens doors to many other career paths in Sales and across departments at Appian. You’ll have the opportunity to grow quickly, with the support you need to be successful. 

Brett Barlow is one of our all stars on the Sales team who started as an SDR and is now Partner Sales Manager. He shared his career journey that led him to the Sales team at Appian, paths you can take starting as an SDR, and his top tips for how to grow in your tech sales career. 

Meet Brett Barlow

  • Joined Appian in 2019 
  • Partner Sales Manager 
  • Located in McLean, Virginia

From hospitality to tech sales. 

After I graduated from James Madison University as a hospitality major, I had no idea what I wanted to do.

I began my career at a tech startup, but found that the environment was too small. I then pursued the hospitality tract at Sysco as an Account Executive, but even with this new position there was a lot of commuting for my accounts and I didn’t have many growth opportunities.

I wanted a change and a new challenge somewhere that I could grow into, a company I could see myself at long-term. I applied to work at Appian without knowing much about the product, but after the interview process I was sold on the culture, growth opportunities, and the supportive, smart people I’d be working with.


The executives I talked with in the interviews had been with the company for some time  which was comforting because I wanted a place where I could stay for 5-10 years. I quickly learned it’s common to get promoted, and even change cross-functionally across teams at Appian. It felt like a great size company under 2,000 people globally, so it had lots of opportunity but with an intimate community feel. In the early interview stages, they asked me, how can we invest in you so that you want to stay here?

I could tell starting as an SDR was all about growth potential which is what I was really looking for, so I accepted the position and am so glad I did! 

Four career paths starting as an SDR at Appian.

When you join Appian as an SDR, there are countless routes you could take to grow your career. Here are just four of the many ways you can grow professionally at Appian: 

Account Executive in Sales

  • This is a common path where you’re at the top of the sales individual contributor roles, and get to own customer relationships and close deals. My colleague Dalante Jackson took this route and is now an Enterprise Account Executive, read about his story here

Sales Enablement 

  • The Enablement team is amazing at providing support for Sales to be successful, from resources to templates, training, and onboarding. My colleague Ashley Butler is Senior Sales Enablement Manager after working in Customer Success, Marketing, and Sales, all in training functions. Read about Ashley’s career journey here

Partner Sales Manager

  • This was my path! I love working with a variety of partners who resell our product, and being involved in every deal. I get a lot of autonomy and responsibility being on the small and growing Partner team and I’ve learned a lot about our product in new ways. 

Marketing

  • You can go cross-functional and join our Marketing team to help tell our Appian story to customers and partners across industries.  

Moving from SDR to Partner Sales Manager within three years.

Being an SDR is about finding new opportunities for our Sales team, and it’s a role where you get to interact with different teams and there’s so much to absorb and learn. Working in the low-code software industry is an exciting field to be in because it’s always evolving and growing, which is why it’s a great time to be in Sales at Appian

To get promoted starting as an SDR at Appian, there is a structured program and criteria to move from entry level to Senior and then Senior Sales Development Representative. It encourages you to learn more about the product itself, instead of just booking meetings. It’s great that it’s structured, they give you the steps to be successful, and it’s up to you to apply them. It’s usually about a two year program and helps you understand if you want to be an Account Executive or explore another career path.

For me, I wanted to get promoted as soon as possible. Typically an SDR is linked to two to three Account Executives to support them by being the first contact with potential clients (often cold calling). I was eager to always say yes to new Account Executives being added to my roster, and learned so much from my Sales team colleagues. After about nine months, I was promoted to Senior SDR.

At this point, I was intrigued by the Partner team. I learned it was more about building trust with partners so they can help sell for you, rather than directly selling the product as an Account Executive. I reached out to colleagues on the Partner team to introduce myself, understand more about the opportunities, and it sounded super interesting. There are many career development programs set up at Appian, but people here are also very willing to chat with you, answer questions, and get to know you. I went to them to sek out the Partner team to learn more and get to know them before I was looking for a new role, so when the time came, they already knew who I was. 

Now, as Partner Sales Manager, I’m responsible for a portfolio of partner organizations that bring Appian software and solutions to market through resell and co-sell strategies; supporting our customers from a sales perspective but also offering professional services to ensure customer success on the platform. 

My role is to support our Partners through the sales process, but also assist them in building out their partnership with Appian and enable their go-to-market teams. Our Trusted Partner Program allows us to sell our product to more customers with greater reach than we would be able to sell directly. It’s a smaller team so I’m very involved with every single deal and I’ve learned so much in this role already — it’s been like drinking from the firehose that’s always on! 

Take initiative and be willing to change. 

Working in tech sales can be challenging work, and there are times where you’ll be under a lot of pressure where you need to be agile and adapt quickly. Don’t get comfortable doing one thing continuously and expect to get results. Keep up with market trends, and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Another tip for SDRs that seems simple but is so valuable — focus on listening. You’re on so many calls, you can learn so much from your Sales team colleagues. Every bit of knowledge you have about an organization and the product goes such a long way and shows you’re keen to learn. I picked up so many skills from the Account Executives I worked with from listening to calls, and asking a lot of questions as people at Appian are always willing to help. We’re one team, so your success is their success too.

My greatest advice if you’re looking at a job and debating whether it’s for you, is to go out and talk to somebody who’s done it. Take the initiative and you’ll learn so much from someone’s personal experience. 

If you’re interested in being an SDR at Appian, reach out to someone on LinkedIn who’s in that role or someone like me, who started there! It will help you get an understanding of what the role is like, what they do, and the growth opportunities you’ll be set up for.

If you’re in this position, I hoped this helped by hearing about my own experience! Interested in joining our team? See our current opportunities here

 

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