This article was written by Kendra Rasmusson
Hi there! I’m Kendra and although I’ve been enjoying my career as an independent contractor for more than 12 years, I have to admit that there are times when I’ve partnered with a particularly-dreamy organization and stopped to think hard on whether the grass might actually be greener on the other side.
Insert phData. I first began contracting with them about three years ago. Instantly, I enjoyed the work. I was given the chance to learn about new and emerging technologies, interview crazy-intelligent engineers, and share the amazing stories of phData’s customers’ successes.
Along the way, I met more and more of the phData team. Honestly, they’re all fantastic. They’ve been responsive, positive, and always willing to take an extra minute to explain something that’s “everyday knowledge” to them, in a way that makes sense to a newbie, like me.
As a result, I’ve learned so much, myself, and met so many wonderful people.
I’ll admit I check the phData job board often, crossing my fingers there might be a position open one day. But, there are so many things that a job posting can’t share about a role or the organization as a whole, and that’s what I’m aiming to dig into here.
So, if you’ve been thinking about pursuing a career at phData, I’ll scooch over and let you peek through the contractor’s keyhole view with me.
Core Values
phData has loudly proclaimed its adherence to four core values that drive its corporate culture: community, grit, curiosity, and psychological safety. The phData team often shares about the ways in which they hold these values near and dear. Don’t believe me? Check out this blog post, and this one, and this one, and this one.
An Award-Winning Workplace, but HOW?
It’s probably safe to assume that phData’s commitment to its core values is legit because they have an eight-year winning streak of the Best Places to Work award.
Last year, they even won this award locally in all three of their global office locations (US, India, and LATAM). But, if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how exactly phData brings these core values to life in their day-to-day operations. To uncover this, I went straight to the source: actual, real-life phData employees.
Here’s what I learned….
Community
Building community in a remote workplace is important because it fosters a sense of connection and belonging among employees, even when team members are geographically dispersed; they feel like they share a common purpose.
Because phData has a remote-first culture, I really wanted to understand if – and how – coworkers interacted. I was most curious to learn about specific examples of how team members’ day-to-day work environments were positively impacted by their peers.
Andy Bunn shared that Heather Coyle, Senior Recruiting Consultant, was instrumental in improving phData’s operational procedures for the Data Analytics team. Her efforts to build interview kits streamlined the interviewing and hiring process and is why his team is so strong right now.
Matthew Miller expressed gratitude for William Aubrey’s supportive and positive attitude that makes him a delight to work with.
Matthew Miller
Analytics Consultant
As one of our Principal Consultants, Analytics Engineering, William is always there to offer guidance, answer questions, and share his expertise. I’ve learned so much from him about building strong client relationships, managing priorities, and approaching problems with a calm, thoughtful mindset.
Of course, I had to also poke into how phData staffers might spend their free time together, IF they all resided in the same city.
Kaitlin Smith
Data Engineer
phData and the city I live in both seem to have a strong BBQ following, so if we all lived in the same city, we'd be out enjoying burnt ends and a cold beverage together.
Grit
Grit is the ability to stay focused on and work towards long-term goals, even when faced with challenges and setbacks. It’s a combination of passion and perseverance.
To better understand phData’s commitment to “grit,” I asked a couple of employees for some specific examples that would best demonstrate it. Dakota Kelley shared about a time when phData was mid-engagement with a customer who had just lost one of their core engineers.
Because the engineer’s role was crucial to the success of the engagement, Dakota temporarily filled the role of the customer’s engineer, while his team backfilled his work. Dakota specifically called out his fellow gritty teammate, Parag Jain, as someone who was key in the engagement ending successfully.
Curiosity
Curiosity is important in any career because it promotes creative problem-solving, helps you adapt to change, and allows you to explore new perspectives, ultimately leading to a more dynamic work environment.
When I posed questions to better understand how a culture of curiosity supported phData staffers’ goals for continuous learning, I was met with a variety of responses that surprised me.
Ingrid Bauer shared about the time when phData decided to embrace its remote-first environment, post-Covid. Her curiosity around how that environment could sustain organizational connectedness drove her to explore digital tools and resources that reimagined the full onboarding experience for new hires and maintained a personalized experience for existing employees.
Kate Wilhelm
Regional Sales Director
Kate Wilhelm adds that phData’s culture of curiosity not only benefits its employees, but also its customers. Kate recalls a time where a customer needed to make an ETL migration cheaper to fit within their budget. phData leveraged two individuals on the bench who were interested in upskilling in dbt. Upon completion of their dbt certifications, they then spent three weeks building an automation that accelerated the SQL translation by up to 57%! And because it was tagged as “professional development,” it was completely free to the customer.
Eric Carpenter credits phData’s emphasis on building a curious corporate culture for his career growth.
Eric Carpenter
AI Partnerships
Once upon a time, I started on the Analytics team at phData. I was curious about Data Engineering, so I worked to learn more about modern data platforms. Soon, I was offered a role on the Data Engineering team. My curiosity continued to grow as I gained experience. phData’s culture supporting curiosity is why I’m now in a role I really enjoy, managing AI partnerships.
Psychological Safety
Psychological safety is the feeling that one can speak up, share ideas, or ask questions without fear of being punished or humiliated. It’s the belief that one can take interpersonal risks without negative repercussions.
Linda Lokkesmoe detailed a past customer engagement that best demonstrated the psychological safety she feels on a daily basis at phData.
Linda Lokkesmoe
Principal Program Manager
We were in the middle of a challenging, under-scoped engagement that required multiple layers of delicately-delivered communication. It was a stressful time working through it all, but never did I feel alone or unsupported as Mac Noland and Natalie DePeeling were there on the ground with my team through it all.
Eileen Ruter has been faced with multiple challenges in her role that required difficult, time-sensitive decisions to be made. Although her preference is to consult with her manager, Tepi Hanson, when these scenarios arise there isn’t always time. Eileen feels psychological safety in these moments, knowing that Tepi will support and coach (rather than condemn) her even if she, herself, would have made a different decision.
When asked how confident Elliot Johnson would feel in doing his job if his manager was gone without notice for 30 days, he offered this:
Elliot Johnson
Solutions Architect
I feel 100% in control of my work and deliverables. My manager is an accelerator and an incredible mentor to help me progress in my career as well as remove blockers. At phData, managers empower you to focus on solving our client's toughest problems.
So, What’s the Secret?
I’m not sure it’s possible to have more “culture envy” than I do now after spending this time collecting first-hand accounts from phData employees. What did I learn? phData has built its award-winning workplace not by some grand gesture, but through the steady, and unending click of positive person-to-person chain link reactions.
If phData feels like it could be the place for you, you’ll be delighted to hear they’re hiring for a variety of roles throughout the US, India, and LATAM.
(But, you’re gonna have to fight me if a marketing position ever opens up!)
