Godel’s Mobile division, which recently celebrated its 3rd anniversary continues to grow and expand its mobile presence across Europe. Now at 50+ talented people in the division, it marked the perfect time to introduce the first mobile division manager in Poland.

Mikhail Kantsavoi joined Godel nearly 3 years ago and takes the helm of this exciting opportunity who will support the Godel culture and its processes in Poland’s mobile team. We spoke to Mikhail about what he hopes to achieve as Poland’s first mobile division manager.

What is your experience at Godel so far?

It’s hard to believe I have been working at Godel for almost 3 years now, how time has flown! What first attracted me to working for Godel was the fact it is a UK-based company, and I was aware of the clients we were already partnered with which made me excited to be part of the team. I was also familiar with the UK from my childhood love of the Harry Potter books (The Chamber of Secrets is a particular favourite!). I had the opportunity to visit the UK for the first time during my university years as a master’s student when I took part in the ‘Be Safe’ programme at Loughborough University.

When I joined Godel, I was also joining the new Mobile division. I was excited to join the division and use the experience I already had to bring my ideas to the team. My first project was an engagement I am still part of today and I had the opportunity to go on a business trip to the UK with the team to meet the client. I started my Godel journey as an android developer and have been part of Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Presales and L&D functions and many more. I am now Godel’s first Mobile Division Manager in Poland, based in our new Wroclaw office.

You were the creator of the first mobile mastery programme, why is the mastery programme important to Godel?

The Godel Mastery programme is vital for transferring the knowledge and experience to beginners who want to choose software development as their profession, in this case, mobile development, and turn it into their professional career with a series of goals and objectives. We began the Mastery programme during my time at Brest when we decided we needed to grow the mobile team and the division. It was important to us to contribute to the local community and keep recruitment in the city. After completing the Mastery and gaining the relevant experience, they then have the opportunity to join Godel as a Junior Developer – many of which have continued to grow their careers here.

As a mobile division manager, what are your priorities?

As a division, we look to continue expanding our mobile presence in EU locations. I will be focussing on establishing my role where I will be forming the project-base in Poland. I will also be concentrating on the correct distribution of our human resources. We currently have several teams working on different projects, so our first main goal is to start a new project in Poland. Secondly, it is also a priority to build communication and culture with the developers within the polish location as it grows.

How do you maintain the Godel culture in the team as it grows?

The Godel culture is key to teams building relationships with each other and as our team in Poland grows, we will ensure the connections are maintained with regular team-building activities. Poland is still a relatively new location and our Mobile division there is growing rapidly. We have new recruits joining including from the local polish market so forging relationships within the team is key to high productivity and motivation.

As a result of the pandemic, we have had to change the way we create the culture within teams as people continue to work from home, which we initially thought would complicate communication. However, adjusting our plans has meant it has still been possible for team relationships to continue by doing meetups as well as alignment meetings. As like-minded developers, we can meet and share ideas and in general, ask how we are and ask what’s new in the development world. We have lots of plans, working with the Godel People Partners to create our new loyalty programme in Poland and I also hope to visit the team at the Lodz office when it is possible. I am excited to meet people I haven’t met in person in person yet in our new Wroclaw office – this is a new Godel location, and I can’t wait to see the culture we build together!

What do you see as your biggest challenge?

For me, the biggest challenge as I settle into my new role will be for me to gain a better understanding and learn the new processes and gain stability. It is also important for me to gain better knowledge of how Godel operates from this level for me to succeed in this role. There is a big journey ahead and I am excited to be part of the growing mobile team in Poland.