People. Quality. Empowerment. These are the three words which our employees thought of when we asked them, through a survey, for three words which they associate Godel. Therefore, it is the thoughts of our staff which shape our core values. These values haven’t been established by management, but by all the people of Godel. So, before we match our values to those of our clients’, we must create a clear understanding of we stand for.

“What do we mean by ‘people’?” you might ask. Underpinning this term is the way we respect each other fully as equals. We understand that each employee has individual ways of working, and we balance this with collectively working towards the same vision for our clients. This enables us to work together towards our goal of becoming the most respected nearshore software development company in Europe. It has always been our belief that our people are more valuable than the process – they aren’t workhorses, but humans who will face challenges which mightn’t be immediately obvious. Whether these are personal or professional problems, it is important to us that our employees understand that they are not alone and that we will support them however we can.

It is our peoples’ individual ways of working that allow us to develop software in the way that we do, building our reputation along the way. We love to share our knowledge between our colleagues and clients alike, which consistently enables us to get the job done in the most efficient way possible and to the highest standard. Because of this, much of the news we share is positive by nature, but when things go wrong, we share it too, to uphold our honest and direct policy.

This falls in line with our second value – quality, which underlines how we take responsibility and always set realistic expectations for our clients based on what they want to achieve vs. what we can deliver. We take an honest view of our clients’ vision, analyse it and respond with our ability to deliver it – if we cannot, we will say so. Following this, we outline a roadmap which will see the client reap the best rewards from their investment in us, accounting for business metrics and less tangible but equally important impact upon the client’s internal team.

Quality also underpins the way we care about the results of our work, which can sometimes mean proposing our own vision to the client. Our teams are always willing to share their knowledge and experiences if they can pave the way to a better alternative solution. We pride ourselves as being chosen as long-term software delivery partners by our clients, as opposed to a short-term investment. Putting this into context, Paula Giacchino, Senior Manager, Technology Planning & Resourcing at comparethemarket.com explains, “We understood from the very beginning that you get more value from a partnership than a client/supplier relationship. In this regard, Godel has been the ideal partner. Both sides approach everything from a position of collaboration and transparency.”.

Solving problems together means our partnerships reap the rewards of the collaboration together. Both sides of the engagement are encouraged to be fully transparent with each other, regardless of their role, as sharing opinions amongst the team ensures nothing in the software delivery process slips through the cracks.

Empowerment, the third of our values decided by our people, is explanatory of the way our people are not afraid to take the lead and consequently will influence the future of the company. The fact that our employees aren’t afraid to take the lead is largely down to our no-blame culture; we see mistakes as opportunities for growth. Because of this, at Godel not knowing something is an exciting prospect, because we present many avenues to learn. Our people join conferences, speak at meetups, run hackathons, host training sessions for clients, write articles, gain qualifications and more – they are constantly encouraged to learn, every day.

Godel client Michael Johnson, CTO at MVF Global, highlights this, “We chose to work with Godel because they put great emphasis on people and values which mirrors our values-based culture too. When we first met, the Godel team very much left us with the impression that they have a straightforward and honest approach, and would meet their promises, which is exactly what we are finding.”

It is hugely important to Godel that we proactively communicate with clients’ management teams, to incorporate their values and guiding principles into our dedicated teams. The kick-off phase of new partnerships is dedicated to this – ensuring the new Godel team dives into learning about the client’s culture, nuances and expectations. Our dedicated teams are proud to be part of their clients’ story – being part of something which enables them to reach their full potential as a key part to both the client organisation and to Godel.

Realistically speaking, the real shared values only begin to shine through when the onboarding process has been completed and the teams have begun working. Daily interactions between teams display open dialogue, where team members proactively tackle issues without fear of blame. As a partner, we ensure team achievements are recognised; hosting virtual or co-located celebrations for milestones like product releases or anniversaries.