{"id":3475,"date":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/the-no-1-small-place-to-work-in-it-axxess\/"},"modified":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","slug":"the-no-1-small-place-to-work-in-it-axxess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/the-no-1-small-place-to-work-in-it-axxess\/","title":{"rendered":"The No. 1 small place to work in IT: Axxess"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2017\/06\/axxess_2-100724776-large.3x2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/the-no-1-small-place-to-work-in-it-axxess.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Andrew Sumido was used to hearing on a regular basis from headhunters looking to entice him away from his job as a senior .NET engineer. So he didn\u2019t give it much thought when a recruiter messaged him about a position at Axxess, a Dallas-area provider of cloud software and services for healthcare organizations.<\/p>\n<p>Sumido\u2019s interest quickly spiked when he checked out the firm\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey presented themselves as a technology company in the healthcare space, which impressed on me that engineering is a top priority for the organization,\u201d Sumido says. \u201cIt was somewhere where I felt I could have a lot of impact. It looked like an opportunity that I couldn\u2019t pass up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sumido, 35, started at Axxess in August 2015, within weeks of getting that first message. He says the company has delivered on his high expectations, providing him with challenging work, supportive colleagues and a culture that encourages innovation.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"nativo-promo smartphone\" id=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s freedom in how we can solve problems, there\u2019s freedom in experimenting with new technologies, and I find that really refreshing,\u201d says Sumido, now a senior web engineer and lead of the revenue cycle management team.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"fakesidebar\"><strong>[ See the full <a href=\"http:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/category\/bestplaces2017\/#tk.ctw-infsb\">Best Places to Work in IT 2017<\/a> report ]<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>Sumido isn\u2019t the only one impressed by the fast-growing firm, which earned the top spot among small organizations in Computerworld\u2019s annual 100 Best Places to Work in IT for 2017, the same rank it captured last year. Axxess also ranked No. 1 for career development and No. 1 for employee retention among all 100 Best Places for 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Employees praise the company\u2019s commitment to professional development, technological innovation, employee empowerment and work\/life balance, and they rally behind its mission to deliver products that improve patient outcomes.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"fakesidebar\"><strong>[ To comment on this story, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Computerworld\/posts\/10155407435669680\" target=\"_blank\">Computerworld&#8217;s Facebook page<\/a>. ]<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe foster a culture of collaboration and working together as a team to solve problems,\u201d says Melody Lenox, who, as vice president of operations, oversees human resources. The company reinforces this culture, she says, with its mantra, \u201cThe best idea wins.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"nativo-promo tablet desktop\" id=\"\"\/>\n<p>Companywide meetings, held Monday and Wednesday mornings and led by various departments \u2014 such as engineering, support, or sales and marketing \u2014 further that ideal of collaboration, Lenox says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith our rapid growth, the meetings are a great way for new hires to quickly become familiar with all aspects of our business, but it is also an intentional way to eliminate silos and keep everyone abreast of the latest developments,\u201d Lenox says. \u201cEvery meeting will get questions and comments from throughout the company, and it\u2019s obvious that everyone feels comfortable in sharing insights and asking questions to better understand our business.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>A tech-first company<\/h3>\n<p>Axxess started in 2007 as a consulting firm specializing in the home healthcare industry. It moved into high tech the following year, when it built its Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) software to support the billing needs of home health organizations. Today it has multiple products and provides integrated software for home health agencies. Axxess now employs about 250 people, 75% of whom are technology workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From the start, executives set out to build a culture where information workers would thrive, says chief technology officer Andrew Olowu. He and other managers hire staff based not only on their technical skills but also on their integrity, values and ability to fit into the company\u2019s culture, he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt starts with being deliberate and being attuned to the culture we want to create \u2014 collaborative, with a focus on innovation and excellence,\u201d he says. \u201cThat culture is not something that was accidental. It\u2019s something we preach, and it\u2019s something we live,\u201d says Olowu, who joined the company in 2008.<\/p>\n<p>The company hits all the right notes in the job market, offering competitive salaries, annual pay increases, 15 days of paid time off in the first year of service, and robust benefits \u2014 in fact, the firm was No. 6 among all 100 Best Places for its benefits. Likewise, thanks to perks like tuition reimbursement and unlimited days off for technical training, Axxess was No. 4 among all 100 organizations for training.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/the-no-1-small-place-to-work-in-it-axxess-2.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Axxess\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" data-imageid=\"100721643\" data-license=\"IDG\"\/><small class=\"credit\">Axxess<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Axxess\u2019 state-of-the-art Dallas headquarters has been designed to foster a collaborative culture.<\/p>\n<p>Binu Varghese, 45, a senior software development manager at Axxess, joined the company in August 2016. She had worked for several other companies in the past, including a 15-year stint with a large technology firm. She was drawn to Axxess for its reputation both as a good employer and as an innovator.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kept watching some of the healthcare IT news and saw Axxess show up as an emerging technology company that was one of the best places to work,\u201d she says, adding that she felt the company\u2019s commitment to its products and clients meshed with her passion for technology and the healthcare IT space.<\/p>\n<p>Now six months into her job, Varghese says she\u2019s sure she was right to join the company. The firm\u2019s open office layout promotes collaboration, while its smaller size, with its startup mentality and lack of bureaucracy, enables speed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Varghese recounts one incident where she and colleagues were discussing a particular project when another engineer joined the conversation with a few key pointers. She says the advice helped head off potential problems that could have surfaced further down the line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe promote a feeling that we\u2019re a \u2018company of owners,\u2019\u201d Varghese says. \u201cWe don\u2019t have barriers. The engineers are very passionate and very open, and they welcome ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Innovation is key<\/h3>\n<p>Senior web engineer John Howard, 40, frequently uses the word \u201cempowerment\u201d to describe the culture at Axxess \u2014 both in terms of the work and of employees\u2019 ability to advance their careers at the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tech workers are encouraged to tackle work in the way they feel is best to get it done. As an example, Howard points to his current project assignment, where developers were initially using the object relational mapper typically used at Axxess, but then proposed \u2014 and won support for \u2014 switching to a new one that they felt had better benefits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the way it is at Axxess. The best ideas win,\u201d says Howard, who joined the company three years ago as a junior-level developer. \u201cOur CTO is always acknowledging how great our software is but at the same time challenging us to make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Innovation days, built into the firm\u2019s yearly schedule, give developers time to work on new technologies that they don\u2019t use \u2013 yet, anyway \u2014 in their day-to-day jobs. And Axxess now sponsors MVP MIX Dallas, a two-day local software development conference. \u201cThis came about because a group of developers expressed interest in the conference. Axxess looked into to it, and took it a whole step forward by becoming a sponsor,\u201d says Howard.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond that, Howard and his co-workers feel free to volunteer to take on new tasks as a way to build skills and stay engaged. \u201cYou\u2019re in control of your own destiny here. You have a lot of options to try different things and see where you can fit in best,\u201d he says. As an example, Howard knows a PHP developer who wanted to strengthen his C# Express skills and was able to work with another team to accomplish that goal.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/the-no-1-small-place-to-work-in-it-axxess-3.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"CW Best Places to Work in IT [2017] - Axxess employees celebrate with students after a career expo\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" data-imageid=\"100724777\" data-license=\"IDG\"\/><small class=\"credit\">Axxess<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Axxess employees celebrate with middle school students who attended a career expo hosted at the company headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>Sumido, the web engineer, likewise appreciates a culture where technologists can choose their tools, and cites two examples of times when he was given permission to do just that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At one point, his team wanted to bring in a technology stack called ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana), which the team thought would give it the ability to easily query application log information to troubleshoot issues and visualize critical events occurring in the company\u2019s system. (Previously, the team had had to dig through logs on a file system to investigate issues.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Another time, Sumido and his colleagues wanted to move to TeamCity and Octopus Deploy deployment tools to replace an older technology and hand-written deployment scripts with an eye to automating the build and deployment process, making it quicker and more efficient.<\/p>\n<p>In both cases, Sumido credits Olowu and technology director Biki Raghubansh for their support, as they gave Sumido\u2019s team the green light to try the new tools out and, when they proved successful, to go full steam ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I have an idea that would make our processes better or something we can implement that I think would improve our software or the company, I can bring that up to Andrew [Olowu] and talk freely about that idea,\u201d Sumido says. \u201cHe\u2019ll talk frankly about it and support me in what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Everyone welcome<\/h3>\n<p>Trischia Khouri, 45, an engineering product manager, says she was drawn to Axxess in part because of its commitment to delivering top-quality products. But she says she came \u2014and stays \u2014for other reasons, too, including the company\u2019s warm and welcoming environment along with its open, bright and varied workspaces. \u201cYou feel like you contribute to a larger purpose and bigger vision,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel this is somewhere I want to be and somewhere where I can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She points to some unique perks, such as the catered lunches that feature a range of foods \u2014from barbeque to Italian \u2014brought in for everyone on Mondays. She says she likes the fact that new hires, who start on Mondays, get bumped to the front of the lunch line so they know they\u2019re welcome. It\u2019s those kinds of social gestures, Khouri says, that help make everyone feel appreciated.<\/p>\n<p>Jake Bathman agrees. The 30-year-old joined Axxess two years ago, seeking to better leverage his coding skills after working in county government as a coordinator in the public health space. Bathman, a PHP engineer, admits that the move carried some risk, both personally and professionally; he was leaving government to work for a young company, which created some level of uncertainty for him, his wife and their then 6-month-old baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Bathman saw a company where he could put his full-stack development skills to good use and help shape healthcare IT \u201cin a very direct and meaningful way.\u201d He saw a chance to contribute, learn from others and pursue his own ideas, yet still be able to balance the needs of his personal life.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have two small kids now, and sometimes things happen. If I have to run out to take care of something, or if I have to work from home, there\u2019s never haggling over whether I have enough PTO for that,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s an acknowledgement that you\u2019ll be at your best self when the company treats you as an adult to make those decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, Bathman says, he gets to work and enjoy these benefits while having fun with co-workers, whether they\u2019re all working on a new release or playing Ping-Pong. \u201cAxxess really sold themselves to me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Next: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/article\/3200051\/best-places-by-the-numbers-top-10-rankings-and-more.html\">Best Places by the numbers: Top 10 rankings and more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andrew Sumido was used to hearing on a regular basis from headhunters looking to entice him away from his job as a senior .NET engineer. So he didn\u2019t give it<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,100,78],"tags":[65,60,57],"class_list":["post-3475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-places-to-work-in-it-2017","category-careers","category-it-leadership","tag-best-places-to-work-in-it-2017","tag-careers","tag-it-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}