Sigma Software
Sigma Software is a Swedish company with Ukrainian roots that provides IT consulting services. It cooperates with startups, product companies, and corporations with more than ten business domains worldwide: from Australia to the West Coast of the US.
About Company
The company was originally founded in Ukraine under a different name. Subsequently, it became a part of a Swedish group of companies, opened its first offices abroad, and changed its name to Sigma Software. A few years later, it went global. The Sigma Software group of companies unites the companies Sigma Software, IdeaSoft, Eventyr, the accelerator Sigma Software Labs, and Sigma Software University.
Sigma Software provides a wide range of IT consulting services. It creates, develops, tests, and launches the projects. The company can both help clients concerning all issues and take over the projects completely. It also develops its own products.
The employees of Sigma Software are aware of all relevant programming languages and technologies. The research and development (R&D) centers master new cutting-edge technologies and IT areas: infotainment, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain, machine learning, data science, artificial intelligence, etc.
A unique project of the company is the business incubator Sigma Software Labs. It helps startups become full-fledged products.
Since its foundation in 2002, the company has had clients from 30+ different countries, and the number of implemented projects has reached two thousand. The customers of Sigma Software services are Volvo, Scandinavian Airlines, Verizon Media, DanAds, IGT, Formpipe, Knorr-Bremse, and other companies of various profiles.
Despite the large number of customers, the company is equally proud of everyone and makes every effort to find the best solution for everyone.
A key feature of Sigma Software is a variety of
- projects on which specialists work. They vary from gaming startups to a significant player in the automotive market;
- clients, domains, and technologies. Thanks to this, everyone can cooperate with teams from all over the world, master different business verticals and technologies;
- choices. Specialists can choose a convenient schedule for themselves, sports and professional communities within the team, etc.;
- professional opportunities: a university, mentoring, internal and external educational events;
- ideas. Everyone is heard and feels free in decision-making.
Offices
Each specialist has the opportunity to work online or offline.
The company has development offices in Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Brazil, and Canada. There are also representative offices in 11 other countries. There are 14 Sigma Software offices in Ukraine. They are in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro, Sumy, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, Cherkasy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Poltava, Uzhhorod, and Lutsk.
Most of them were opened in 2022-2023 to provide displaced specialists with comfortable conditions, access to electricity, and the Internet under any conditions. The offices remained “Unbreakable points” for the team even during the most difficult time for Ukraine.
Large offices are designed according to the well-known Swedish concept Lagom. It is a Swedish word meaning ‘just the right amount’ or ‘not too much, not too little’. Office design can be characterized as Scandinavian minimalism: lots of light, white color, concrete, and wood. There are no piles of unnecessary furniture or other things.
The offices have fully-equipped kitchens, coffee bars, gyms with showers, conference halls, and recreation areas with billiards, table football, and tennis.
The employees of Sigma Software sort garbage, use energy-saving light bulbs, try to minimize the usage of paper, etc.
Sigma Software abandoned typical open spaces because it realized that working in them is not always convenient for everyone. Nowadays, there are spacious offices for a team of 15-20 people and small rooms for 1-2 people.
З урахуванням останніх тенденцій, спричинених пандемією, у Sigma Software наймають не лише там, де є офіси, і не змушують людей повертатися в офлайн. Адже де знаходиться спеціаліст, вже не настільки важливо — за умови, що він не вибивається з робочого графіка й досягає потрібних результатів.
About schedule and benefits
Since the company is multinational, teams often work not only in different offices and countries but also in different time zones. The schedule of all specialists is discussed and agreed upon with a team and a manager. Mostly, it is a flexible schedule that best suits the team and the client. If the employees work overtime or need to work at the weekend, they will get some bonuses or have a day off.
The number of vacation days in the company depends on the position of the specialist and varies from 15 to 20 working days. If a specialist has exceeded the limit of paid days off, they can take additional unpaid days off (if necessary).
The following benefits are also available to Sigma Software specialists:
- medical insurance;
- psychological support if necessary;
- legal support;
- support in case of relocation and legalization;
- mentoring;
- Sigma Software University;
- group sports activities.
The ecosystem of the group of companies
The Sigma Software group of companies has a developed ecosystem that allows everyone to find opportunities that are interesting to them. Sigma Software University teaches and allows everyone to become a lecturer, mentor, and speaker. Sigma Software Labs will support all startup ideas. Sigma Software Unity Foundation is for those who want to help Ukraine and the Armed Forces. All ideas are taken into consideration.
The team and work processes
The atmosphere within the team is very democratic. All specialists are united by such common values as professionalism, mutual respect, responsibility, dedication, trust and attention to colleagues, continuous development, and friendliness.
The company does not allow any manifestations of discrimination and tries to achieve gender balance. The number of women in Sigma Software is about 35%, and up to 50% of women hold management positions.
The imbalance is gradually leveling off. There is still a common stereotype that programming is boring. It is about creativity and magic. It seems to me that women started to believe that programming is not some kind of engineering boredom and a stretched sweater. I hope that the daughters of programmer mothers (and not only they) will continue to choose this complicated but very exciting path.
The company is divided into departments that work on different projects and cooperate with a great variety of clients. For instance, some departments work only with startups or prospective clients.
There is a certain set of rules common to all employees. However, each department has the right to adjust its work process as it will be more efficient for a manager and a team. It implies considerable autonomy and freedom within the boundaries of a separate unit.
Since joint business meetings for a team of 2000+ specialists are not effective. Sigma Software has:
- top management meetings;
- department meetings where a supervisor talks about news, tasks, and KPIs (key performance indicators) that need to be achieved;
- team meetings to plan daily work, exchange information, sum up the results, etc. Some teams gather for strategy sessions occasionally. The project managers hold their internal conference every year.
Communication in Sigma Software is transparent and open. Everyone can ask their colleagues or top managers different questions, discuss problems, or suggest new ideas. Fika (pronounced fee-ka) is a Swedish coffee break ritual. Fika is an important component of socializing and maintaining a state of relaxation during the day. Sigma Software has slightly adapted this tradition and organizes a quarterly meeting with the top management of the company with coffee and buns.
Fika takes place in all offices. However, it took place remotely during the quarantine.
During such a meeting, you can ask top managers anything you want or simply talk about life. However, to ask a question, offer an idea, or discuss a problem, you do not have to wait for Fika, you can just write to the needed person or meet him/her in the corridor.
Internal communication in the company takes place on the Workplace platform — it's somehow similar to Facebook. Everyone can share both professional and informal news, which is especially essential during remote work. The company also has corporate radio Sigma on Air. A new episode of the podcast is released every week.
Corporate life
Until 2019, specialists from all Sigma Software offices gathered twice a year in Kharkiv for New Year's and summer corporate parties. Over time, the number of people grew so much that it became difficult even just to find a place where everyone could fit in.
The full-scale war in Ukraine put corporate holidays on the back burner. However, the tradition of gathering together to celebrate the company's birthday, New Year, Vyshyvanka Day, and St. Nicholas Day is preserved in all offices.
There is something unusual in the company. It has its culinary club Sigma Cooking Club. It was born spontaneously when several specialists who love cooking got together. They started exchanging recipes, posting photos of dishes and even cooking together.
Over time, the club gained popularity. At Easter, its members held a master class for the entire team on making pies. Nowadays, they plan to release their recipe book. By the way, an active member of the club is the CEO of the company. He is always happy to cook together with others.
With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, this club shifted its focus to volunteer activities and started supporting people in the Kharkiv region.
Sigma Software supports the external semi-professional team of cyclists Sigma Software Unicorn. A lot of the company's specialists joined it. This team has won a lot of awards and participated in the Tour de France last year.
The company also has internal sports teams: soccer teams in almost every city where there is an office, as well as volleyball and basketball teams. A lot of employees play table tennis, go running, and participate in marathons. The team invites coaches to give a lecture on running and preparation for a marathon. Group yoga and fitness classes are also held in the offices.
Training and development of specialists
Sigma Software is ready to invest a lot in the development of its specialists. One of the tools is the company’s own Sigma Software University. It offers individual and group opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills.
The company's specialists can also work with mentors, attend conferences, hold training and workshops, and act as speakers at internal and later external educational events.
Sigma Software makes it possible to do what a specialist wants. That's how new directions, internal products, conferences, and traditions appeared in the company. The company supports all ideas, but under one condition: the initiator must be the driver of his/her initiative.
A lot of specialists, who occupy management positions in the company, started their careers as interns. For example, a young and inexperienced intern once joined Sigma Software. Nowadays, he is a Managing Director of the US office.
Social responsibility
In Sigma Software, corporate social responsibility is understood not as individual projects but as a general approach to interaction with clients, the team, and the outside world.
With the outbreak of full-scale war, helping colleagues, their families, the country, and the army became the number one priority. As of the beginning of 2023, the company has invested about $3.5 million, evacuated more than 3,000 people, and created the Swedes for Ukraine portal, which helped hundreds of Ukrainians find shelter in Sweden and a chatbot for checking housing conditions in Kharkiv.
In addition, during the war, the Star for Life project was launched. Thanks to this project, children who find themselves in difficult life circumstances could learn the basics of technical education. The teachers and beginners could take free educational courses and support a lot of initiatives of colleagues. Support is now consolidated under the auspices of the Sigma Software Unity Foundation.
In addition, the company systematically supports education, women's leadership, environmental initiatives, and community development.
Employment and onboarding
Sigma Software is open to experienced Middle and Senior Specialists, and students who are hired as interns. Switchers can also join the team through internships or courses at Sigma Software University. People without experience can be hired for certain positions that require first of all soft skills. Regardless of the position, the company is waiting for candidates who are autonomous, responsible, and open to challenges.
In general, the company tries to optimize the selection process as much as possible. For example, the test is not given to all candidates. In many cases, a person's experience speaks for itself.
At the beginning of work, a specialist receives a beginner's package: a cup, a notebook, a pen, a book, and a backpack, as well as all the necessary equipment and tools for work with instructions.
The newcomer's adaptation — onboarding — lasts about a month and can take place both in the office and online.
Onboarding consists of several aspects. Foremost, the HR specialist explains all organizational points, and talks about the history and culture of the company, approaches, founders, and top management. The manager tells the newcomer about the goals and tasks.
Everyone has a mentor who helps navigate the processes and answers questions that arise. Newcomers also meet in groups with the head of the office and other top managers to get to know the company better.
