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Working for AlayaCare: Miranda’s story

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We’re excited to start sharing the diverse stories of the people who work at the heart of AlayaCare. Over the coming months, our staff will be talking about their unique experiences and sharing the things they love most about working for AlayaCare.

The first story we’re sharing belongs to Miranda Smelt, Manager of Solution Engineering, who has seen the company grow from its early days. After being originally hired in Canada, Miranda then became one of the first employees to start working in the Australia & New Zealand division of AlayaCare – an experience that she describes as thoroughly “awesome”.

Working for AlayaCare

How did your journey with AlayaCare begin?

I was recruited out of university, so they reached out to me on LinkedIn about 6 years ago and after 5 interviews I got the job! At the time we were a very small team. I was first recruited in Toronto, and I think I was like the 37th employee overall, and 7th in Client Success at the time.

Back then, it was still very early days for the business, and I was really excited about the prospect of working for a small company where I could make a big difference. It felt like every person was so integral to the team because there were so few of us. Everyone I met was so nice and very smart, and I was like, “Wow, this’ll be a really good place to start out my career”.

What has working for AlayaCare done for your career?

Everything! AlayaCare is my whole career. Like I said, this is my first job out of school and initially, I started work in a much smaller team, which meant that I was wearing a lot of different hats. I know that’s so cliché but we all just did so much because we didn’t have full departments yet, so we just hunkered down and did what was needed. It was challenging but really rewarding! 

Miranda's Story

In terms of development, I’ve learned many skills through doing project implementations and now more on the sales side of the business. Our culture of transparency not only let me get to know my departments and my roles, but also made me feel like I was a part of the journey as we went from a small company to a big company. Our executive team has always looked for our feedback and listened to us along the way – keeping us in the loop of the company vision and the strategic decisions being made which I feel like keeps that start-up, ‘I’m part of something’ vibe alive.

How has AlayaCare helped your professional development?

In every way! Because I’ve been part of a growing team, I’ve pretty much progressed in my roles almost every year that I’ve been here. Initially I was in the client success team, so I went from an associate to a manager there. Then I moved to Australia in January 2019 to be in sales, I started out in a hybrid role and then focused on solutions engineering. Now I’m a manager as we’ve hired another SE to work with me. I do feel like AlayaCare is really committed to creating career progression. That’s something that I’ve seen in a lot of departments, which is great because it doesn’t feel like I need to go anywhere else to get new opportunities, I can have them all here.

What do you like most about the culture at AlayaCare?

I think it’s just the people. I feel like I’m really spoiled in that I just assume that every workplace is like this because I’ve just been here for my whole career. The people here are smart, driven and passionate, but they’re also really nice and fun and willing to take their time to teach people and share their knowledge. It’s very much a team culture, and everyone also just seems to be down to have a good time! I’ve made some close friends over the past, nearly six years at AlayaCare. That’s the best part, I think. Miranda's Story

How do you find AlayaCare’s SuperFlex policy for flexible working?

Realistically, we’ve always been pretty relaxed and flexible. I think it comes off the back of hiring great people. It means that they’ve always trusted us to get our work done regardless of how, where or when. And now that it has been formalised as part of SuperFlex, that’s fantastic.

Personally, for me, I like a balance. I like going into the office at least a few times a week because I still do think that a lot of our culture is based on relationships, so I do like going in to be around teammates. I also learn heaps just from overhearing conversations and being able to ask/answer questions on the fly. But I also think it’s important to have focus time at home and being able to get small chores done in between gives me a better sense of balance. 

It’s so great that that we have this precedent, that you can do whatever works for you and that’s what works for me. Nobody’s going to judge you for whatever decision you make and that’s really nice.

Miranda's Story

How do you feel about the company values at AlayaCare? And is doing purpose-driven work something that is important to you?

There are so many different tech companies that are ‘cool’ to work for, but given we work in the aged care and disability space it means you’re also working for a vision that’s bigger than yourself. It’s not just having the perks of tech company culture and a fun fast-paced environment, you can also actually see how your job/the software/the industry is directly impacting people.

Everyone knows somebody in aged care or living with a disability that they can relate to, which means you can more easily recognise how AlayaCare’s technology is helping. So, it’s more than just clocking your hours, it actually feels like you’re contributing to something meaningful.

Do you want a career that truly gives back? Are you looking for a company that will prioritise your health, wellbeing and career development? Here at AlayaCare, we help our people thrive. We champion them. And we are committed to flexible working. If you’d like to join our team, we’d love to hear from you! Check out our job openings here: https://alayacare.com/en-au/careers.

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