Culture Champion: BCom grad helps Shopify create a great work environment
When Konval Matin, BCom/12, tells people that she works in culture at Shopify, sometimes they look a little confused and she has to do some explaining.
But listening to the Sprott alumnus talk about her role and the e-commerce company she works for, you can hear the passion and excitement for what she does on every word.
“I’d say my job is to make sure that Shopify is a really great place to work, a great environment for employee success,” she said.
Shopify’s commitment to providing a great work environment is easy to see when you walk through the office. There’s the fun stuff like foosball tables and video games that have found homes at many tech companies, but there’s also a also a library, a room for yoga and the occasional massage, and a kitchen where chefs whip up meals for employees.
The design of the office also takes employees’ working styles into account. Most of the offices are open concept spaces, but there are many spaces to hide away, where workers who need a quieter environment can go to focus.
Konval and her team focus on strengthening and sustaining Shopify’s culture as it grows. This includes cultures across different offices and remote employees, onboarding new hires, refining internal tools, in-house wellness programs, sponsorships, and internal events like Hack Days, weekly town halls, and the AGM.
Beyond the things that she does, Konval said defining a company culture is a job that the whole company does.
“Culture is made up of everyone at Shopify and everyone has a role in it,” she said.”
“A year ago, I used to joke that jobs like this don’t exist, but I’ve had more and more people from other companies come and ask what we’re doing at Shopify and how we engage our employees so well,” she said.
In March 2012, Konval was finishing her Bachelor of Commerce degree with a double concentration in marketing and international business when she had a chance encounter with a Shopify recruiter at Net Night, an annual networking event hosted by Carleton’s Co-op and Career Services Office.
After chatting for a bit, the recruiter suggested she should apply for an unlisted internship with the company.
Konval applied, interviewed, and got the position, and then started working under Daniel Weinand, Shopify’s chief design officer and one of the company’s co-founders.
During her internship, she split time working on design and culture, and eventually did some recruiting for the rapidly growing company.
“It was really interesting to be on the other side of the table,” she said. “Instead of applying for a job, I was the one sitting there, asking questions.”
With her time split between many different things, she decided to focus on culture, becoming the first person at the company working in the area full-time.
Since then, Konval has mostly been a one-person team reporting to Weinand and working with other units like human resources, but an intern who was working with her recently made the jump to full-time culture employee.
Shopify is one the fastest growing companies in Canada, so managing and planning for explosive levels of growth is keeping Konval busy these days.
When Konval started at Shopify in 2010, the company had 120 employees. Today, they have grown to over 500, with more being added all the time. They’ve also expanded from their roots in Ottawa to open offices in Toronto and Montreal, which gives Konval the unique challenge of managing culture remotely.
One of the largest projects Konval has worked on to date is creating a new workspace for the company. Shopify outgrew its space in the Byward Market and recently moved its headquarters to a six-floor, 102,000 square foot space on Elgin Street in the heart of Ottawa’s business core.
Konval’s advice to students is based on the two things that worked for her: learn skills outside of classroom and build your network.
“The reason I got the internship initially was because I did a lot of things outside of school,” she said. “I taught myself some graphic design skills and they happened to be looking for someone with those skills at that moment.”
Taking advantage of career networking events, like the ones organized by Sprott’s Business Career Management Centre, is also essential.
“Every job that I’ve ever had, I got because I took initiative to go out to events, and sometimes you feel really uncomfortable or awkward walking up to a group of strangers and sticking your hand out,” she said. “But it really pays off.”