An Update From Us
Summer at a Software Development Company
Summer at a Software Development Company
What a year it’s already been! With only 3 months to go until the end of the year (we don’t know how that’s happened either) and the C word beginning to fly around, as supermarkets shelves start to full up with reems of mince pies and confectionary selection boxes, we thought we better update you on all things Clever Software Group, before Santa comes to town.
As we’ve mentioned before, this year Clever Software Group has been undergoing a really exciting team expansion. Since relocating offices to larger premises in Ringwood last summer, we have had the exhilarating addition of 9 new members of staff. We are stilling waiting for two more new recruits to join us over the next couple of weeks, which will take our team to the grand total of 13! We consider 13 to be a very lucky number, but our recruitment doesn’t stop there.
Most recently, we have welcomed senior software developer Mike to the Clever Software Group compilation, alongside three project administrators – Lawrence (AKA Hal), Luke (The First) and Luke (The Second; all three of which joined us via the Kickstart Scheme.
We are still looking to expand our team and welcome on board software developers from multiple experience backgrounds: apprenticeship, graduate level, junior and senior position are all available and open for applications. If you are interested in joining our talented team, please contact us today.
Clever Software Group will soon be join by a brand new shiny project manager and business development manager. We will introduce them to you soon, so keep your eyes peeled for any new ‘Meet the Team’ profiles that may appear on our social media channels.
Nearly two years after relocating to the UK and not being able to travel home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our resident UI/UX designer, Duke, has finally been able to head back to his home-country of Greece! The rest of the Clever Software Group team are very jealous of him as he gets to bask in the sunshine. We hope he has a fantastic time away and doesn’t over do the ouzo (or at least has a drink or two in our absence!).
On a more serious note, we have recently felt the affects of Covid-19. The whole team is safe and well, but after having a positive test result within the team, it really hit home that the virus is still very much present and just because restrictions have been lifted, doesn’t mean it has simply gone away.
We have been very vigilant since the start of the break out to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, having moved to remote working and ensuring the office was a safe environment to come back to, once we were able to return. We still maintain these principles and continue to make sure the office is a safe, clean, secure space for our staff to work and socialize within. Nearly all of the Clever Software Group team has now been double vaccinated and we still continue to follow government guidelines within the office space. Everyone isn’t out of the woods yet when it comes to the impact of coronavirus, but we are happy and diligent in continuing to do our bit to ensure the light at the end of the tunnel shines more brightly.
Anyway, enough of the sad stuff – here’s some more exciting news! We would like to say a massive congratulations to our new head of operations, Megan. Megan joined Clever Software Group last August as our project manager and has done such a good job that she’s received a very well deserved promotion! We know she’s already got some really amazing and exciting plans for Clever Software Group on the horizon – Well done, Megan!
This year, we are thrilled and honored to be sponsoring The Clever Software Group Award for Outstanding Use of Digital Technology at the New Forest Brilliance in Business Awards 2021.
Digital marketing executive Gemma and head of operations Megan, attended the launch of the Awards last month, which was help at the Balmer Lawn Hotel; a previous and reining winner of the Business of the Year Award.
We are all very much looking forward to the Awards ceremony, which will be hosted at Brockenhurst College in early December. Clever Software Group will be entering a few award categories, so watch this space!
For more information on the New Forest Brilliance in Business Awards 2021 and how you can enter your business for a nomination, please click here.
Over the next couple of months, we will be hosting an offsite company update for the whole team. This update will not only entail briefing the team on the intended vision and strategy for Clever Software Group in 2022, but also a great opportunity to bring the team even closer together, through various different activities, plenty of good food and a couple of cheeky drinks.
Plans are yet to be finalized, but it’s looking to be a very exciting event! It’ll be an occasion for everyone to look forward to and have a work day with a difference.
We have touched on this in a previous blog post, but in Spring 2022, we are planning on completing the Three Peaks Challenge!
A small group of the Clever Software Group team – Andi, Megan, Gemma, Leigh and James - have donned their walking boots and are undertaking the mountainous challenge, aiming to tackle the three highest peaks of the UK within 24 hours.
The team hope to be joined by a group of volunteers and supporters from Tall Ships Youth Trust; the charity which Clever Software Group has chosen to fundraise for whilst training for and inevitably completing the Three Peaks Challenge.
So, why Tall Ships Youth Trust?
The sail training charity is the oldest and largest of its kind in the UK and dedicates itself to enabling young people, aged between 12 to 25, to fulfill their life potential through adventures at sea. Tall Ships Youth Trust is located in Portsmouth, meaning it is a charity situated within our home county and one that holds values which are very close to our heart.
The trust takes young people from all walks of life on residential sailing voyages, on board their iconic fleet of yachts. Whilst out on the water, they learn lessons and experience situations that will set them up for life and in turn, help them realize their own potential.
During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity’s operations sadly had to halt, meaning so many young people that relied on the Trust’s support or that would need their aid, were left largely isolated and contained within environments that were not safe and comforting during a time of complete turmoil. Thankfully, earlier this year Tall Ships Youth Trust were able to resume their mission and allow those young people who so desperately needed the backing of the Trust, to explore uncharted possibilities and gain a sense of self belief that could’ve become jumbled and lost during the multiple national lockdowns.
The pandemic has left a devastating effect on so many young people’s mental health, leaving many feeling deeply anxious, with little to no hope for the future and a huge lack of motivation. This is the reason we have chosen to fundraise for Tall Ships Youth Trust. To support their mission and help change the lives of copious amounts of young people who deserve a better chance in life, through life changing experiences at sea.
Please watch this video to understand how impactful the work Tall Ships Youth Trust carries out is:
We began our Three Peaks training last month; our next training walk is taking place this coming Sunday, walking a circular route from Worth Matravers to Chapman’s Pool. Please donate what you can, no matter how big or small, to this incredible cause. You too can help change the lives of so many disadvantaged young people; if you wish to, you can make a donation by clicking here.
As you can see, we have been very busy at Clever Software Group. It’s been a big time of change, but exciting nonetheless.
A couple of client projects have now been delivered and receiving excellent feedback, whilst already having significant beneficial impact on people’s lives. To view some examples of bespoke software solutions our talented team of bespoke software developers have crafted, please click here.
We have also started hosting regular group procedure updates internally at Clever Software Group, to further encourage knowledge sharing across the software development team, improving development discussions and general training in the process.
So, that’s all folks. We will drop you a line towards the end of the year with a quick update on what’s been taking place during the festive season. But for now, as always, if you need our help to design and create a bespoke software system to revolutionize your business, please contact us today.
Client Stanley and Strong is a London based firm of Party Wall Surveyors with experience in residential and commercial surveying. Together we developed a clever web based workflow and project management tool to manage the complex administrative Party Wall procedures.
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