If you are an avid reader of our blog, you’d have read by now the article by our Super Intern, Kate, about the lessons she’d learnt working with us at Momentum Works.

8 long months since Kate first joined us. 8 months is a long time for an internship. It made me curious. Why did she decide to stay with us? I casually asked her and some other MW staff and here is what I found:

1)     Hierarchy? Horizontal!

The primary perk of a small company. Interaction between boss(es) and employees, and honest, open communication are highly encouraged. This way, ideas are shared, experience transferred, and not only does everyone have the opportunity to learn from each other, tasks are completed much faster.

Weekly meetings are held to get everyone to update one another on project progress and new developments.

2)     Seamless Assimilation

Many of our interns are either undergraduates or MBA students. Consensus among them was that working at Momentum Works feels similar to their experiences in school because of how we do things – ideate, discuss, plan, execute, submit, iterate.

We have French, Taiwanese, Singaporean and Indian interns. Coming from diverse culture, they build really good chemistry.

3)     Specialised Generalists

Due to the nature of our business (we build ventures!), there are numerous diverse roles that need to be filled whenever we embark on a new venture. In the process, each and every one of  our interns are given the chance to try out explore and navigate these roles, ranging from Market Research and Analysis to Operations, and even Product Management! These experiences provides them with a bird’s eye view of what it means to build a venture. In the process, they also discover new interests and acquire new skills.

3)     Own it!

We place a large emphasis on personal responsibility and ownership. Thus,  more often than not interns and staff are entrusted to manage a portion of specific projects on their own. In the course of the week, we hold meetings during which they get to share their progress and achievements with the rest of the team. This keeps everyone engaged and excited as they are thrust into the heart of the action.

This is one crucial factor that encourages interns to stay with us longer. Possessing ownership in a project empowers them, motivating them to want to see the project through, creating sense of accomplishment when it succeeds.

4)     Flexibility at Work

Instead of sticking to a typical company HR policy with hardline rules, we do our best to relate to each other. As mentioned, many of our interns are students. Some even work for us part-time while juggling with their classes. It is definitely not easy to manage school work with office work and we understand that. So, we allow flexible arrangements for them to work remotely from home, or take a week or two off from work to prepare for their examinations. Fostering a friendly environment, they stay longer with us and even refer their friends to us.

This is not the full capacity of our team by the way.

How do we get them?

As had been discussed in a previous article, we take our hiring very seriously. We are always looking out for new, talented individuals to add value to our company, and when we find someone, we will not hesitate to take them under our wing. We don’t stop interviewing and that is how we can sustain a good pipeline of candidates. If necessary, we adapt and allow interns to work around their schedules, sometimes as little as one day a week! Being adaptable when hiring is crucial, as it gives interns the reassurance they need to feel valued.

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Thanks for reading The Low Down, insight and inside knowledge from the team at Momentum Works. If you’d like to get in touch with us about any issues discussed in our blog, please drop us an email at [email protected] and let us know how we can help.