How can a great office manager elevate a team? Mavenlink’s Peter Hayes shares his secrets.
Developers have some pretty nifty tools at their disposal to get the job done, but the R&D team in Mavenlink’s San Francisco office has a special human asset in our toolkit that puts us ahead of our peers. While the rest of Silicon Valley wishes they could find a secret weapon like him to support their teams, Mavenlink is fortunate to have a caring and energetic office manager named Peter Hayes. Peter landed last year at Mavenlink like a Mary Poppins wrapped in a meteorite — and the cultural landscape hasn’t been the same since. Peter sat down recently to share the scoop on his infectious energy, and to reveal how an office manager can find purpose in a post-office world.
JB: All right, Peter. Really great to talk to you today. You’re known throughout Mavenlink as the world’s best office manager. I wonder if you could share a bit of your back story. You know, how have your interests guided your career?
Peter: Thanks for having me, JB. I was born and raised in Santa Clara, California. I did things like theater as a kid which had an influence on me, it sort of gave me permission to be myself and express creativity. I was really into things like writing and obsessing over music growing up. I studied film and media theory at UC Santa Cruz. That was really impactful for me, and gave me a broader understanding of the way media interfaces with society, and how critical theory can be applied as a lens to making sense of the world.
The work that we have to do is important and it’s serious, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a good time while doing it.
After college, I got into event management, eventually working for an organization that managed downtown venues for the City of San Jose. I worked with clients to book our venues for concerts, tours, arts & lectures type of stuff. I worked with the client on pricing strategy, programmed the events for sale, served as a liaison between the client and the venue, and assisted with front of house operations during the events.
One of our clients was Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose. They’re a really great, prestigious arts organization. Having done children’s theater as a kid, I felt really connected to their principles of inclusion and arts enrichment. CMT had been my favorite client and eventually they stole me to come work for them directly. I managed the sales and registrations for their events and classes, as well as looked after day to day operations. I worked with some highly energetic and talented people who were doing incredible work, and it felt really good to be part of a community.
After a period of time my life had progressed — I was doing a really wild commute and not seeing my partner, Adam, as much as I should have been — and I knew it was time for a change. I really wanted to get inside of a tech company, something which had long evaded me. That’s what brought me to Mavenlink’s doorstep.
JB: We’re glad that it did. You started back in October and really made an instant impact. Everything started working a lot more smoothly — the vibe in the office was lifted. How did you approach your early weeks and months?
Peter: You know, it’s funny, because even in my interview process, I got a real sense that I could make a difference. I remember thinking, “It sounds like they really need someone to take care of them!”
Just establishing that there was a steady person who could be relied on to deal with everyday things, when everyone else is running in a million different directions, that made a difference. I was really trying to establish a sense of centrifugal force by being a steady constant in the center of all the office activity.
So, I think I did make an impact on both the day to day operations, and the overall atmosphere. The team had been through a lot with the big office move. I’m sure it took a bit of a toll. The way I kinda measured the success over time was just seeing like, Slack chatter pick up some more, hearing more laughter around the office and sensing that spirits had lifted. I can’t take a hundred percent credit for that, but I think I can definitely say I contributed to that.
JB: You sure did, no doubt. So, you know, one thing that’s been great — it’s clear that you find a lot of joy in your work and that ends up being infectious. We’re having fun because you’re having fun. Where do you think your upbeat approach comes from?
Peter: I’ve always been very service-oriented. My parents really instilled that in me. I did a lot of volunteering even before high school. I think the fact that I have a youth theater background — there’s a lot of fun encouraged in that. There’s a there’s a joyful approach to the process, even though you are learning a discipline. The idea that, you know, we’re all in this together. The work that we have to do is important and it’s serious, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a good time while doing it. I also just genuinely like people and being useful, and being of service to others.
“He dramatically increased the happiness and effectiveness and efficiency of the entire R&D org by making everyone’s lives better.” — Jeff Moore, Mavenlink Platform Architect
JB: So, just like everybody else, we transitioned to remote work back in March. Things changed. How did you approach that transition? What have you done to manage the office when the office is no longer physical?
Peter: You know, it was difficult to process losing this world that I was really just beginning to get a grasp on — I mean, really it had only been about four, months since I started — and I was really starting to find a natural rhythm. And to have that all kinda go away and have to kinda establish something new, it was scary!
That kind of commitment as a team to just helping each other out, having fun while doing it, and weirdly kind of producing our own cooking show — it was definitely not something I anticipated as an outcome of this period, but it’s been really cool.
My first thought was primarily that the culture we had needed to be preserved, and I thought I could definitely have a role in that. I think the culture at Mavenlink is really, really awesome. It’s genuine. You can’t really fake the kind of culture we have — it’s genuine and it’s driven by the people who make up the community and the energy they put into it.
So I was concerned about having us be separated, like what could we do to keep that going? We started Lunch Bunch almost immediately, which is a short hangout each day. We’ve had different game nights, trivia, kind of just mirroring what we had done in the office, however we had transitioned that to the digital space.
One positive thing about all of us being remote is I think there’s a little bit more social cohesion between the SLC and SF offices. We did our own things as offices when it came to social activities, but I definitely see a lot more integration as a team. Since everyone is remote, there’s no reason to plan separate activities for each office. I feel like we’re a little bit more connected on the whole than we were before.
JB: Some silver linings, for sure. You mentioned culture and looking for ways to continue and strengthen and evolve that. In that spirit, you’ve organized some fun virtual events. Do any of them stand out as being particularly memorable?
Peter: I think probably the most memorable was the least successful, which was the, um, Quaraoke, or quarantine karaoke.
JB: I loved it.
Peter: We have some very big karaoke enthusiasts, both in the Salt Lake and San Francisco. Doing karaoke over Zoom was tricky, for sure. The biggest problem was that there was a slight audio delay, so it didn’t maybe work perfectly on a technical basis. However, people were willing to step up and try it. So it was a lot of fun. It ended up being a big hangout party, and that was actually a really great night.
I think the culture at Mavenlink is really, really awesome. It’s genuine. You can’t really fake the kind of culture we have — it’s genuine and it’s driven by the people who make up the community and the energy they put into it.
I think the other thing I’m really kind of proud of, is this cooking show, which is something that stemmed from the Lunch Bunch. There’s a core group of people who actually come every day and they’ve really been supportive of me and each other. The Lunch Bunch crew has really helped me feel connected, especially on days when I am feeling a little isolated. We learned that our colleague Alan really did not have the kitchen skills that were maybe, um, required for a period of sustained isolation. And somehow we decided to take it on as a team to teach him how to cook. Or at least Megan, another Lunch Buncher, has really taken it on it while the rest of us watched and cheered from the sidelines.
It’s actually been really fun, seeing him progress — he’s doing really amazing. Megan set up her demos with multiple camera angles in her kitchen. I really admire the effort! Our colleague Val sent Alan some kitchen gadgets and things like that. Others took turn showing him recipes. That kind of like commitment as a team to just helping each other out, having fun while doing it, and weirdly kind of producing our own cooking show — it was definitely not something I anticipated as an outcome of this period, but it’s been really cool.
“Peter’s excitement is infectious — it’s awesome, we need that here.” — Paulette Luftig, Mavenink Director of Engineering
JB: That’s awesome. That’s great. So what did you sing at quarantine karaoke?
Peter: Oh my gosh, well, I first got tricked into singing the theme song to Cheers. It was actually supposed to be a group sing-along. It turned out most of the group did not know the song, so that was sort of an awkward solo rendition. I also did a Beatles song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” — which, now that I think about it, was also supposed to be a group sing-along. Again, it wasn’t so much a group. But I think it definitely demonstrated my willingness to put myself out there and be silly and embarrass myself, which, um, is perhaps a large part of what I bring to the table [laughs]
JB: Are there some things you’ve tried in your remote work environment that turned out less successful than you’d hoped?
Peter: You know, there were some challenges, obviously, across the board. We held something called an Unconference at our company kickoff, which was essentially a guerrilla-style approach to presenting a series of short conference talks. I’ve been trying to find a way to replicate that success, but haven’t gained much traction. I found there was more interest in attending something like that there is for putting together content for it — which makes perfect sense, because it’s a bit of work to prepare for, plus an extra Zoom event does not always speak to people.
There’s other things that I am trying to get better with, like onboarding with new hires. I felt like I was really good about being a friendly face to new hires, making sure they had everything they needed. I sort of liked to dote over them and make sure they were comfortable. Decorate their desk for their first day, things like that. Obviously, I make myself available, but it’s hard to recreate that personal touch. It’s the same with birthdays, too. I think we used to have really fun celebrations in the office for birthdays, and it is not as easy to celebrate when we are all apart.
So it’s tricky. I’m still working on those things as we go. I think we can improve them and I am know we will, but it’s a little bit of a challenge, for sure.
Aaron, one of our engineers, has a big interest in “The Young and The Restless”, and he inspired me to dive into some unbelievably bad ’90s soap operas that I would watch with my grandma during the summers. Although I am more of a “One Life to Live” devotee.
JB: Yeah, understandable. So our remote work’s given us a chance to plug you in more directly to the operations of our development team. What have you been doing to get a closer sense for what some of our teams are doing?
Peter: Sure. So, it started with me sitting in with the M Who Shall Not Be Named team for weekly meetings. They’ve been great and really welcoming, even though, you know, I’m not a dev! It’s been very interesting learning the dynamic of how they work as a team, and then in turn how each team fits into the bigger picture of the department. I’ve been learning quite a bit about the different areas each team is working on, the kinds of work they do. How tracks are delivered to different teams, and then how that work is in turn tackled by members of the team. It’s really fascinating and giving me a better sense of the overall flow.
I’ve been working with Andy Leavitt [VP of Engineering] on updating departmental reports and resource metrics. That has taken me deeper into the type of work R&D does, and how the workflow is distributed. “Where are our efforts being spent within the department?” I think if I can help make that process even a little bit better it will feel like a big success. My background is not in resource planning, but I have done a lot of financial tracking from an earned revenue perspective. In the concert world, you’re often calculating final sales numbers at like at 11:00 o’clock at night in some poorly ventilated office with a shady promoter breathing down your neck. And if you get something wrong, they are going to let you know right then and there. So I told myself, like, okay, if I learned and survived that, maybe I can sort of reverse that flow, and follow how resources are spent rather than earned. I think we are off to a really good start. Plus, I’m finding other tasks I can assist R&D leadership with along the way.
JB: Everybody’s drawn at least a few positives from working from home. What are some different things you’ve been doing in your personal life since we made the transition?
Peter: It is probably not the best use of my time, but I’ve discovered that there’s a lot really wild and interesting things on YouTube — maybe not what you’d expect. I’ll find myself going down a rabbit hole of like, ’80s sitcom theme songs, for example, or news reports that aired in like 1989 on Iran-Contra or whatever. Seeing glimpses of the world as it was at the time is instructive when you compare it to how news media operates in the present moment. I find it interesting to be reminded of how news was covered before the rise of social media, 24/7 information, etc. It is actually really illuminating and a little bit frightening at times, as well. With everything going on in the world, it’s really important to stay informed, and sometimes looking back at the not so distant past gives you a clearer picture of what is happening now.
I felt like I was really good about being a friendly face to new hires, making sure they had everything they needed. I sort of liked to dote over them and make sure they were comfortable.
JB: That’s cool. Have you found any ’80s shows that we should take a look at?
Peter: There was actually a ’90s show, called Aliens in the Family, which was a Jim Henson production. There’s these silly alien puppets, and they are, um, part of the family [laughs]. It’s a little bit strange.
Aaron, one of our engineers, has a big interest in The Young and The Restless, and he inspired me to dive into some unbelievably bad ’90s soap operas that I would watch with my grandma during the summers. Although I am more of a One Life to Live devotee.
JB: Well, cool, Peter. Great talking with you. We really appreciate all you’ve done with our team and glad we could sit down together.
Peter: It was my pleasure. Thank you, JB. This was great. Thanks so much.
